Three Bold Predictions New York Giants Must Fulfill for Win vs. Dallas Cowboys

The New York Giants will look to start a winning streak Thursday night when they host the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium.

The Giants are looking to snap a six-game Cowboys winning streak against them dating back to the 2017 season. Last year, the Cowboys, in both regular-season games played against the Giants, blew New York’s doors off, starting with the 40-0 crushing in Week 1, which sent the Giants reeling, and then following that up with a 49-17 smackdown in Dallas in Week 10.

The Giants hope to flip the script starting Thursday night, and if any or all of the following three bold predictions come to fruition, they might be able to pull it off. 

RB Devin Singletary will rush for 100 yards.

This week, the key to the Giants’ success on offense might just be their ground game. The Cowboys’ run defense is ranked 32nd in the NFL (185.7 yards/game) and is allowing opponents an average of 5.41 yards per rushing attempt, also last in the league.

Last week, the Cowboys gave up 274 yards rushing to the Ravens, whose lead running back, one-time NFL rushing leader Derrick Henry, carried the ball 25 times for 151 yards.

No one should expect Giants lead running back Devin Singletary to post that kind of production, but considering how much better the Giants run blocking has been over the last two weeks, Singletary’s reaching 100 yards on the ground certainly wouldn’t be an unrealistic expectation. 

Malik Nabers will have a big game against Dallas’s secondary.

Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers has been red-hot since Week 2. In his last two games, the Giants’ first-round draft pick has been targeted 30 times, catching 18 balls for 205 yards and three touchdowns.

The Cowboys pass defense has allowed an average of 7.38 yards per passing play, which is 25th in the league. Nabers, per NFL NextGen Stats, is averaging 11.8 yards per reception. His receiving EPA (expected points added per target) of +18.7 ranks fourth among all qualified players with at least two receptions per game. 

While it stands to reason that Dallas defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer might try to slow down Nabers’s impact, his skill set and ability to outcompete defensive backs for the ball—he’s four of nine on contested catches so far this season—give him a competitive edge. 

Once the ball is in his hands, Nabers is most dangerous because of his ability to pile on yards after the catch–129 of his 271 receiving yards have come after the catch, an average of 5.6 yards. 

Nabers, who has one 100+ yard receiving performance so far, has recorded at least 60 yards in his first three games. There’s no reason to think he won’t make another significant contribution to this week’s game, even though Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs will likely cover him most of the evening.

The defense will sack Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott at least once.

Fresh off their eight-sack performance last week against the Cleveland Browns, the Giants pass rush appears to be warming up just in time to face a quarterback in Dak Prescott, whom the Giants have not sacked in the last three meetings.

Don’t expect Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen to go blitz-happy against Prescott and a Dallas offensive line that ranks 13th in Pro Football Focus’s pass-blocking efficiency ratings with an 86.0 percentage. 

It’s worth noting that in three games, the Cowboys have allowed an average of three sacks against Prescott, who, while pretty good at using his legs to avoid trouble, has also shown that he isn’t immune to getting caught from behind by defenses.