The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants stumble onto center stage for a Thanksgiving Day battle of backup quarterbacks, as the out-of-contention NFC East rivals have served up a combined six wins and 16 losses in 2024.
Cooper Rush helped the Cowboys (4-7) return to the win column at Washington before the three-day prep for playing holiday host to backup-turned-QB1 Tommy DeVito and the Giants (2-9). New York lugs a six-game losing streak and some emotional drama to the table Thursday afternoon.
“The fight has definitely been there,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “But we’re still pretty far down in the valley of adversity right now. We’ve made one step in the right direction, so we’ve still got a lot of climbing to do.”
The playoffs are an afterthought at the moment. Dallas is 14th in the NFC and the Giants are dead last with the final third of the season ahead.
Beating the Commanders 34-26 on Sunday helped the Cowboys exhale if only briefly, and will now try to win at home for the first time in six tries. The Cowboys are shooting for a season sweep of the Giants for the fourth consecutive season.
“It was great to get some wind under our wings, but this Thursday’s game comes on you so fast. That’s really where my mind is and my heart is, too,” McCarthy said.
Last in the NFL in scoring (14.8 points per game) and 28th in passing offense at 187.9 yards per game, the Giants are devoid of highlighter-worthy names on the offensive scouting report.
The last win for the Giants, 29-20 at Seattle, came one week after losing 20-15 to the Cowboys in September. New York is 0-4 against the NFC East including two losses by a combined eight points to the Commanders.
Rookie Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers flashes big-play ability. He’s also not shy about sharing his opinion.
Nabers received a good talking to from head coach Brian Daboll after he blasted the Giants’ effort and felt New York was “soft” in a 30-7 whipping at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence shared the sentiment only days after openly pondering why and how the Giants decided to hand the starting quarterback job to undrafted Tommy DeVito at the expense of 2019 first-rounder Daniel Jones.
“When you lose a game like that, there’s frustration,” Daboll said. “Certainly, you’d like to keep it in house. But you understand them, and I’ve been doing this for a while. There’s conversations that you have to have if comments like that are made. I respect the opinions of the players and of the coaches. We’ll work as hard as we can to get this fixed.”
DeVito, now 3-4 as a starter after going .500 as a rookie in 2023, was under siege from the start against the Buccaneers and didn’t practice Wednesday because of a forearm injury. He was limited Monday and Tuesday and Daboll said he was hopeful DeVito would be available.
In Sunday’s loss, Bucs defensive tackle Calijah Kancey virtually folded DeVito in half on a first-quarter sack and staggered him again with a jarring hit in the fourth quarter as he released a pass. Banged up in the aftermath, DeVito wasn’t asked to complete a full practice but did throw a few times, Daboll said. Drew Lock would get the call for the Giants if DeVito doesn’t get a green light Thursday.
In front of DeVito, offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (quad) was ruled out. Evan Neal (hip) was on the long list of injury concerns for the Giants but had no injury designation Wednesday. Eluemunor left last week’s game in the first half and couldn’t return.
Extra blockers likely are mandatory to keep Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons from feasting. Parsons had 2.0 sacks at Washington, his second game with multiple sacks in three outings since returning from a high ankle sprain. He had two sacks of Jones the last time the Giants visited for Thanksgiving in 2022.
Nabers caught 12 passes for 115 yards from Jones in defeat against the Cowboys Week 4. That was before the QB switch. Nabers wasn’t targeted in the first half last week.
Giants running back Tyrone Tracy enters the week in the proverbial doghouse because of another costly fumble, after his fumble in Week 10 at London gifted the Carolina Panthers a game-winning field goal in overtime.
“Blood is in the water now,” Tracy said. “You’ve got to understand this is the NFL and ball security is job security.”
Beyond their 0-5 home record, the Cowboys are 2-1 in the NFC East but have been outscored by 98 points on the season. The nine-loss Giants own a minus-89 scoring margin.
Rush was not special at Washington, but he threw a pair of TDs, completed 75 percent of his passes and didn’t throw an interception. He was limited Monday with a knee injury, but McCarthy appeared confident the QB would be available over current backup Trey Lance.
Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle handled a career-high 19 carries, for a career-best 86 yards last week, erasing his previous best — 12 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown — against the Giants last season. He caught a 15-yard TD pass in the Cowboys’ win over the Giants in September.
New York gave up 156 rushing yards to the Buccaneers, the fifth consecutive game of allowing at least 140.
A win would bring the Cowboys’ record to 5-7, good enough to find the fringe of playoff chatter.
The Cowboys are hopeful for the return of key players, including tight end Jake Ferguson (concussion), guard Tyler Smith (ankle/knee) and No. 1 cornerback Trevon Diggs (groin/knee) after they sat out Week 12. Wide receiver Brandin Cooks (knee) is expected to be back for the first time since Week 4, but left guard Zack Martin (shoulder, ankle) is not expected to be available.
–Field Level Media
