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10 Things To Watch For

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10 things to watch in Giants vs. Cowboys

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'RESPOND THE RIGHT WAY'

The Giants did not get the season off to the start they were hoping for after falling to the Commanders, 21-6, in Washington. The team has now flipped the page to Week 2 with another divisional game on the horizon. The Giants will get the opportunity to even their record, both overall and in the NFC East, when they head to Dallas this weekend for their annual trip to AT&T Stadium.

Despite the outcome, the Giants are not approaching this weekend's game differently than any other. As numerous players stated throughout the week, when you only get 17 games a season, every week must be approached with some level of urgency.

"The thing about the National Football League is you always want to be able to respond and respond the right way," quarterback Russell Wilson told reporters Wednesday. "It really shouldn't change. It should always be high. I think when you win one, you've got to be able to repeat it and if you lose one, okay, cut it off and make sure we find ways to win the next game. You've got to play the next game. The next game's a history of its own. It's not the game from before. So I think that's important.

"But I think there's always a sense of urgency, right? It's in-division. It's a game that we're going on the road, it's a great crowd, a tough environment, all those things. They've got great players too. I think all of that is just the response of loving the game and loving the process and loving our football team. And I think that's what really matters right now is to capture that every play in our practice."

ALL-TIME SERIES

The New York Giants (0-1) will travel to Dallas to play the Cowboys (0-1) at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 14. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET on FOX.

Sunday's game marks the 127th all-time meeting between the Giants and the Cowboys. This will be their first meeting on a Sunday since Nov. 12, 2023. The Giants' lost their most recent meeting with the Cowboys on Nov. 28, 2024 (Thanksgiving day) by a score of 27-10.

Oddly enough, this will be the first game between the division rivals at AT&T Stadium with a noon local time kickoff on a Sunday.

See the top photos from practice as the Giants prepare for their Week 2 matchup against the Cowboys.

INJURY REPORT

Giants

Out: LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (Calf)

Doubtful: DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches (Foot), OT Andrew Thomas (Foot)

Questionable: WR Wan'Dale Robinson (Ankle)

Cowboys

Out: CB DaRon Bland (Foot)

HOW TO WATCH, LISTEN, & STREAM

TV

Channel: Fox

Announcers: Joe Davis (Play-By-Play), Greg Olsen (Analyst), Pam Oliver (Sideline)

Radio

Channel: WFAN 101.9FM /66AM

Announcers: Bob Papa (Play-by-Play), Carl Banks (Analyst), Sideline (Howard Cross)

Pre- and Postgame: John Schmeelk, Tiki Barber

Pregame: Giants Gameday begins at 11:00 a.m., presented by Hackensack Meridian Health.

Postgame: Giants Extra Point

Stream

This week's game can be streamed on NFL+.

FILLING IN FOR McFADDEN

The Giants were dealt with their first major injury blow of the season this past weekend when starting inside linebacker Micah McFadden was carted off with a foot injury. While Daboll told the media earlier in the week that the fourth-year linebacker did not break his leg, which was the original concern, the Giants did place McFadden on injured reserve Thursday.

With McFadden out for at least the next four games, Darius Muasau will get an expanded opportunity. The second-year linebacker started seven games last year and finished the season with 55 tackles (26 solo), three tackles for loss, one quarterback hit and an interception. While it will be difficult to replace McFadden, who was coming off an encouraging 2024 campaign, the coaching staff is confident in Muasau's abilities.

"He's a smart player for us," Daboll said. "He's played a number of spots, I would say. Intelligent player. That's the job of, quote unquote, a backup, is to be ready to go when your number's called. He's done a nice job for us in that regard."

"Got a lot of confidence in Moose," defensive coordinator Shane Bowen added. "He went in there and I thought he did a good job last week, for the most part. He's done really well last year when he played for us, and then throughout training camp this preseason."

