The New York Giants haven’t even played their Week 5 game yet (I'll see you Sunday at 1:00 pm), and somehow they already came away with a win.
Big Blue entered the week sitting atop the NFC East at 3-1, with the 2-2 Dallas Cowboys hanging around one game behind after beating the Houston Texans 34-30 in Week 4. The same Cowboys team, mind you, that New York already gobsmacked 28-20 on Sunday Night Football in Week 1 to give John Harbaugh his first win as Big Blue's head coach.
So, naturally, we all got force-fed another helping of Dallas in primetime.
All the Cowboys had to do was take care of business at home against a 0-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers team playing without its starting quarterback, Baker Mayfield. Instead, they turned what looked like a pretty straightforward victory into a 24-16 loss at AT&T Stadium. Claaaaaassic.
Cowboys’ latest primetime disaster is a gift to Giants fans and everyone... everywhere
Tampa Bay was forced to start undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels with Mayfield out, giving the 23-year-old his first NFL start under the lights in Arlington. The rookie didn't disappoint.
The former Kansas Jayhawk standout finished 19-of-25 for 189 yards and a touchdown, while running back Bucky Irving added insult to injury, finishing with 166 rushing yards and a score on 21 carries against one of the league's saddest defenses. Whatever DC Christian Parker was supposed to fix in Dallas, yikes. At least they traded for star cornerback Joey Porter Jr., though.
Dallas had a 10-7 halftime lead before Tampa Bay put up 17 unanswered points in the third quarter to start the second half. A three-point Cowboys lead became a 24-10 deficit before Jerry Jones could start planning his next blockbuster trade.
Prescott finished 24-of-42 for 316 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions (his second on the potential game-tying drive with just over a minute remaining), while Dallas managed 50 rushing yards on 13 carries in a game where it entered as an 8.5-point favorite against a team that hadn’t seen a win since January 3.
And just like that, Dallas is 2-3 and suddenly looking up at the Giants with another primetime disaster on the résumé. Maybe we don’t need Dallas in primetime shoved down our throats all the time after all.
The G-Men have their own business to take care of against the Commies on Sunday, with a chance to improve to 4-1 and 2-0 in the NFC East. Dallas already did them a favor, and a win would make it that much sweeter. Until then, Giants fans can enjoy the early Week 5 gift from Tampa Bay.
Quite the blown opportunity for a team with supposed “Super Bowl aspirations.”
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