The New York Giants won't soon forget the way they literally threw away the season-opening game against the Dallas Cowboys. After telling his teammates not to score too quickly, Eli Manning's ill-advised third-down pass stopped the clock long enough for Tony Romo to lead his team back down the field for the winning touchdown.
Cowboys vs. Giants 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
The Cowboys try to end their three-game losing streak with a quarterback change.
The Giants have overcome that loss to move into a tie for first place in the NFC East at 3-3, while Dallas hasn't recovered from losing Dez Bryant in that game to a broken foot and Romo the next week to a broken collarbone. After winning their first two games, they lost all three of Brandon Weeden's starts, and have now turned to Matt Cassel as they come off a bye.
Cassel has been a winning quarterback in the past, winning 10 games in place of Tom Brady with the 2008 New England Patriots and 10 more with the 2010 Kansas City Chiefs. He lost his job in Kansas City the next year, and he's gone 9-17 with 30 touchdowns and 34 interceptions in 30 games in the last four years, between the Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings. This year, battling Tyrod Taylor and EJ Manuel for the Buffalo Bills job, he ended up third on the depth chart and was shuffled off to Dallas after Romo's injury.
So that’s where Dallas is at this point, turning to a 33-year-old journeyman whose last good season was five years ago. Luckily for him, he’s facing a Giants team that has allowed the 31st-most passing yards in the NFL. Their net yards per attempt isn’t bad, but Cassel is still going to have to find a way to exploit New York through the air.
The Cowboys are a middle-of-the-road running team, and are hoping to get a boost by giving Christine Michael some of Joseph Randle's carries. That's not going to be easy against New York's top-10 rushing defense, but it would take some valuable pressure off of Cassel.
When the Giants have the ball, expect Eli Manning to be bombing away. The Giants are rushing for under 4 yards a carry, and Manning won't have to worry too much about mistakes against a Dallas defense that has only intercepted two passes all season. The Cowboys only have three takeaways this season, all against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2.
Manning still doesn't have a healthy Victor Cruz this season, but Odell Beckham Jr. has filled in nicely, with support from Dwayne Harris and Larry Donnell. However, the Giants have not been able to put together a solid running game, with Rashad Jennings averaging just 3.7 yards per carry and Andre Williams at 2.8. Jennings and Shane Vereen at least give Manning a decent safety valve out of the backfield, but if the Giants want to go anywhere beyond the hapless NFC East, they need to be able to move the ball on the ground.
Dallas can get itself right back into the division race with a victory, because it would have swept the season series with New York. The Giants need to bounce back from a bad 27-7 loss last Monday to the Eagles, which ended their three-game winning streak.
How to watch
When: 4:25 p.m. ET
Where: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
Network: FOX
Announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews
Online: NFL Game Pass
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