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10 Things To Watch For

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10 things to watch in Giants vs. Cowboys

10-THINGS-COWBOYS-WEEK-13

'GET READY TO PLAY ANOTHER GAME'

On Sunday, the Buccaneers jumped out to a 23-0 lead at halftime, and by the time the game was over, had outgained the Giants by over 200 yards of offense on their way to a 30-7 victory. Several players voiced their frustration with how the game went in the locker room after, something coach Brian Daboll said he understands.

"Look, these guys put a lot of work into this, as does everybody involved, and certainly not something that we wanted yesterday," coach Brian Daboll told the media Monday. "We work hard every week to not have that happen, and that was a tough one. So, there's frustration that comes with it, understandable. And we communicate, I think we have good leadership in our locker room. I think we communicate on a daily basis. But certainly, a frustrating game, no question about it."

The team was forced to quickly flush Sunday's game out of their heads with this week's Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Cowboys rapidly approaching.

"You get ready to play another game, obviously on Thanksgiving," the head coach said. "You go through the things you got to get better at and you show confidence in your players and your staff and you make adjustments that you need to make. Again, I've got a lot of confidence in the guys in that locker room and would say we have good communication. We're going to work to do everything we can do to make it as good as we can."

ALL-TIME SERIES

The Giants (2-9) visit the Dallas Cowboys (4-7) on Thanksgiving Day for their second matchup of the season on Thursday, Nov. 28 in AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX. The game will also be nationally broadcast on Westwood One Radio.

Thursday's game will be the 126th regular season meeting between the Giants and Cowboys, the second time this season they will meet on a Thursday and their third all-time meeting on Thanksgiving Day. The Giants have played 17 times on the holiday and most recently in 2022 when they lost in Dallas, 28-20.

The Giants' most recent victory on Thanksgiving was in 1982, when Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor intercepted Gary Danielson in the fourth quarter and returned it 97-yards for the only touchdown in the Giants' 13-6 win, in Detroit.

Broadcast_Newsletter_WEEK13_Date

INJURY REPORT

Giants

Out: T Jermaine Eluemunor (Quad), OLB Azeez Ojulari (Toe; Placed on IR), DL Armon Watts (Shoulder)

Questionable: CB Deonte Banks (Rib), QB Tommy DeVito (Right Forearm)

Cowboys

Out: TE Jake Ferguson (Concussion), G Zack Martin (Ankle/Shoulder), T Asim Richards (Ankle; Placed on IR), CB Caelen Carson (Shoulder; Placed on IR)

Doubtful: DE Marshawn Kneeland (Knee)

Questionable: CB Trevon Diggs (Groin/Knee), LB Eric Kendricks (Groin/Shoulder), LB Nick Vigil (Foot)

DeVITO DEALING WITH RIGHT FOREARM INJURY

Tommy DeVito started his first regular-season game in nearly 11 months last week when he started under center against the Buccaneers. The second-year quarterback completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 189 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions while adding seven rush attempts for an additional 32 yards (4.6 avg.). After being sacked four times and hit a few more on Sunday, DeVito was listed as a limited participant in Tuesday's walkthrough due to a right forearm injury. The plan is for him to play, but Daboll said it isn't 100 percent certain that the quarterback will be able to suit up against the Cowboys. DeVito did not participate in Wednesday's walkthrough and is listed as questionable for the Thanksgiving game.

"Sore," DeVito told the media Tuesday. "My whole body's kind of sore. First time playing in a while, took a couple shots. It's not even 48 hours, so things are still kind of just settling in."

He added, "The plan is to play, yeah. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. Hopefully wake up feeling a little bit better after I get some more treatment today. Looking forward to tomorrow."

The young quarterback is no stranger to playing at AT&T Stadium, as DeVito's first career start as an undrafted free agent last season came in Dallas. He completed only 51.9 percent of his passes that day, but threw for two touchdowns and added another 41 yards on the ground. DeVito believes he has grown a lot since that first start, and told the media he's looking forward to hopefully getting another chance to play in Dallas, this time on Thanksgiving.

