The New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys will meet on Thanksgiving Day for only the second time in history in a clash between two 7-3 NFC East rivals.
The game has important postseason implications and also is on the radar of many fantasy football enthusiasts. Here are some of those key plays.
Dak vs. Vanilla Vick
The quarterback matchup is a very interesting one. Dak Prescott is back and healthy and has all of his weapons around him. That aside, the Cowboys don’t throw enough to turn him into an elite play.
Daniel Jones has been unfortunate in the moniker some fans hung on him recently (Vanilla Vick) and is the 10th-ranked fantasy quarterback this season despite having few weapons in the passing game. He makes up for that with his legs and he’ll have to in this game as the Giants’ makeshift offensive line will likely get pushed around again.
If the game script plays out as predicted, the Cowboys will get a quick lead and then use their running game to pound the wounded Giants into submission.
The Giants will have to play catch up and put Jones in the precarious position of hanging out in the pocket to play piñata for Micah Parsons and the ferocious Dallas pass rush.
Lots of rushing options
Saquon Barkley leads the NFC in rushing and is the Giants’ main source of offense. He was held to just 22 yards on 15 carries vs Detroit last week, so many will be skeptical about playing him in DFS this week.
Don’t be. Dallas has been allowing the third-most yards on the ground the past three games (173.3) and the Giants will certainly try to establish the run. Barkley will also be used as a receiving option in the passing game.
In the first meeting versus Dallas in Week 3, Barkley rushed 14 times for 81 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 45 more yards. He racked up 22.6 FFPS on DraftKings. He’s worth a play in this game as well.
Dallas has a powerful 1-2 punch in Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. They face a Giants’ defense that allows 19.6 DK points to running backs and, as stated, could be in for a long day with Dallas pounding the rock.
Pollard’s 5.9 yards per attempt is second in the NFL this season only to Chicago’s Khalil Herbert and he has averaged 33.8 DK points over the last three games.
Elliott is currently dealing with a knee issue and is a lesser option at this point, but he can give you 15 quality snaps and beware his ability to handcuff Pollard in goal line situations.
Receiving options
CeeDee Lamb will be heavily played in this game even though the Giants have been one of the stingiest defenses against wide receivers all season.
That was before they started to lose key personnel in the secondary. They will be without cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (knee) and safety Xavier McKinney (hand) in this game which makes Lamb and Michael Gallup ‘must’ plays this week.
The Giants just lost their most promising offensive weapon, rookie wideout Wan’Dale Robinson, for the season with a torn ACL, so they will rely on the suddenly reliable Darius Slayton, Kenny Golladay, Richie James and Isaiah Hodgins to they to make some headway against the Dallas secondary.
At tight end, Dalton Schultz is healthy again and could see significant targets in this game. He missed the first meeting with an injury. The Giants have no real tight end threat with Daniel Bellinger (eye) still out.
Defense/Special Teams
The Giants’ defense has too many injuries right now for anyone to put any chips on. They do lead the league in fumble recoveries, however. They did not record a sack against the Lions last week.
Dallas has a great pass rush and a +7 turnover ratio. They’re amping up after their 40-3 spanking of the Vikings in Minnesota last week and are frothing at the mouth at facing the listing Giants on a short week.
On special teams, the game script will dictate the number of field goals attempted and both team have excellent kickers.
