Victory over Giants will clinch NFC East
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Dallas Cowboys have everything in front of them, and one little nagging thing behind them — the New York Giants.
Dallas (11-1), winner of 11 consecutive games, can clinch the NFC East and move a step closer to nailing down home-field advantage for the conference playoffs if it can beat New York (8-4) at MetLife Stadium on Sunday night.
While the Cowboys insist this is just another game, you know there has to be some churning inside them in facing their division rivals.
After all, the Giants are the reason Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and company aren’t perfect.
New York posted a 2019 victory at Dallas in the season opener, and one has to believe Jason Garrett’s crew wants payback. And if not that, the Cowboys certainly don’t want to go into the playoffs wondering if they can beat the Giants.
“I’m looking forward to it a lot personally, and then I know this team,” Prescott said. “They’re the only blemish on our record right now, and just to be able to go up there at their place and be able to do what they did to us the first game, we’re excited for the opportunity.”
The Giants know the Cowboys will be motivated.
“They’re on a roll right now and I’m sure they don’t want to lose,” Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said. “We’re the only team that has beaten them. I’m sure that that’s on their mind, too. They feel that they could be 12-0. They’re going to try and come out and prove that they should be undefeated. It’s going to be a big challenge.”
Beckham knows a thing or two about starring right away after winning the 2014 Offensive Rookie of the Year award so he is highly complimentary of Prescott and Elliott. “Absolutely, on the Giants or not on the Giants, you have to respect that,” Beckham said.
Beckham, a former LSU star, recalls facing Mississippi State’s Prescott when they were in the SEC, and he offered Elliott advice on life in the NFL before the season.
“I love to see Zeke out there celebrating,” Beckham said. “I love to see Dak out there with a smile. You just want to minimize that this Sunday.”
The challenge got bigger for the Giants last week when defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul was lost for at least the rest of the regular season after having surgery to repair a sports hernia.
Not only did the team lose one of its playmakers on defense, it came in a week when the Giants are facing new questions after a poor performance in Pittsburgh ended their sixgame winning streak. They still hold the top spot in the wild-card playoff chase, but their schedule is tough with Detroit, Philadelphia and Washington in the final three weeks.
“We believe we are a really good team, even though we haven’t played our best ball yet,” Giants linebacker Jonathan Casillas said. “If we can put the game together this week, I think it will be a statement game, but we have to do it. We have to be able to win, and that’s easier said than done.”