The New York Football Giants open the 2023 season against their NFC East rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, in primetime on Sunday at 8:20 p.m. The matchup is definitely going to be one to remember as there is a lot of anticipation for the Giants this season.
Currently the Cowboys are listed as the favorites at -3.5 by FanDuel with a -180 money line. The Cowboys have won 16 of the last 20 matchups. The Giants lost to the Cowboys twice last season, the first loss occurring on September 26 (23-16) and the second loss occurring on November 24 (28-20). The last two matchups between the teams have been one score games, with eight points or less making up the difference.
The over/under is set at 45.5 for the matchup, so lots of offensive action is predicted and expected with these two stacked offenses.
New York Giants
Led by Head Coach Brian Daboll, the Giants are coming off of one of their best seasons in the past five years. With a regular season record of 9-7-1 and a Wild Card round victory over the Minnesota Vikings, 31-24. The Giants are hoping to build off of last year's success.
Offense
Quarterback Daniel Jones had his best season of his career in 2022. In 16 games, Jones had a completion percentage of 67.2%, 15 passing touchdowns, 3,205 yards in the air, seven rushing touchdowns, 708 yards on the ground, five interceptions and a QBR of 62.9. Aside from the stats, Jones was healthy and appeared in every games for the Giants, a huge step after suffering a neck injury the year prior.
In the Giants’ Wild Card game, Jones had arguably one of his best performances of the season. Jones had a completion percentage of 68.7 percent (24-of-35), 301 yards in the air, two passing touchdowns, 78 yards on the ground and no turnovers. Jones’ performance was a major factor in the Giants upset victory over the Vikings. In the offseason the Giants and Jones were able to come to a four-year, $160 million contract extension, bringing back their QB1 for 2023.
As for Jones’ weapons, on the ground they have one of the best running backs in the league in Saquon Barkley. In 2022, Barkley recorded 1,312 and 10 touchdowns on the ground. As a pass catcher, Barkley recorded 57 receptions for 338 yards. Barkley statistically had his best season since his rookie year back in 2018 and looked more like himself on the field. After getting franchise tagged at the deadline, the Giants and Barkley were able to come to a one-year deal right before training camp.
Aside from Barkley, the Giants also have Matt Brieda, Gary Brightwell and Eric Gray on their 53-man roster. All solid players who can step in if Barkley needs a rep or two off, or can be a factor in a two running back formation.
For the wide receiver position, Daniel Jones and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka have a lot of playmakers to work with. The Giants have Sterling Shepard, Isaiah Hodgins, Wan’Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton returning to the team from 2022.
The Giants also added veteran receiver Parris Campbell, who caught three touchdowns, 623 yards on 63 receptions with the struggling Indianapolis Colts last year. In the draft, the Giants added rookie Jalin Hyatt. Hyatt was a star at Tennessee during his time, especially last year. In 2022 Hyatt recorded 67 receptions for 15 touchdowns and 1,267 yards with the Vols.
The mix of veterans, returners and rookies will be great for the Giants as they finally have depth at the receiver position. In addition to Barkley, and the wide receiver depth, the Giants also picked up in the offseason a star tight end, Darren Waller.
In 2022 Waller recorded 28 receptions for three touchdowns and 388 yards in only nine games with the Las Vegas Raiders. Waller is going to become a crucial piece for New York as he’s a huge body (6’6") and has good hands. Waller’s presence solves the TE1 issues for Big Blue that they have been dealing with since Evan Engram left.
With Daniel Jones having Barkley, Waller and six receivers, it is going to be a consistent 1-2-3 punch for opposing teams defenses. The bar is high for New York, the only question is if they can match last year's production and performance or if the team will have a “sophomore slump”?
Defense
On the defensive side for the Giants they have many leaders, playmakers and newcomers. The main faces up front are Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams, both are a complete nightmare for opposing offensive lineman. Between the two, in 2022 they recorded 113 tackles, 10 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, 40 QB hits and two fumbles recovered.
For the linebackers, they have many new and old faces as General Manager Joe Schoen got to work in the offseason. The returners include Jihad Ward, Azeez Ojulari, Micah McFadden, Carter Coughlin, Cam Brown and Kayvon Thibodeaux. As for newcomers, the Giants added veteran Bobby Okereke in the offseason and Isiah Simmons during preseason.
Both additions are huge for the Giants, as they have struggled with depth and leadership within this position. The whole linebacker room is one to be feared as they have a lot of guys who can make plays and force turnovers.
As for the defensive backs they have a mix of new and old faces. The most notable newcomers for the group are Deonte Banks and Tre Hawkins III who are the projected starters at cornerback. Both guys were draft picks in 2023 and have hustled and proven themselves to Head Coach Brian Daboll and Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale.
The defensive back group features some key returners such as Xavier McKinney, Jason Pinnock, Cor’Dale Flott, and Adoree’ Jackson. Along with the rookies, Schoen added Bobby McCain to the team. In 2022 McCain had one forced fumble, 76 tackles (54 solo, 22 assisted), three tackles for loss and one QB hit. The addition of McCain only adds more depth to a very young backfield.
