Notes and stats to get you ready for Sunday's matchup between the Giants and Cowboys.

When the Giants have the ball

The story of Week 1 was production on early downs and in the red zone.

In terms of the former, the Giants ran 24 plays on first down and gained at least four yards on nine of them. That came out to 37.5 percent, which ranked 28^th in the NFL. That led to a league-high 16 third-down attempts (tied with the Browns), and the Giants converted just four of them.

The Giants ran 12 plays in the red zone, fifth-most in the NFL last week, but came away with only three points. They were also one of 12 teams with multiple goal-to-go drives in Week 1; two of them were unable to find the end zone – the Giants and Chiefs.

Defensively, Dallas allowed 3.88 yards per first down, the 11^th-best mark in the NFL. However, the Cowboys allowed the Eagles to convert 61.5 percent of their third downs, the second-worst rate in the league (Philadelphia was 32^nd at 63.6 percent). In the red zone, Philadelphia scored touchdowns on all three of its trips inside the 20 against Dallas.

Giants running backs combined for just 30 yards on 15 carries in Week 1.

The Giants averaged 14.00 plays per scoring drive, the highest in the NFL. In all of 2024, they ranked second just behind the Chiefs (9.53).

Defensive tackle Kenny Clark made his Dallas debut after coming over from Green Bay in the Micah Parsons trade. The Cowboys allowed 2.8 yards per carry with the three-time Pro Bowler on the field and 6.6 yards when he was on the sideline, according to Next Gen Stats.

Quarterback Russell Wilson led the Giants with 44 rushing yards and attempted only one pass of 20+ yards. Wilson had a 111.0 passer rating on deep passes in 2024.

The Cowboys allowed 158 rush yards to the Eagles in Week 1, 62 of which came from quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Wide receiver Malik Nabers is the only player since 1991 with at least 10 targets in more than 60 percent of his career games.

According to NFL Research, Trevon Diggs lined up against Nabers on 55.3 pct of his routes in Week 4 of 2024. DaRon Bland lined up against him on 66.7 percent of routes in Week 13. Bland has not practiced this week due to a foot injury.

When the Cowboys have the ball

Dak Prescott is 4-0 in Week 2 following a Week 1 loss with a 102.2 passer rating in those games.

In his first game since suffering a season-ending hamstring injury on Nov. 3, 2024, Prescott completed 21 of 34 passes for 188 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Prescott has 13 career wins against the Giants, tied for second-most among any starting quarterback since 1950, according to NFL Research. Only Hall of Famer Roger Staubach (16) has more.

Prescott was one of three quarterbacks who were not sacked in Week 1; however, he was the only one of them to lose.

The Giants' defense had three sacks in the opener, their most in a Week 1 matchup since recording four at Washington in 2011. Outside linebacker Brian Burns produced two of them, making him the first Giant to have at least two sacks in Week 1 since Jason Pierre-Paul in that same Washington game 14 years ago.

The Giants allowed 220 rush yards in Week 1, second-most behind the Bills' 238 given up to the Ravens. Javonte Williams led the Cowboys with 54 rush yards and two touchdowns.

CeeDee Lamb was responsible for four drops in Week 1 but still led the Cowboys with seven receptions for 110 yards.

Field position

New this season, the dead ball spot of a touchback if the ball lands in the end zone and is downed in the end zone by the receiving team is now the 35-yard line (it was the 30 in 2024). The "dynamic kickoff" is designed to promote more returns and resemble a play from scrimmage. The kickoff return rate around the NFL in Week 1 (75.6 percent) more than doubled the rate from the 2024 opening slate of games (33.3 percent).

The Giants allowed an average starting field position of 25.1 yards, the fifth-best mark in the NFL. The Cowboys allowed an average starting field position of 27.6 yards, 11^th in the league.

On the flipside, the Giants had an average starting field position of 21.9 yards, which ranked 31^st. The Cowboys were 23.3 yards, good for 29^th.

The Cowboys' KaVontae Turpin led the NFL last season in kickoff return yards (904), including a 99-yard touchdown against the Commanders. He also averaged 9.5 yards per punt return, including a 60-yard touchdown against the Browns.

Did you know?

According to NFL Research, the annual Giants at Cowboys game has never taken place on a Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at AT&T Stadium, which opened in 2009. The last time it happened overall was Week 6 of 2005 at Texas Stadium.