PROTECTION UP FRONT

The Giants struggled to get much going offensively against the Commanders. The unit totaled just 17 first downs with an average of 3.7 yards per play, compared to Washington's 6.6 yards per play. Perhaps the most damaging stat though was the offense's performance in the red zone, as they didn't get into the end zone on either of their trips inside the 20-yard line.

As Daboll noted earlier in the week, the offensive struggles were a collective effort. But one area in which an improvement in Week 2 would go a long way in helping the offense find more success is the protection up front. The Commanders recorded 24 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, as Russell Wilson found himself scrambling away from defenders throughout the game, which played a part in the veteran completing just 17 of 37 passes for 168 yards.

Things won't get much easier for the O-line this week. The Cowboys had 20 pressures of Jalen Hurts last week, although only one resulted in a sack. It remains to be seen if left tackle Andrew Thomas will suit up on Sunday, with the star left tackle being listed as questionable on the final injury report.

EVOLVING ROTATION ON THE EDGE

In their first regular season game together, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodaux and Abdul Carter combined for all three of the Giants' sacks. On top of that, all three edge rushers picked up multiple pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, with Carter leading the way with four in his NFL debut. The rookie also found a way to make an impact on his handful of special teams snaps as he deflected one Tress Way punt and nearly blocked another.

"He's got a special skill set, as we all know," special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial said on Thursday. "The speed you see with him coming off the ball as a defensive player and rushing punts, he has that ability. I think above all that, I believe above all that, he truly wants to do it. He is a student of the game and wants to continue to study. We'll always take a commonsense approach depending on volume, depending on week to week, whether we can see him doing it or not. He definitely has a skill set to do it and it was cool to see him have success pretty early on in his career."

The three outside linebackers were rotated onto the field in an effort to keep all of them fresh throughout the game. The final snap counts were partly affected by the Commanders going no huddle at times, which prevented the Giants from making substitutions. Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said that rotation on the edge is likely change on a weekly basis depending on the matchup.

"That's something that's going to evolve as we go here," Bowen said. "Again, the first game for all those guys. A lot of factors going into that game with their offense, the tempo, different schemes, everything that comes into play with that. I think the tempo kind of handcuffs you a little bit with how much control we potentially have over that at times. But I think each week it's something we're going to look at just ways situationally that fit that we're able to hopefully utilize those three guys, whether it's together, separately, but continue to evolve as we go. We'll see where that goes."

PLAYER TO WATCH

TE Theo Johnson – Johnson caught just one pass for five yards in the season opener with a couple of drops mixed in. Following a strong summer, the second-year tight end will have a good opportunity to bounce back in Dallas this weekend. Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert led the team with seven receptions and seven targets against the Cowboys, which he turned into 44 yards. Johnson could get plenty of opportunities on Sunday, especially with Cowboys safety Malik Hooker limited at practice this week.

MATCHUP TO WATCH

OLB Brian Burns vs. LT Tyler Guyton – Burns got his season off on a positive note with his first multi-sack game as a member of the Giants. He will look to build off of last week's performance this Sunday with a matchup against Cowboys left tackle Tyler Guyton. The second-year tackle surrendered a team-high five pressures against the Eagles in Week 1, which accounted for just over 38 percent of the O-line's total number of pressures allowed.

COWBOY TO WATCH

WR CeeDee Lamb – The Cowboys' top playmaker is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. Lamb had a game-high 110 yards on seven receptions against the Eagles last week, although he did have a few costly drops towards the end of the game. The talented wideout has had success against the Giants in the past with 61 receptions for 859 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games. Lamb lined up outside on 26 snaps last week with 10 snaps inside the slot, meaning both Paulson Adebo and Dru Phillips could match up against him at times this weekend.

View rare photos from the historic rivalry between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys.

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Tickets available for the Giants Women's Tailgate

Join us Sunday, Sept 28 -10am to 12:30 pm at the Ultimate New York Giants Women's Tailgate, an event designed to celebrate and unite the team's loyal fan base.

Enjoy a curated custom merchandise shop, exclusive Kendra Scott activation, tailgate games, giveaways, photo opportunities, live DJ entertainment, and more!

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