Giants have chance to beat rival Cowboys, win back home crowd in one night on Thursday
Daniel Jones of the Giants is sacked during the first quarter by Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Sep. 10, 2023. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Jason Pinnock grew up with a big brother, which also means he spent a lot of time in his childhood losing in just about every endeavor in which the two of them competed. At some point, though, that began to change.
“We joke about this all the time,” the Giants’ safety said of his sibling rivalry. “Yeah, he probably beat on me for 12 years. But that 13th, I’m gonna bust your [butt].”
Pinnock said that’s the analogy he uses when thinking about the Cowboys. Sure, the Giants have lost six straight to their division rival, dropped 13 of their last 14 meetings and most of those losses haven’t been close. Only five were one-possession games. Last year they were swept again by a combined score of 89-17.
So Thursday’s game when Dallas comes limping into MetLife Stadium? Maybe it’ll be like Pinnock becoming a teenager. Maybe it’s about to change.
“It’s a new day,” Pinnock said. “That’s the only thing I can really say.”
Monday certainly was a new day for the Giants after they beat the Browns on Sunday. They woke up having salvaged a little bit of hope and respect, at least momentarily, in a season where both were rapidly dwindling. The questions about Daniel Jones and Brian Daboll evaporated, at least momentarily, and the sports world was going ga-ga over Malik Nabers.
Now they’ll have a chance to beat the Cowboys and potentially move, again momentarily, into one of the top spots in the division standings. In the span of four days here they could possibly be back to .500 and back from the NFL boneyard.
“We get a win and things look different,” left tackle Andrew Thomas said.
Considering how the Giants left MetLife Stadium the last time they played there, booed off the field in an opening week 28-6 loss to the Vikings, there are two relationships in which this team will want to attempt to rewrite the rules and adjust the balances.
Thursday is an opportunity to beat Dallas and win back the fans, all in one night.
It’s been almost eight full calendar years since the Giants have beaten the Cowboys in front of their home fans. You have to go back to Dec. 11, 2016, when Odell Beckham Jr. caught a slant pass from Eli Manning and raced for a 61-yard touchdown in a 10-7 victory during a playoff push to have heard the roar of the Big Blue backers having vanquished their most hated football enemy. Oh sure, the Giants did win a game in the building on Jan. 3, 2021, when Jones threw a pair of touchdown passes, but there were no fans there to enjoy it. The pandemic kept them away.
Then, of course, there was last year’s home game against the Cowboys. The fans were there for that one. The Giants not so much. After a promising opening drive in that first game of the season, the Giants had a field-goal attempt blocked and returned for a touchdown and wound up losing 40-0.
“That game was definitely embarrassing,” Thomas said of that stinger. “That’s a tough way to lose.”
It set the tone for the entire year, in fact, with Thomas injuring his hamstring trying to chase down that return, which led to him missing time, which led to replacements on the offensive line, which led to Jones getting injured, which led to . . . well, all the rest of the dominoes that toppled over in the ensuing months.
Not everyone carries those scars with them. There are plenty who will be taking part in this Giants-Cowboys blood feud for the first time, from rookies such as Nabers and starting safety Tyler Nubin, to veterans such as Brian Burns, Jon Runyan Jr. and Devin Singletary.
“It’s a new season, new team,” Thomas said.
Pinnock said he will try to explain the depths of this rivalry to those who are about to experience it for the first time.
“The history behind division games, it’s hyped up,” he said. “Everybody wants to win . . . Most of those young bucks have gotten their first-game jitters out. Just don’t make it any bigger than the last three weeks.”
Naturally it will be. The Giants have an opportunity to win back their fans and knock off the Cowboys in one swipe. And they can do it in prime time. Just as last year’s home game against Dallas cemented the path for the rest of the season, so too might this one. In either direction.
Pinnock, though, insisted that losing streaks to other teams and disgruntled fans aren’t the true stakes for this game.
“Truthfully, it’s more about showing ourselves [we can do it],” he said. “That may be a corny response but that’s how we feel. We’re not really trying to prove non-believers wrong, we’re just trying to prove to ourselves in this building and all the ones who believe in us that we’re right.”
Still, there will be plenty of potential converts on hand Thursday to see what happens.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.