The defensive group as a whole is going to be fast and aggressive all season long. Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale loves to bring the pressure, so Giants fans can count on seeing a lot of QB hits, sacks and tackles this year.
Special Teams
The Giants have a solid room for special teams, led by their trusty kicker Graham Gano. Gano last season made 29/32 field goals and was 32/34 on extra points. Gano has been a huge piece of Big Blue and is always one position the team doesn’t have to worry about.
As for the Giants punter, Jamie Gillan is their guy. Gillan in 2022 recorded 2,975 net punt yards, 35.1% on punts inside the 20 and nine touchbacks. Gillan hasn’t been as reliable as many fans would like, however when Gillan punts well it is a sight to see.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys are coming off of another solid year, going 12-5 and losing in the divisional round to the San Francisco 49ers. Led by Head Coach Mike McCarthy, the Cowboys are looking to finally get over their NFC championship slump.
With Dak Prescott as their QB1, it will be interesting to see if Prescott takes a step up or step down from last year's disappointing performance. Prescott in 2022 recorded 23 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, 2,860 yards, had a completion percentage of 66.2 and a QBR of 59.9. If Dak starts to fall apart again, the Cowboys have options at QB with Trey Lance and Cooper Rush as their backups.
As for Prescott’s weapons, on the ground he has Tony Pollard, Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn and Hunter Luepke. Pollard will be the main man for Dallas, as in 2022 he recorded nine touchdowns and 1,007 yards.
For tight ends, the Cowboys are missing their star in Dalton Schultz after Schultz signed with the Houston Texans. His replacements will be Jake Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker and Peyton Henderson.
Even though the Cowboys might not have the best QB in the league, they have a great wide receiver room. Stars CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup make up most of the production for Dallas. These two receivers last year recorded a combined 146 receptions for 1,783 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Along with these two receivers, the Cowboys added Brandin Cooks. Cooks last year in Houston recorded 57 receptions for 699 yards and three touchdowns. Along with the three receivers already listed, the Cowboys also have Jalen Tolbert, Kavontae Turpin and Jalen Brooks.
On the defensive side, Dallas is considered to have one of the best run defenses in the league. Led by DeMarcus Lawrence, Micah Parsons and Randy Gregory, the Cowboys are not someone you want to mess with on the ground. Dallas also has solid linebackers, with Leighton Vander Esch and Jabril Cox leading the group.
In the air it is also a concern with Trevon Diggs and Anthony Brown lining up against receivers. Booth players are quick and can use their hands to make plays themselves or prevent ones from happening.
Matchup Breakdown
Without a doubt it is going to be a gritty battle between these two teams. Both have everything to gain and everything to lose from this game since it is a divisional matchup. It will be interesting to see how everything plays out, but there are some ifs and buts that can make a huge difference in the matchup.
Starting off with the Giants offensively, currently there are some concerns with Darren Waller’s health status. He is dealing with some sort of hamstring issue, but on the positive side it sounds like it is tightness more than an actual injury.
My understanding on TE Darren Waller is there was some hamstring tightness late this week. It’s not solely from an incident at today’s practice. Waller seemed to be moving relatively well at the open portion of Friday’s practice. A positive sign.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) September 8, 2023
However, if Waller doesn’t play this could have a significant impact on the Giants offensive production and structure. In preseason game two against the Panthers, Waller was given almost every pass from Daniel Jones. Without Waller’s big frame and ability to catch and run with the football the Giants could suffer some serious offensive consequences from his absence.
On the injury note, the Giants are definitely going to be without Wan’Dale Robinson as he is still recovering from his ACL injury last year. Without Robinson that is one less receiver for Jones and on the roster.
Having one less receiver doesn’t help Big Blue since they are going against two solid cornerbacks who have locked down other receivers in the past. A matchup to look out for during the game will be Jalin Hyatt vs Trevon Diggs, youth and speed vs experience and handsy.
As for the defensive side for the Giants the biggest concern to point out is that they will have two rookies, Deonte Banks and Tre Hawkins III starting at cornerback. It will be interesting to see if the Cowboys will expose these two players inexperience or if Banks and Hawkins will hold their own.
Ending on the Cowboys, they have a few concerns offensively. First they are dealing with multiple injuries to their offensive line. LT Tyron Smith (ankle) is questionable for the matchup, while LG Tyler Smith (hamstring) is doubtful. Without these two starters it will be interesting to see if the backups can stop Lawrence and Williams or if the Giants two defensive stars will run right over them.
On top of the offensive line issues, the Cowboys also have to worry about Dak. Can Dak perform or will the Giants pressure be too much for him? If Prescott doesn’t play well it will be tough for the Cowboys to come out on top.
Defensively it will be interesting to see if the Cowboys defense is actually legit or if they are overhyped. For the Giants sake it is hoped that it is all talk and no walk. However, only time will tell how the Giants-Cowboys matchup will unfold.
Giants-Cowboys Game Details
- Time and date: Sunday September 10th at 8:20 PM EST
- Location: MetLife Stadium
- Watch: NBC, NBC Sports, Fubo, Peacock, YouTube TV, NFL+, Universo
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