Giants Focused on Present Ahead of Week 4 Meeting with Dallas Cowboys

Revenge for last year's drubbings is not at the forefront of the Giants' minds ahead of Thursday night's clash with the Dallas Cowboys.

Nov 12, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) react after a touchdown during the second half against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll has never been one to live in or dwell on past events, even if certain events can serve as motivation for his football team.

That includes last year’s 40-0 defeat of Daboll’s Giants by the Dallas Cowboys in the Week 1 season opener played on the Giants’ home turf on a night where everything that could have gone wrong for the Giants did.

That Week 1 40-0 loss to the Cowboys in front of a national audience saw everything that could go wrong for the Giants to do so. It also set the tone for what was to become a dismal 6-11, injury-filled, tumultuous campaign for the Giants, who never did recover from the punch in the mouth they suffered against the division rival who has won 13 out of the last 14 games between the two, including a Week 10 49-17 shellacking later that 2023 season. 

But don’t expect Daboll or his players to necessarily use what happened last year as motivation for Thursday night when the Giants host the Cowboys in yet another primetime game.  

“I think each person is motivated by different things,” Daboll said on Monday. “My main focus is getting ready to play this team–2024, the team that's just played these first three games. Different players, different schemes, making sure that we're prepared.”

Daboll’s response comes as no surprise as far as it from him to talk about a thirst for revenge or to provide any sliver of bulletin board material to a Cowboys team currently on a two-game losing streak. 

But it’s hard to fathom the uber-competitive Giants head coach not wanting to snap the Cowboys' hold over the Giants and prove that the Giants' roster has closed the team's talent gap.

Daboll’s attitude, as expected, appears to have rubbed off on his players. 

“I don't hold it too much,” said safety Jason Pinnock about having any urge for revenge.”

Still, Pinnock, part of the defense embarrassed during the home opener, admitted that it’s hard to forget what happened. 

“Of course, you do remember,” he said. “Everybody will remember the home opener, being beaten like that on primetime TV. But, again, as far as our defense, I think it was 17-0 before we hit the field. Never get too high; don't get too low about the situation. Just ready to go.” 

Left tackle Andrew Thomas, who suffered a hamstring injury in that loss while trying to chase down a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown, acknowledged it was embarrassing but echoed Daboll’s sentiments.

“Home opener, that's a tough way to lose,” he said. “But it's a new season, a new team. Some guys carried over from last year, and it's a divisional opponent, so even if we won that game, it's the same mentality. I'm sure they have the same mentality on the other side. You want to win that game, so that's what we're looking forward to doing.” 

Here are other storylines ahead of the Giants Week 4 game against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football.

The Short Week

Short work weeks stink–any player, any coach will probably tell you that. There’s very little time to get one’s body right, and coaches have to cram three days of practice into one walkthrough, which for some isn't enough.

So, how are the Giants handling it?

“You have younger coaches that go through things leading up to this game. It's a short week. As playcallers, you’re pretty honed in on who you play that week. So, there's a lot of catching up to do,” Daboll said.

“A lot of catching up to do–new defensive coordinator, same offensive coordinator, (Cowboys Head) Coach (Mike) McCarthy, but new defensive coordinator, (Cowboys Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Mike) Zimmer. We'll be caught up, but with these short weeks, there's not much time.” 

The Giants, who are 16-15-3 on Thursday night football, aren’t unique in this situation this week–Dallas also has the challenge. However, who emerges victorious will likely depend on how each team prepares and executes. 

Sep 22, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (3) runs with the ball after a catch as New York Giants cornerback Cor'Dale Flott (28) defends during the second half at Huntington Bank Field. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Unlucky Slots

The Giants have a mini-injury epidemic at slot cornerback, which couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Starter Dru Phillips and veteran Adoree’ Jackson are both on the injury report with calf strains. They were both projected on Monday's report as not being ready to practice (the Giants held a walkthrough, so all injury statuses were projections). 

Meanwhile, Nick McCloud, who has missed the last two games with a knee injury, was projected as limited but could have an outside chance at being ready for the game.

The problem here is the short workweek. It would be miraculous for Phillips and/or Jackson to be ready for the game on such a short turnaround, whereas McCloud has an outside chance. 

With the Giants set to face Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb, who is one of the best in the business when it comes to playing the slot, the Giants might want to play it safe and put Cor’Dale Flott in the slot and have Art Green, who is on the practice squad, available to man the outside corner spot.

Ain’t That a Kick in the You-Know-What

For the second year in a row, the Giants appear to have a problem at kicker.

Graham Gano is on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, and his replacement, veteran Greg Joseph, missed a 48-yard field goal in last week’s win, which would have put the game away for the Giants had it been made. 

Instead, the Giants defense had to return to the field to defend a short field, which, fortunately, they did. Still, it was not a risk that Daboll wanted to take, and he did not attempt to hide his displeasure about it. 

“You'd like him obviously to make that kick, but he didn't,” Daboll said Monday.

Daboll declined to confirm if Joseph will kick on Thursday night if the team might go with Jude McAtamney, the rookie currently on the practice squad with an international designation, or if they might go in a different direction.

The odds favor Joseph even though he has a career 64.4 percent conversion rate on field goal attempts of 40+ yards. 

The reason behind such a possibility is twofold. First, McAtamney is more of a kickoff specialist who, after his first season at Rutgers, was used almost exclusively in that role. To expect him to come in and face that kind of pressure on national television right out of the chute would be a risk.

The other factor is that Joseph, who was signed off the Lions practice squad last week, is guaranteed a spot on the 53-man roster for at least two more games. 

With the Giants having injury issues at cornerback, adding another kicker to the 53-man roster might not be practical at the moment, thus creating a situation in which the Giants will simply have to hope that Joseph addresses whatever affected his first attempt as a Giant so it doesn’t occur again. 

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