"I mean I've said it week in and week out a lot mentally, but so much has happened from then," DeVito said. "That was my first start. A little nervous, a little going into it, so I've kind of been around the block now, kind of played in that stadium before, in that crowd. Obviously, Thanksgiving's a little bit different, but I look forward to another challenge."

LOCK STAYING READY

Drew Lock would get the start if DeVito is unable to go. Due to the short week, the Giants participated in walkthrough practices on Monday and Tuesday. Nonetheless, Daboll said he was going to make sure Lock got some snaps with the starting offense Tuesday in case he's called to start Thursday's game.

"I'm going to give Drew a few snaps here and see," Daboll said on Tuesday. "We'll go ahead and we've got a lot of time on task with the walkthroughs, the stuff that we've put in. We just had one earlier, but I'm going to give Drew a few of those. But if Tommy's good, then Tommy would be the guy."

Lock started two games for Seattle last season, including a comeback win over the Eagles on Monday Night Football, and completed 68.8 percent of his passes for 477 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions.

"Always got to be ready," Lock told reporters. "No matter what the week, no matter what the situation is, just playing like you're going to go in there and play. My mindset didn't change this week, and we'll see how the rest of the week shakes out."

GET THE RUN GAME GOING

One of the best ways to open things up for the pass game is to get the run game going early in Dallas. Tyrone Tracy Jr. carried the ball just nine times against the Buccaneers, although he gained 42 yards on those limited carries, good for an average of 4.7 yards per carry, and added four receptions for 28 yards. However, a fumble deep inside Buccaneers territory at the start of the second half led to Devin Singletary and Eric Gray getting more opportunities. Nonetheless, Daboll said his confidence in the rookie back has not waned despite fumbles in consecutive games.

"It's something we got to continue to stress and work on," said Daboll. "But I have a lot of confidence in Tracy. But we can't turn the ball over to the other team."

Tracy and the rest of the Giants' run game has an opportunity to get back on track Thursday against a struggling Cowboys run defense. Dallas enters this game ranking 28th in rushing yards allowed per attempt and 31st in total rushing yards surrendered, while their 19 rushing touchdowns given up lead the league. In the Cowboys' last six games, only one opponent has finished with under 140 yards on the ground. During that span, opponents are averaging 163.3 yards on the ground per game.

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

RUSHING THE QUARTERBACK

The Giants' pass rush got off to a torrid start this year. For most of the first half of the season, the Giants led the NFL in sacks. Following the Week 8 matchup in Pittsburgh, the Giants had 35 sacks on the season, one more than they had in the entire 2023 campaign. But over the last three games, the pass rush has totaled just one sack, which has led to the Giants dropping to fifth in the league in sacks. In Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers, the Giants recorded a mere four total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. Time in the pocket allowed Baker Mayfield to complete 80 percent of his passes for 294 yards and a 107.5 passer rating.

In the three games since taking over at quarterback for the injured Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush has been sacked a total of seven times and has five fumbles during that span. Additionally, Rush has completed just 55.6 percent of his passes for 153 yards, two touchdowns and one interception when being pressured, good for a 73.0 passer rating. When not facing pressure, the veteran has completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 660 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for an 81.0 passer rating.

In the first game between the two teams, the Giants registered nine total pressures and one sack of Prescott. While the Cowboys' offensive line surrendered a mere two pressures against the Commanders last week, the unit allowed 41 total pressures across the previous three contests.

PREPARING FOR 'AGGRESSIVE' COWBOYS DEFENSE

Heading into Week 13, the Cowboys' defense ranks 31st in points and 27th in yards allowed on the year. However, injuries have played a significant role in those rankings. Dallas lost both Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence in the first meeting against the Giants, and while Parsons has recently returned, Lawrence is still on injured reserve. Meanwhile, All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland just made his season debut last week.

"They've got Bland back, Micah is back," said Lock. "So, if they had injuries, they don't have them anymore. They've got their guys back, played well last week. Flying around. Aggressive defense. It's a good spot, it's a good defense. Got to go out there and play our A game. Move the ball, go down there and score points in the red zone. Just be ready for a fight."

