Dallas Cowboys desperate for win against the New York Giants
It's do-or-die time for the 1-4 Dallas Cowboys who can't afford to fall to 1-5 on the season as they host the New York Giants in a crucial NFC East divisional match up on Monday night.
Previous meetings and recent games
The Giants versus the Cowboys has become one of the marquee match-ups in the NFL in recent seasons. Since 2001, the Giants have held a slight edge, winning 11 of 19 meetings including both games last season.
The Dallas Cowboys are off to a nightmare start going 1-4 to start the year. The problem is further compounded by the fact that the Cowboys play in the NFC East Division, which is one of the toughest in the NFL. The Cowboys lost last week to another team
that had been struggling when they lost 24-21 to the Minnesota Vikings.
The New York Giants are currently riding a three-game winning streak and won 28-20 against the Detroit Lions last Sunday. This is the Giants' first divisional match-up of the season.
How they match up
Only the Tennessee Titans have more sacks on the year than the Giants. The Giants managed to bring the Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler to the ground a whopping nine times back in week 4. Osi Umenyiora is second in the NFL with eight sacks – one ahead
of Dallas' DeMarcus Ware.
The numbers don't always tell the whole story and the Cowboys have the third overall offence in the league and the fourth best defence, based on yardage. Despite having great numbers, they've failed to turn those numbers into wins.
Quarterbacks Tony Romo, for the Cowboys, and Eli Manning for the Giants are both in the top ten in the NFL in passing yards on the season. Both have thrown 10 touchdowns, but Manning has thrown one more interception than Romo, while Romo has been completing
a slightly higher percentage of his passes.
The one big difference is along the ground where the Giants boast the services of one of the NFL's top rushers in Ahmad Bradshaw who has run for 582 yards so far this season – good for third best in the NFL at the moment. He's backed up by Brandon Jacobs
who has half as many carries but has four touchdowns.
Dallas are currently ranked 23rd in the NFL running the ball compared to the Giants who are 5th.
What to expect
Despite their poor record, there is still optimism in Dallas that they are capable of turning things around.
"I believe in these guys, I believe in the coaching staff, I believe in Wade Phillips," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "I believe we can turn things around. While the odds are against us, we can make all the things happen that we wanted to do this year."
The Cowboys will have to either put up or shut up as falling to 1-5 could rightly spell the end to their season. Things may not get any easier for them, with all but one of their remaining games coming against teams currently with records of .500 or better.
Giants will win 20-17.
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