How fast can an NFL season change? Possibly in five days for the New York Giants.
The situation was dire after an 0-2 start, but Sunday’s win in Cleveland has the Giants set up for a major turnaround if they can beat the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night. Of course, recent history suggests that’s easier said than done. Here are seven thoughts on the matchup:
Next in line
Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers was 11 years old when Odell Beckham Jr. made the catch that transformed him from a promising rookie into a superstar overnight. Nabers wasn’t watching that Sunday Night Football game between the Giants and Cowboys in 2014, but like everyone else in the football world, he saw the highlight of Beckham’s incredible one-handed touchdown grab.
“I remember the catch,” Nabers said. “Amazing catch.”
On this date in 2014, Odell Beckham Jr. completed his famous one-handed catch against the Cowboys.
He finished the game with 10 catches, 146 yards and 2 TD. pic.twitter.com/YBOzuuN4kV
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 23, 2021
Beckham had 21 catches for 357 yards in the three games leading into that prime-time matchup with the Cowboys, so it was already clear the first-round pick from LSU had star potential. But the one-handed grab highlighted a 10-catch, 146-yard, two-touchdown breakout that vaulted Beckham into the rarified stratosphere he has occupied for the rest of his career.
Nabers has 23 catches for 271 yards and three touchdowns in his first three games. That brilliant start has drawn attention, but the Giants’ games have been buried during the crowded 1 p.m. window on Sundays. So could a nationally broadcast matchup with the Cowboys on Thursday night be a springboard to superstardom for another first-round pick from LSU?
“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” Nabers told The Athletic. “Just because I had one good game, two big games, I’ve still got to keep on going. I’ve got a lot more games to play. I’m just trying to keep it consistent.”
Although they aren’t super close, Nabers said he has a good relationship with Beckham.
“Just keep on going,” Nabers said of Beckham’s advice. “The league is in my hands. Continue to be who I am.”
Make no mistake, Nabers believes he has only scratched the surface with his acrobatic catches in the first three games.
“They were good catches, but I’ve made some way better catches than that,” Nabers said. “I’m not surprised by it, it’s just how I play. It’s how I am.”
Malik Nabers has a touchdown!
📺: #NYGvsCLE on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/4XDd73juH1— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2024
If Nabers delivers any of the “crazy catches” he said he makes routinely in practice with a national audience watching Thursday night, his rise to stardom will shift into overdrive like Beckham’s did a decade ago.
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Prime-time matchup
Nabers said he was simply paying a compliment to Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs in a spring interview that ignited a social media beef. Diggs was Nabers’ response when asked in May to name the defensive back he couldn’t wait to match-up against.
“He’s a great corner,” Nabers said. “He’s got that dog in him. It’s going to be a great matchup to go against him. That’s all I was saying. It’s going to be a nice game. It’s a (division) game, so everybody is going to be paying attention.”
Diggs didn’t take the mention as a compliment. He responded by tweeting that the Giants have been getting beaten for years. Nabers tweeted a coffin emoji in response to a video hyping up Diggs and tweeted rap lyrics not suitable for print that indicated he was aware of Diggs’ Twitter comments.
Nabers had no interest in revisiting the social media back-and-forth as he prepared to get his wish with Thursday’s matchup against Diggs.
“I don’t really want to talk about it,” Nabers said. “It’s game time now.”
Diggs typically doesn’t travel with opposing No. 1 wide receivers. That’s a strategy the Cowboys may need to reconsider for this matchup based on Nabers’ game-changing ability and the shoulder injury that has No. 2 corner Caelen Carson doubtful with a shoulder injury.
Letting Nabers face off against a third-string corner (Carson already was filling in for injured Pro Bowler Daron Bland) would be a questionable move with Diggs on the other side covering Darius Slayton.
But that was the Browns’ strategy in the Giants’ 21-15 win on Sunday. Nabers torched No. 2 cornerback Martin Emerson in the first half until Pro Bowl corner Denzel Ward traveled with the rookie in the second half. Nabers doesn’t care if teams don’t deem him worthy of getting shadowed by their No. 1 corner.
“I don’t take it personal,” Nabers said. “It’s whoever I line up against, really.”
There could be some fireworks when he’s lined up against Diggs.
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Sign of respect
It’s not all bad blood between the rivals. Cowboys All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb listed the top five wide receivers in the league during a February appearance on teammate Micah Parsons’ podcast.
He named Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs, Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson — hardly anything earth-shattering about that list. But then Lamb added a sleeper: Giants wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson.
“He’s so fast, but he’s so nice,” Lamb said. “His routes is crazy.”
That was high praise and elite company for Robinson considering he only had 83 catches for 752 yards and two touchdowns in his first two seasons.
“I was like, ‘Obviously, he must be watching film,’” Robinson said. “I just hope to continue to show out and make sure guys are seeing that I’m getting open.”
Troubling trends
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones will be looking to break some troubling trends on Thursday. Jones is 1-7 in eight career starts against the Cowboys and 1-12 in 13 career prime-time games.
