NY Giants have more than NFC East at stake Sunday

Whether it leads to a division title or not, the NY Giants’ must win against the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday. 

The NY Giants’ have tried everything in their quest to regain the glory of the past – three straight years of top ten draft picks, two coaching changes and a lot of trial and error in-between.

It’s led to more losing, disappointment and frustration than the proud franchise is accustomed to. One division title and two playoff berths in a decade isn’t good enough when you’re one of the National Football League’s premier teams.

A constant with the Giants’ losing has been their inability to stand-up to their division rivals. They’re combined 1-15 in their last sixteen games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.

Things weren’t as bleak a couple weeks ago, it looked like the NY Giants’ were on the right track – an upset victory in Seattle put the entire league on notice. Since then, three straight losses have sent fans back into panic mode, and the Giants back to the league’s doldrums.

Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys represents a chance to prove they’re on the right track.

Technically a division title isn’t on the line, but with the Washington Football Team on upset alert against the Eagles, it very well could be. Throw that all away though, because this game means more than that for the Giants.

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December 11th, 2016 – the last time the Giants defeated the Cowboys. Since then, seven straight losses. A rivalry isn’t much of one when it’s that one sided.

Last second field goals, black-cat curses and Dak Prescott game winning touchdowns have all doomed the Giants in recent match-ups. It’s helped to keep them in the NFC East’s cellar, while the Cowboys have gone on to win the division multiple times.

To light a fire in a franchise, sometimes all it takes is punching the bully in the mouth. The Giants already took care of the Eagles earlier this year, now it’s time to put a stop to the Cowboys’ domination over them.

The Miami Dolphins, aside from a lateral laced miracle from Kenyan Drake, were a stepping stone of the New England Patriots. Then, in a meaningless Week 17 game last season, they rose up and defeated them – their little contribution to burning down the dynasty.

That win helped prove to Dolphins brass, players, and fans that they had the right head coach in Brian Flores, that they were building something special – to trust their rebuild. Now, they lay claim to double-digit wins and a playoff spot just a year later.

This week’s game can potentially have that same effect on the NY Giants. No, the Cowboys aren’t a dominant dynasty like the Patriots, but they’ve ran roughshod over the Giants for years now. A win this weekend serves as a launching point for the culture change fans have been clamoring for.

Joe Judge has already led the Giants to wins in games where teams in years past would’ve never had a shot, defeating the Eagles and Seahawks would’ve seemed impossible just last year. This week’s game would prove once and for all that the Giants have their man – much like Flores in Miami.

A division title would be nice, but a changing of the guard would be better. A win this week may not go far if the Washington Football Team wins as well, but the possibilities are limitless for the future of a division featuring so much uncertainty.

The NFC East was begging for a team to rise to the occasion and take it this season – it’s time for the Giants to prove it’s them that can do that for years to come.