Keys to Victory: Giants look for second win in 5 days

According to NFL Research, Thursday night will be the first time in franchise history the Cowboys are playing a road game on three or fewer days of rest. What that means for the Giants, time will tell.

What we do know is neither team has a free second to think about it. The NFC East rivals are squarely focused on getting to .500 and have a compressed week to prepare. The Giants won their first game of the season on Sunday in Cleveland, where the Cowboys opened their season with a victory.

“You’re trying to get as much as you can get in, while also being smart,” coach Brian Daboll said in his weekly conversation with Giants.com’s Michael Eisen. “It is a short week, so you don’t want to overload the players. You want to be able to give them things that they can handle and be able to play fast.”

Here are three keys for the Giants:

Don’t fall in an early hole

This goes for all three phases. Last week, the Giants lost a fumble on the opening kickoff and gave up a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. That all occurred in 11 seconds. While they climbed out of that one in Cleveland, Giants fans don’t need a reminder of what happened the last time the Cowboys came to MetLife Stadium. But here’s one anyway. Graham Gano’s 45-yard field goal attempt on the opening drive of the 2023 season was blocked by Juanyeh Thomas and returned for a touchdown. The Giants never recovered in that game or the season for that matter. They found themselves down 26-0 and 28-0 in the first half of both of their games against Dallas, which has won six in a row in the series.

After lamenting their missed tackles in Week 2, the Giants emphasized the tried-and-true motto of “do your job.” The message was received. The Giants held the Browns to seven yards and seven carries in the first half while sacking Deshaun Watson four times as they took a two-possession lead into halftime. When it was all said and done, the Giants had eight sacks and became the fourth team to have nine different players record at least half a sack in the same game since 1982, when it became an official statistic.

In the NFL, opponents keep attacking weaknesses until proven otherwise. Entering Week 4, Dallas is allowing the most rushing yards per game (185.7) and carry (5.41), but also the most yards after catch per reception (8.5). Hello, Malik Nabers. The sixth overall pick is the first player in NFL history with at least 20 catches and three touchdown receptions in his first three career games. But he’s not putting up numbers that are impressive only for rookies. His five catches of 25 or more yards are tied for the most in the NFL and his 131 yards after the catch rank third among wide receivers. Now it’s time to see it under the lights.

Don’t sleep on Devin Singletary, either. The veteran running back had a career-high 64 yards after catch last week in Cleveland.

Stats to impress your fellow football fans

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.

Most Time Spent Trailing 2024 Season

• Dolphins 2:30:07
• Rams 2:17:51
• Bears 2:07:49
• Raiders 2:01:44
• Cowboys 1:52:54