The Cowboys are heavy favorites to notch their sixth win on Sunday when the 2-7 Giants limp into town. With memories of the 40-0 season-opening thrashing they exacted on Big Blue still fresh, the Cowboys might even be forgiven if they’re looking at this weekend’s meeting as a “get-right” opportunity.
The ultimate goal, though, isn’t to get Tony Pollard and the run game back on track. It’s not to establish Brandin Cooks as a legitimate part of an improving passing attack. It isn’t to see how early they can pull the starters (with back-to-back Thursday games looming) and give the second-stringers some valuable game reps.
Those things would be welcomed by Cowboys fans, of course. But the leader of the offense says none of that is on the minds of him or his teammates.
“I think we all understand the NFL,” Prescott told reporters this week, “understand that those guys prepare, those guys game plan. And to be honest, it’s tough to beat a team twice.”
Yes, the Giants are a different team now- literally- than they were in early September. Injuries have ravaged the roster on both sides of the ball; they’ll be giving undrafted rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito his first pro start.
But Prescott knows they’ve had the same two months Dallas has had to make adjustments to what they did in Week 1.
“They’ve got the same tape for them to try to make corrections,” Prescott explained. “You have to understand that was game one. They probably- not ‘they probably’- they have changed some things since then. They’ve found pieces that they want to play in different ways, different ways that they want to play their defense for us, and I’m sure on their offensive side, no difference, even having to play different quarterbacks.”
The Cowboys remember all too well what happened in Week 3, when they were expected to crush the Cardinals in Arizona. (They’ve been reminded at nearly every media opportunity this week.) To a man, the players have said this week that they’re not treating this rivalry game as a gimme.
Vegas, however, is already chalking up a Cowboys win, as evidenced by the nearly-unheard-of 17-point spread set by oddsmakers. And outside observers are doing the math on what Dallas needs to do over their next three contests (Giants-Panthers-Commanders, with a combined 7-20 record) in order to set themselves up for the toughest five-game stretch of the schedule that follows (those opponents are currently 30-13).
Despite his recent wizardry with the ball, though, Prescott isn’t ready to talk- or hear- about magic numbers.
“Right now, it’s about this week,” he said. “Honestly, if it wasn’t for 20 minutes ago, I didn’t know who we played next week. I’m serious as ever when I tell you I’m right where I am, focused in on the moment. Right now, it’s about getting this win at home against the Giants.”
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Now, a win is a win, whether it comes on a last-second field goal or in a five-touchdown blowout. They both count the same in the win column. But Prescott isn’t interested in letting things stay close or treating this divisional showdown like some kind of walkthrough meant to work out a few schematic kinks or force touches to certain players.
“I’m a foot-on-the-pedal type of guy. Especially in this league. I mean, I think you have to be,” Prescott shared. “You look back at some of the comebacks and some of the things that have happened in this league. The last thing you want to do is get up, put on cruise control, and the next thing you know, you’re playing for your life in the fourth quarter. So, yeah, it’s a foot on the gas until you you know that you can get out of there with a win.”
But if the Cowboys can come out of Sunday’s game with an emphatic win and also answer some lingering questions about how complete and multi-faceted their offense actually is, so much the better.
“For us, it’s about continuing to grow and for us to get better,” Prescott said. “And the only way that [happens] is if we go out there and take care of business in the manner that we expect to.”
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