It’s been said on more than one occasion games are won and lost in the trenches. That’s probably true to a certain extent, but no truer words have probably been spoken as far as the season finale between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants are concerned. In fact, it very well could decide the outcome of this game.
This Week 17 matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants is going to be won or lost in the trenches in my opinion. The way things are looking right now this game is shaping up to be a sloppy one and I’m not talking about the play. I’m talking about playing in an open stadium like MetLife where the weather will be a factor at this point in the year.
The way things look right now the temperatures will be in the low 40s and there will be a chance of light rain starting at kickoff which is predicted to grow stronger as the game advances throughout the day. That makes for less than ideal playing conditions, hence the importance of winning the battle in the trenches.
Normally I would say this is a game that favors the Dallas Cowboys. In the past they’d rely on their offensive line and Ezekiel Elliott to ground their opponent into submission, but we haven’t really seen them be able to accomplish that this year. Maybe that changes Sunday against the Giants, however, I don’t know if I would count on it.
The New York Giants strength on the defensive side of the ball is arguably their defensive front, particularly at defensive tackle. Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams, and Dalvin Tomlinson do a really good job in the trenches against the run. Those three could give the Cowboys’ patchworked offensive line all they could handle.
Hope is not lost though. Surprisingly enough, the Dallas Cowboys OL finally have some continuity for arguably the first time all season. They’ve started the same five lineman for the past several weeks and it’s a big reason why the offense is playing much better as of late in both the running and passing game.
With that said though, this could be the toughest test Dallas’ OL has faced in the past few games. Add in the potential sloppy weather conditions and you can see why I believe this game will be decided in the trenches.
In all honesty I want to give the Giants DL a slight advantage, however, I can’t help but admire how the Cowboys OL has been playing here recently. Right now I think it’s a tossup as to who wins the the battle in the trenches. The only thing I do know is it will likely determine the outcome of this game.