The return of Parsons has already provided the Dallas defense with a big boost. The three-time Pro Bowl linebacker has recorded two sacks in two of the three games he's played since returning from his ankle injury, while adding a forced fumble. The Cowboys' defense has forced six turnovers since Parsons returned to the lineup, including three last week against the Commanders.

"Versatility," Lock said about what makes Parsons so good. "Explosive off the edge. They can move him inside, do a three. When you get a d-lineman that can play multiple positions and produce, that makes it something that you've got to look at, you've got to be ready for."

AZEEZ TO IR; GIANTS CLAIM TE GREG DULCICH

The Giants placed outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari on injured reserve Tuesday. In a corresponding move, the team claimed tight end Greg Dulcich off waivers from the Denver Broncos.

When Kayvon Thibodeaux was put on injured reserve following the team's Week 5 win in Seattle, Ojulari stepped into the starting lineup and picked up five sacks over the following three games.

The fourth-year outside linebacker has registered six sacks, seven tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hits, and one fumble recovery to go with his 28 total tackles (12 solo) in 11 games (five starts).

The Broncos selected Dulcich in the third round (No. 80 overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound tight end played in 16 games with 10 starts over the last three seasons.

His career totals include 41 receptions for 464 yards and two touchdowns.

Prior to being drafted, Dulcich enjoyed a successful career at UCLA. He recorded 77 receptions for 1,353 yards and 11 touchdowns in 33 games across his four seasons with the Bruins. Dulcich's 19.9 yards per reception during the 2020 campaign led the nation, and resulted in him being named second-team All-Pac-12. The following year, he caught 42 passes for 725 yards and five touchdowns on his way to being named first-team All-Pac-12.

JOHN MADDEN THANKSGIVING COMMEMORATION

The NFL continues to honor and commemorate the late John Madden with the third annual John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration. Madden once said, "There's no place that I would rather be today on Thanksgiving than right here, right now, at a football game," and the John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration brings together all the things that were important to him – family, football, food, tradition and fun.

This year's edition of the John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration will feature the following elements:

Network partners FOX, CBS and NBC will continue to celebrate Madden's contributions to the game, both on the field and in the broadcast booth, with tributes interspersed throughout each game on Thanksgiving Day. The lineup includes the Chicago Bears versus the Detroit Lions at 12:30 p.m. ET on CBS, the New York Giants versus the Dallas Cowboys at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the Miami Dolphins versus the Green Bay Packers at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC. Live game audio of all three Thanksgiving Day games will be broadcast nationally by Westwood One and SiriusXM.

A special NFL-produced Madden Hallmark will kick off each broadcast, conveying what Thanksgiving meant to him in his own words.

Each network will select a Madden Thanksgiving MVP who will receive a $10,000 donation from the NFL Foundation to be given to a high school or youth football program in their name, as the topic of youth football was important to Madden.

This year for the first time, each Madden Thanksgiving MVP will be awarded with the Madden Thanksgiving MVP trophy, created to honor Madden and celebrate everything the game of football means to the Thanksgiving holiday. The trophy is in the form of a pylon and includes various "Maddenisms" sprinkled throughout, along with visual cues to speak to the holiday theme.

New this year, the NFL will benefit the newly-created John Madden Foundation by auctioning off game-used items from the three Thanksgiving Day games via NFL Auction, with proceeds supporting the new foundation.

A coin featuring a silhouette of Coach Madden on one side ("Heads") and a six-legged turducken on the reverse side ("Tails) will be used for the coin toss, and a patch featuring a silhouette of Coach Madden will be included on the jersey of each player at all three games.

Special John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration stencils will be placed on the sidelines of Ford Field (Detroit), AT&T Stadium (Dallas) and Lambeau Field (Green Bay), along with stadium wall panels that include an iconic image of Madden from his coaching days.

View photos of every move made by the Giants during the 2024 cycle.