Week Four Crystal Ball - Thursday: Two Rivals Tussle in New Jersey
Week Four Crystal Ball - Thursday: Two Rivals Tussle in New Jersey
My friends, THE GURU is excited about tonight’s NFC East matchup with reeling Dallas (1-2, 1-0 away) visiting the rival Giants (1-2, 0-1 home). You can catch it at 8:15 pm ET on the Bezos Network with Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit and Kaylee Hartung on the call.
Expectations weren’t high for either team entering 2024 and, thus far, they’ve met that low bar, only beaten the winless Browns. The Cowboys followed an opening-day win in Cleveland with duds vs. New Orleans (a 44-17 loss) and Baltimore (28-25) while the Giants lost to Minnesota (24-6) and My Beloved Commies (21-18) before getting past Kevin Stefanski’s crew last week.
On the positive side, it means there are at least a handful of people who are glad that Cleveland exists. And I’m not talking about RAVEN RON or TIMMY THE BROWN.
Historically, tonight’s matchup poses big problems for New York as Dallas and the Jints have squared off 124 times with the Cowboys holding a dominant edge of 75-47-2, including playoffs1. Of course, that’s no surprise since Big D has long been the NFC East’s alpha male.
Yes, I hate to admit it, but the numbers speak volumes. Mirroring the rivalry against the Giants, the Cowboys hold a historical advantage vs. MBC (78-46-2) and the Eagles (74-56). And, if you want to bring former NFC East clubs in the mix, the result is no different with Dallas owning a 56-35-1 edge against the Cardinals, who ran from St. Louis but still can’t hide from the Cowboys.
As for the Giants, their futility against Dallas is, at least partly, their own fault. You see, after the 1959 season, they allowed defensive coordinator Tom Landry to depart for the expansion Cowboys, where he became a legendary head coach. It was a brutal two-year stretch of personnel decisions for NY, which let Vince Lombardi depart for Green Bay after the 1958 campaign2.
It took a few years for Landry to get his sea legs - he didn’t finish .500 until his sixth season - but, once he did, he ripped off as good a two-decade stretch as the NFL had seen. Indeed, from 1966-85, Dallas registered a record 20 straight winning seasons, made 18 playoff appearances and advanced to the conference championship game - or beyond - a record 14 times3.
Just as mind-boggling was his domination of his former team as he owned the Giants to the tune of 35-16-2. At one point, Landry’s Cowboys won 27 of 31 contests against New York, including a streak of 12 straight wins from 1974-80. Those were tough days the Mara family and just as painful for BROTHER BLUENIK, GOLFIN’ DAVE and FIRE ISLAND JIM.
Thankfully for these men and today’s Giants, Dallas legends like Roger Staubach, Emmitt Smith and Bob Lilly aren’t walking through that door. And, if they are, they’re likely doing so with a cane.
Owner Jerry Jones and the Cowboys were skewered in the offseason for not making any major moves and, three weeks in, the critics remain relentless. A win tonight brings a brief respite while a loss sends much of the Metroplex wandering into West Texas in search of answers and, perhaps, a bit of Tex Mex. Both delicious thoughts.
Fortunately, Dallas faces a confounding Giants squad with more identity issues than CORKY, who doesn’t know which team is his favorite from week to week. Sure, the defense is good, but the offense is hard to figure out. Is Daniel Jones the man for the job? Who will replace Saquon Barkley? Is this offensive line built to contend?
The answer to those three questions is up in the air and I think that leads to a tough night for the New York faithful. Let’s call it Dallas, 33-16.
Thankfully for the Jints, my picks have been uglier than my driver’s license photo - the NJ DMV did me next-level dirty, folks. The Week Three mark was 7-9, dropping me to a sea level for the season at 24-24.
That’s it for tonight, all. Enjoy the game and God bless!
The lone postseason game? A 21-17 New York victory in the Divisional Round on January 13, 2008, as the Giants marched towards their historic Super Bowl XLII win against the previously undefeated Patriots.
Jim Lee Howell was New York’s head coach at the time. He only stayed one more year beyond Landry’s departure and Allie Sherman entered as head coach in 1961. Sherman promptly led the Giants to the NFL Championship game the next three seasons - losing all three - before the team cratered to a 2-10-2 record in 1964, beginning a run of 17 straight non-playoff seasons. I won’t remind you of what Dallas and Green Bay did during that stretch.
Overall, Landry coached Dallas for 29 seasons (1960-1988) and won 20 playoff games, #1 all-time at the time of his retirement and still third to Messrs. Belichick (31 wins) and Reid (26).