The Dallas Cowboys are at 1-2, and in desperate need of a bounce back game after consecutive home losses. It’s not really the fact that they’ve lost two straight. It’s the way they have lost that has fans panicking this early in the season.
The defense has some glaring holes at defensive tackle and the safety play hasn’t exactly been All-Pro level.
The Saints and Ravens ran through the defense like it wasn’t even there, racking up 190 and 274 yards rushing, respectively. Offensively, the ineptitude wasn’t too far behind.
Dallas entered the 4th quarter trailing the Ravens 28-6 before exploding for three touchdown drives.
Maybe that 4th quarter was enough to coax the offense we know and love out of it’s shell.
A good recipe to get your offense back on track is to play the Giants. Bold performances in New York will key the Cowboys’ victory this Thursday night.
Offensive Line Doesn’t Give Up a Sack
This might not seem too bold, but the New York Giants trail only the Minnesota Vikings this season for the NFL lead in team sacks.
Through three games, the Giants’ revamped defensive line has racked up 14.0 sacks behind DT Dexter Lawrence and S Jason Pinnock. The duo lead the team with 3.0 sacks each.
On the flip side, the Cowboys have allowed Dak Prescott to be sacked three times in each of the first three games. The offensive line features two rookies, LT Tyler Guyton and C Cooper Beebe, who are each getting acclimated to the NFL game.
The sacks aren’t solely on them, however.
RT Terence Steele has been a turnstile thus far, and All-Pro guards Tyler Smith and Zack Martin have had their moments, as well.
One of the main keys here is that the Giants tend to need the blitz to generate pressure.
Dak Prescott has been one of the better quarterbacks against the blitz over the past two seasons, and he will make them pay the first time they send a blitz.
Mike McCarthy knows his offensive line could be susceptible to pressure with Giants’ pass rushers Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Brian Burns on defense.
He will counter this with quick pass plays and max protection to keep Prescott’s jersey clean.
Dallas Defense Doesn’t Allow a Touchdown
The New York Giants have scored six touchdowns in three games this season, and all but one of those touchdowns have been scored by RB Devin Singletary or rookie WR Malik Nabers.
The other was scored by WR WanDale Robinson, who is also the team’s second leading wide receiver.
You can bet that Cowboys’ DC Mike Zimmer knows this as well, and the defensive game plan will key on Singletary and Nabers.
This extra attention to the Giants’ top two playmakers will force Daniel Jones to look elsewhere with the football, and will also take away his top red zone threat. New York will probably still move the ball down the field on a few drives, but those drives will end with field goals.
After two poor showings, the Cowboys’ defense will be itching to get back on track versus a team that they have dominated in recent history.
Daniel Jones is 1-7 as a starter versus the Cowboys, and the Thursday Night Football matchup should end with his record at 1-8.
CeeDee Lamb Scores 3 Touchdowns
The defense would like a chance to redeem themselves, but so would Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb.
Lamb had one of the worst games of his career versus the Ravens, highlighted by his sideline antics and refusal to speak to the media after the game.
A heated exchange between he and Prescott has the sports world buzzing, but Lamb has says he and Dak are brothers and what happened during the game is water under the bridge.
In eight games versus the Giants, Lamb has hauled in 52 receptions for 722 yards and four total touchdowns. I’m here to tell you that a bold performance is coming up, and Lamb will score three total touchdowns on Thursday night.
Two of those touchdowns will come from the arm of Dak Prescott, and the third will be a rush on a jet sweep in the red zone.
A big game by CeeDee also means a big game from Prescott, and it will be enough to silence the critics. At least that will be enough until the next game.
Prediction
This is a bold prediction article, but my game prediction doesn’t need to be bold.
The Cowboys will get back on track on both offense and defense to catch up with the stellar special teams play and go into a mini-bye week with a 2-2 record.
The Giants will not be completely stifled, but they will only manage four field goals and fall to the Cowboys by the score of 30-12 to stay in the NFC East cellar.