Thursday night will mark the ninth time New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones starts a game against the Dallas Cowboys since coming into the NFL as a rookie in 2019.
The Giants record in those starts is 1-7, with some of those losses coming by an embarrassing margin.
Jones has also been injured often in this series. He’s angling to change the Giants’ fortunes against Dallas beginning this week. Jones was asked this week if he remembers ever beating the Cowboys.
“I think we beat them a few years ago,” he said. “But all these games are different. I think we’ll be prepared and ready to go.”
Jones’ lone victory over Dallas came on January 3, 2021 at an empty MetLife Stadium (due to COVID) in which the Giants won, 23-19.
Dallas had Andy Dalton, not Dak Prescott, under center that day and both teams had losing records as they closed out their seasons.
That game seems like eons ago. Joe Judge was the head coach back then and the Giants were still a few years away from ushering him and general manager Dave Gettleman out and bringing in Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll.
That win ended a seven-game losing streak to Dallas, only start another six-game one that very fall.
“We don’t like losing to anybody, especially a divisional game,” Jones said when reminded of the Giants’ struggles versus Dallas. “We understand what this game means, and we’ll be ready to go.”
The Cowboys’ defense is not run by Mike Zimmer after Dan Quinn moved on to Washington to take over as head coach this year. Jones commented on the changes he’s seen on film between the two coaches’ styles.
“I’d say it’s a good bit different overall. There’s personnel similarities here and there, but the scheme and the system is different,” he said. “Some of the fronts and pressure looks are different. Coverages are different too. We’ll be ready to go.”
Jones has had two error-free games in a row and two in which he’s posted a QB rating of over 100, a feat he’s only accomplished once before in his career.
Jones may be aided by the running game this week. Dallas has not been adept at stopping the run this year. Last week against Baltimore, Derrick Henry steamrolled over them for 155 yards.
The Giants would like to keep Devin Singletary going. Jones would be happy to keep the ball out of the hands of Prescott, who has had way too much success against the Giants for everyone’s liking.
“I think Dabes has a good feel for calling it and seeing how the game is unfolding. But we have confidence in our ability to run the ball, our ability to throw the ball. And we’ll do what’s best to score points,” he said.
Things are changing and Jones knows it. Dallas is struggling and the Giants have some new faces on both sides of the ball. Jones was asked how he’s changed since his last matchup against Dallas last September, a 40-0 whitewashing.
“I’ve played more, seen more, studied and improved,” he said. “Obviously, didn’t go great last time, but we’re confident, it’s a new team. We’re a new team, they’re a new team, and we’re excited for the opportunity.”
