RUTHERFORD, NJ – The Dallas Cowboys will kick off their season opener with an NFC East rivalry, the New York Giants, on Sunday night football in MetLife Stadium. Kick off is at 7:20 PM.
America’s team finished out last season with a 12-5 record after losing to the San Francisco 49’ers in the divisional round after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wildcard game. Even with a bad ending to last season, the Cowboys are still in the running to be a favorite to win the Super Bowl. If Dallas can make it to the Super Bowl it will be the first time in 27 years the Cowboys see a title game and the long drought will end.
The Cowboys are bringing a lockdown defense to MetLife on Sunday led by First-Team All-Pro Micah Parsons. Parsons all off season has expressed how badly he wants to win a Super Bowl this upcoming year and this Sunday he views the Giants as just another team in the way of that goal.
“I’ve been sleeping on it.” Parsons said. “I’ve been thinking about it every night. Every night it’s Super Bowl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl, but you know, I don’t get too caught up on it – at the same – because I know I have to take care of each week as its own. Each day has worries of its own. You have to focus on getting better inch by inch and, eventually, you’ll build enough inches to where you are in the Super Bowl.”
Dallas also is gearing up to showcase their new dynamic duo in the secondary with Trevon Diggs and Stephon Gilmore. Dallas traded for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year during the offseason which was a huge move for Dallas. Last year Diggs held it down but there was a hole at the other end of the field that was obvious and it needed work, hello Stephon Gilmore. Watching these two should be very exciting during week one.
With the secondary as a serious weapon for the Cowboys, they also have a solid Jayron Kearse at safety that will be on display as well as a very deep and very powerful pass rush, one of the best in the league.
The Cowboys swept the Giants last season, and their last encounter was on Thanksgiving last year, the Cowboys defeated the Giants 28-20 in AT&T Stadium. Dallas beat New York both times last year, yes, but they only outscored by an average of 7.5 points.
To offset that this season the Cowboys have way more weapons on offense than they did last year. Last year it was the CeeDee Lamb show because Michael Gallup was not ready to get back on the field 100 percent when the season started. Today the wide receiver room looks different in Dallas. Lamb is now accompanied by NFL vet Brandin Cooks. Cooks has six seasons under his belt with over 1,000+ receiving yards. Cooks is the first NFL player to record 1,000 receiving yards in a season with five different teams (Saints, Patriots, Rams, Texans, and possibly Dallas).
Dallas has six total wide receivers on their roster – CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, Brandin Cooks, KaVontae Turpin, Jalen Tolbert, and Jalen Brooks. This was not the case last season and the depth at this position is exciting for the Cowboys.
Another solid weapon the Cowboys have is Tony Pollard at RB1. This is TP’s first game as the big man on campus. He encountered a foot injury during the playoff game against the 49’ers last season and this will be his first game back. It will be exciting to say the least to see how he bounces back from that injury.
The Giants ended their season with a 9-7 record and ended up third in the NFC East behind the Cowboys. They did make a surprising run in the playoffs winning their first playoff game since Super Bowl 46. After the season head coach Brian DaBoll was named the AP coach of the year. After the debacle at running back the Giants brought back running back Saquon Barkley. Having Barkley in the back field will greatly help QB Daniel Jones, who has greatly improved from last season.
It was no secret that the Cowboys struggled defending the run last season. With the help of defensive tackle Mazi Smith, the first round draft pick out of Michigan, he was brought in to help with the run defense Dallas needs. One area to beat New York in is at the run and shutting down Barkly.
