Game Preview: DAL at NYG

The MATCHUP

DALLAS COWBOYS (0-0) at NEW YORK GIANTS (0-0)

Game time: Sunday, 7:20 p.m. CST

TV/radio: NBC / Compass Media-Westwood One Radio, Sirius XM-NFL, 105.3 The Fan, KVMK 107.5 La Grande (Spanish)

Broadcast teams: TV – Mike Tirico, Chris Collingsworth, Melissa Stark (sideline); Radio (English) – Brad Sham, Babe Laufenberg, Kristi Scales;  Radio (Spanish) – Victor Villalba, Luis Perez

Head Referee: Adrian Hill

Officiating Crew: Roy Ellison, David Oliver, Brett Bergman, Mearl Robinson, Jim Quirk, Greg Steed, Roddy Ames, Joe Wollan

WHAT’S at STAKE

What's at Stake: The NFL schedule makers did the Cowboys and Giants no favors, pitting the two NFC East rivals against each other before either team could unpack from training camp. Add to that, playing in one of the premier national slots on opening weekend, there will be no time for slow starts. Whomever comes out on top will have a leg up early in a race for the top spot in what will probably be the NFC’s elite division. It just proves that every game on the NFL schedule is crucial. A divisional loss in Week 1 could sink either of these team’s playoff chances come that final whistle in Week 18.

WHEN the COWBOYS HAVE the BALL

The Cowboys may not look very different to the naked eye, but deep down there have been plenty of changes to this side of the ball since we last saw them walking off the field after a loss to San Francisco in the postseason. Head coach Mike McCarthy ousted offensive coordinator and play caller Kellen Moore, then brought in new OC Brian Schottenheimer and decided to name himself the new play caller. So, with a new offense that will look a lot like what McCarthy ran while head coach in Green Bay, the Cowboys return with a lot of familiar faces in quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, running back Tony Pollard, Tight end Jake Ferguson and an offensive line that has all five starters from 2022 back and ready for action. It is the subtractions that will be the most noticeable in Week 1, as the Cowboys have said goodbye to a pair of starters in running back Ezekiel Elliott and tight end Dalton Schultz. It should be addition by subtraction, so don’t expect the Cowboys to miss a beat without either guy.

WHEN the GIANTS HAVE the BALL

The Cowboys are very familiar with the strength of the Giants’ offense – running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones. This year the Giants have added top target tight end Darren Waller in free agency, which should only enhance what head coach Brian Daboll is trying to accomplish with Jones. Waller adds 298 catches for 3,572 yards and 19 touchdowns in five years with the Raiders and two others in Baltimore to a receiving group that desperately needs help. The Giants ranked 27th (201.8) in receiving yards per game and tied for 28th (9.9) in average yards per catch last season. Waller, who’s averaged 11.99 yards per catch during his seven seasons, will test the middle of the Cowboys defense, a strength with middle linebacker Leighton Vander Esch and safeties Jayron Kearse, Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker.

KEY COWBOYS to WATCH

CB Trevon Diggs – After exploding onto the scene in second season with 11 interceptions to lead the NFL in 2021, Diggs came back to Earth last season, pulling down only three in 17 regular season games. But hey, it’s hard to duplicate those numbers when teams refuse to throw your way. Well, the Cowboys went out in the offseason and got a cornerback at Diggs equal, in Stephon Gilmore, which should give the Cowboys 2-time All-Pro more opportunities for glory. Now with Diggs and Gilmore, the Cowboys should have one of the best cornerback duos in all of football. In his three seasons, Diggs has 169 tackles, 17 interceptions, 49 passes defensed, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and two touchdowns in 45 games.

WR Brandin Cooks – The Cowboys sorely missed a deep threat last season, so they went out and acquired Cooks in the offseason to be that guy. Cooks has speed, clocking in at 4.33 in the 40, and the Cowboys plan to use that to stretch the defense. That will hopefully do one of two things, open the underneath routes for CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup and Jake Ferguson to punch holes in the opposing defense, or he and quarterback Dak Prescott are connecting on big plays. Cooks, who’s final days in the Houston were not ideal for the team or the player, has been everything as advertised during his offseason time in Dallas – hard working, excellent route runner, great hands and fast. The Cowboys just need it to translate to performance on game day.

LB Leighton Vander Esch – The Cowboys linebacker is not flashy, but he is exactly what the Cowboys need in the middle of their defense – a stopper. Vander Esch finished the 2022 season second on the team in tackles in just 14 games. He had 90 tackles, including a season high 14 in a Week 14 win over Houston, as well as one sack, one pass defensed and one forced fumble. His importance was evident when he was out of the lineup the final four weeks of the 2022 regular season. The Cowboys went 2-2, while giving up 40, 34, 13 and 26 points respectively.

KEY GIANTS to WATCH 

RB Saquon Barkley – The Cowboys front seven will be tested early, facing off against Saquon Barkley in Week 1 of the season. Barkley rushed for 1,312 yards in 16 games last season, good enough for fourth best in the NFL behind only Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry and Nick Chubb. His 1,650 total yards from scrimmage was sixth best in the NFL. But, the Cowboys have, for the most part, had the answer for Barkley in his eight starts against Dallas. Barkley has averaged just 58 yards on 12 carries and less than half a touchdown in those games, including 120 yards rushing on 25 carries and two touchdowns in the two meetings last season.

DT Dexter Lawrence II – Dexter Lawrence is the best disrupter the Giants have on defense. The 6-foot-4, 342-pound nose tackle led the team in sacks last season with 7.5, but he was brought in as the team’s first round draft pick in 2019 to help with the run defense. To that he was third on the team in tackles with 68 on 864 middle-clogging snaps, and was one of only two defensive linemen, along with defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, to rank in the top 10 on the team in total tackles. He could make it a long day for the Cowboys inside running game.

MLB Bobby Okereke – The Giants needed help on defense, after being ranked near the bottom of the NFL in a lot of key categories last season. So, they went out and signed Bobby Okereke (4 years/$40 million) away from the Indianapolis Colts, where he had just finished a season with 151 tackles, five passes defensed, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Okereke is a sideline-to-sideline linebacker that can make all the plays, and he will be counted on to quarterback the Giants defense.

The BOTTOM LINE

It is just the first game of the season, and there is a long way to go until January. But the winner will have a leg up on his NFC East nemesis in what should be a tight race for the division title between both the Giants and Cowboys, as well as the Philadelphia Eagles. A loss, well, hopefully that team’s fans will remember it is just Week 1 and there’s still a long way to go.