Both of those stats are largely influenced by the Giants not being a good team for most of Jones’ career and the Cowboys/prime-time opponents being good teams. But it’s still painful to see how little success Jones has had against an archrival and on a national stage.
Jones enters Thursday on the heels of two solid starts. He’ll have chances to feed Nabers, but the Giants’ path to victory will come on the ground. Jones can contribute to that effort.
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Jones hasn’t curtailed his willingness to run in his return from a torn ACL. He had five carries for 24 yards against the Browns (excluding three kneel downs). He also tallied rushes of 20 and 12 yards negated by holding penalties last week.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson gashed the Cowboys for 87 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries in Baltimore’s 28-25 win on Sunday. Jones obviously isn’t in Jackson’s class as a runner, but it’s clear that Dallas is susceptible to quarterback runs. Look for Jones to pop a few zone reads if Dallas’ edge defenders aren’t disciplined.
The bulk of the ground damage should come from running backs Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy Jr. Teams have simply lined up and run all over the Cowboys this season. This will be an opportunity for the Giants’ overhauled line to submit a signature performance if it can dominate Dallas up front.
Things were so bleak for the Cowboys’ run defense that they traded with the Giants for veteran defensive tackle Jordan Phillips during training camp. The stakes were low — they’ll swap picks in the sixth and seventh rounds of the 2026 draft with the Giants getting the earlier pick — but it was a win for New York to get anything for a player who wasn’t going to make the roster. Phillips was part of Dallas’ defensive tackle rotation for the first two games before landing on injured reserve.
The Giants’ offensive line opened huge holes in a Week 2 loss to the Commanders, allowing Singletary to gain 95 yards on 16 carries. A similar game plan should be effective against Dallas.
It will be important for the Giants to have success running the ball, because Parsons remains a game-wrecking pass rusher. The Giants need to avoid many obvious passing situations that will allow Parsons to wreak havoc.
Corner conundrum
Giants cornerbacks Dru Phillips and Adoree’ Jackson have been ruled out for Thursday’s game with calf injuries suffered against the Browns. It’s not known how long the pair will be sidelined, but calf injuries tend to lead to extended absences.
It’s not ideal to be missing Phillips, who is the Giants’ starting slot corner, and Jackson, who is their most experienced corner, for a matchup with Lamb. Lamb has averaged 6.5 catches for 90.3 yards in eight career games against the Giants.
Making Lamb a tougher matchup is that he aligns in the slot on 53 percent of his snaps. Giants corner Deonte Banks, who has mostly been traveling with opponent’s No. 1 receivers, typically doesn’t venture into that area.
Banks figures to shadow Lamb when he lines up outside. Cor’Dale Flott and Nick McCloud, who is returning after missing two games with a knee injury, can each play in the slot and outside.
Expect McCloud to line up in the slot in the nickel package with Flott staying outside. The Giants can’t expect McCloud — or any of their corners — to take on Lamb one-on-one. They figure to bracket the dangerous receiver with a safety over the top at all times.
The Cowboys can’t run the ball, and the rest of their receiving corps is unimposing, so preventing Lamb from taking over the game will be a top priority for defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.
Big opportunity
This is a big game for McCloud. He was cast in a utilityman role during his first two seasons with the Giants, performing well when pressed into action at a variety of positions in the secondary.
McCloud opened this training camp as the starting slot cornerback, but he quickly gave way to Phillips. McCloud then moved outside and took over the starting spot opposite Banks after Flott suffered a quad injury before the first preseason game.
McCloud held the starting job for the rest of the preseason, but a rough showing against the Jets in a joint practice prompted the Jackson re-signing. McCloud started the opener, rotating with Jackson before leaving in the third quarter with a knee injury. McCloud missed the past two games, but returns at a crucial time with the Giants shorthanded at corner.
The Giants gave McCloud the lowest restricted free agent tender of $2.98 million this offseason. That showed that McCloud was valued, but he also was susceptible to a pay cut before the start of the season because none of his salary was guaranteed.
That’s a move Giants general manager Joe Schoen used on Slayton and cornerback Darnay Holmes in the previous two years. But Schoen couldn’t put the squeeze on McCloud since he was a starter entering Week 1. Now that McCloud is back in the starting lineup, he has a chance to cement himself as a valuable contributor.
Outclassed
The Cowboys’ recent domination of the Giants has been staggering. Dallas has won 13 of the past 14 meetings, including six straight entering Thursday.
The current Giants regime has been completely out-classed by the Cowboys, losing all four of their matchups by a combined score of 140-53. Dallas had an 89-17 edge in last season’s sweep. The Giants’ lone win against Dallas in the past seven seasons was a 23-19 victory in the 2020 season finale with Andy Dalton at quarterback for an injured Dak Prescott.
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Prediction
Cowboys 27, Giants 20. Sunday’s win over the Browns provided some needed good vibes around the Giants. But that positivity could disappear quickly if they get off to a slow start in front of a restless home crowd. The Giants need to be competitive, and I believe they will be. But it’s impossible to pick them to beat Dallas and Prescott until they prove they’re capable.
(Photo: Scott Galvin / Imagn Images)
