10 things to watch in Giants vs. Cowboys

The Giants are coming off their best pass rushing game in nearly a decade and will look to keep the momentum going into Thursday. The defense’s eight sacks of Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson was the franchise’s highest sack total in nearly 10 years and tied for the most in the NFL in Week 3. Their 36 total quarterback pressures also led the league last week, according to Pro Football Focus, as nine different players were credited with at least a half-sack. According to Next Gen Stats, nine different defenders recorded multiple pressures, as well. Outside linebacker Brian Burns led the way with seven, a new career-high.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott had mixed results in Sunday’s loss to the Ravens. While he threw for a season-high 379 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, he completed just 54.9 percent of his passes, his lowest completion percentage of the season. He also added a touchdown on the ground, although he did fumble for the third consecutive game. Regardless of how the last three games have gone, the Giants defense knows just how talented the Dallas signal-caller is.

“He’s a special quarterback,” defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence said about Prescott. “We got to do a good job rattling him and getting to him. He has a quick trigger, so we got to do well in the back end covering, making him look at his second option, third option. We got to do well up front getting to him.”

Lawrence added, “He’s a big dude. He can run. He likes to sit in the pocket, but when he evades, he’s also dynamic throwing the ball down the field. We just got to make sure we keep him in the pocket and bring him down.”

It will be important for the Giants to get pressure on Prescott this week. The Dallas quarterback has completed just 13 of 29 passes (44.8 percent) against the blitz this season, the fifth-lowest mark in the NFL. However, those 13 completions have gone for 229 yards and three touchdowns.

Speaking of Lawrence, the sixth-year defensive lineman is off to yet another dominant start this season. The 26-year-old lineman led the way with two sacks and four quarterback hits against the Browns, giving him a team-high three sacks on the season (tied with safety Jason Pinnock). It was Lawrence’s first multi-sack game since Week 7 of last year and only the third of his NFL career.

Three weeks into the season, Lawrence has once again proven to be one of the biggest pass rushing threats in the NFL. His pressure totals in the first three games are six, four, and seven, giving him 17 total on the year, according to PFF. This ranks second among interior defenders and is tied for fifth among all players across the league, and puts him on pace for a whopping 95 pressures this season (his career-high is 65, which he set last year). All of this comes with Lawrence also facing a higher double team rate than ever before. As if his pass rushing prowess wasn’t enough, Lawrence has also been among the best interior defenders against the run this year, according to PFF.

“Everybody knows how good of a player he is and how much he can affect the game and affect the quarterback, it’s huge,” Daniel Jones told reporters Tuesday. “No one’s surprised, and he’s played well.”

The Cowboys have given up nine sacks through the first three games of the season, although a lot of that has been at the expense of their tackles, Terence Steele and Tyler Guyton. Dallas’ interior O-line, consisting of guards Tyler Smith and Zack Martin along with center Cooper Beebe, have performed well thus far. The interior trio has combined to allow 13 total pressures and three sacks, according to PFF, although they haven’t faced a interior defensive lineman quite at Lawrence’s level.

“Every year it comes down to the trenches,” Lawrence said about facing the Cowboys. “I don’t think we’ve slacked in other years in the trenches. They just beat us as a team. This year, having new additions, I think we could be better. I have confidence in us to go out here and win this game and that’s the message on the short week.”

Fresh off a matchup against Myles Garrett and a tough Browns defense, the Giants’ offensive line has yet another big challenge ahead of them this week as they try to slow down Micah Parsons and the Dallas pass rush. Parsons is off to a relatively slow start with just one sack in three games, although he has racked up six quarterback hits, including five in the season opener. The 25-year-old finished with at least 13 sacks in each of his first three seasons, and has nine quarterback hits six career games against the Giants, the most he’s had against any opponent (tied with Washington).

“Dynamic player,” Daboll said about Parsons. “He’s lined up in a variety of spots. He has the ability to play really any position. Explosive, athletic, tough. He’s a hell of a football player. One of the better players in the league. A challenge to block him.”

Parsons is not the only talented edge rusher the O-line must keep an eye on. DeMarcus Lawrence comes into this game tied for the team-lead with two sacks on the season. The veteran seems to save his best for the Giants, as the 32-year-old has 12.0 sacks in his 17 games against the division rival. He does not have double-digit sacks against any other team.

According to PFF, left tackle Andrew Thomas has surrendered just one sack and nine total pressures this season, with most of that damage coming last week against Garrett. Right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor has been credited with zero sacks allowed on the year, although he has given up a few pressures each game.

*This week’s game represents the first time the Cowboys are ever playing a road game on three days or less of rest. Every other time they have played on a Thursday after a Sunday game, it has been played in Dallas. Every other NFL team has played at least six road games on short rest

*The last rookie with a 100-yard receiving game vs. the Cowboys in primetime was Odell Beckham Jr. at MetLife Stadium in Week 12 of 2014, when he made his famous one-handed catch.

*Daniel Jones is coming off two consecutive games with at least two total touchdowns and no giveaways for the first time in his career. No Giants player in the Super Bowl era has had three consecutive games of at least two touchdown passes and no interceptions. The only player to do so in Giants history was Charlie Conerly in Weeks 10-12 of the 1959 season.

*Jones is also one of just three NFC quarterbacks (Derek Carr & Sam Darnold) with two or more games of two or more touchdown passes and a 100+ passer rating in 2024.

*Since joining the Giants in 2023, linebacker Bobby Okereke has not missed a single snap on defense. He has played every defensive snap in 20 consecutive games.