The Dallas Cowboys are doing something they’ve never done before this week: play a road game on a short week. It may be hard to believe, but the Cowboys have never played an away game with just three days between matchups. Every other team has played at least six road games with limited rest.
The Cowboys are set to face the New York Giants in an NFC East showdown on “Thursday Night Football.” Their last game was a loss to the Baltimore Ravens at AT&T Stadium on Sunday.
The Cowboys annually host a Thanksgiving game, so their TNF slot is always at home. Until last season, teams could only play one Thursday game, so the Cowboys were always penciled in for a home game on turkey day. Now that teams can play multiple games in the middle of the week, the Cowboys have a chance to be on the road with just a few days between action.The Cowboys and Lions, who also host a Thanksgiving game each year, have played more games Sunday to Thursday than any other NFL squad.
In 2023, the Lions went to Green Bay to face the Packers in Week 4 and then hosted them on Thanksgiving. The same pattern is happening this year, with the Cowboys heading to MetLife in Week 4, before Dallas hosts New York on Thanksgiving.
Of the past 14 meetings, the Cowboys have defeated the Giants in 13 of them. Dallas is currently 5.5-point favorites.
FRISCO, Texas — Help is on the way for the Dallas Cowboys’ defense, and it’s one of their most dangerous defensive weapons. DaRon Bland, the record-setting defensive back who owns the NFL mark for most pick-sixes in a single season, and the reigning 2023 interceptions leader, is nearing his return to the field.
The third-year cornerback suffered a fracture in his foot just ahead of the season and underwent surgery to repair the issue, then moved to injured reserve for a minimum of four games. With the primetime battle against the New York Giants serving as the fourth, the Cowboys could open his 21-day practice window thereafter.
Is that in consideration right now? It is, per head coach Mike McCarthy.
“We always felt like the Pittsburgh game is the point where we’d have more information,” said McCarthy. “With this mini-bye week, we’re hoping things will rev up there.”
It would be a more than welcomed addition for a defense that has struggled mightily through its two-game losing streak, though mostly in run defense, but also in allowing chunk plays in the air.
The timing could also be fortuitous, considering rookie cornerback Caelen Carson suffered a shoulder injury in the loss against the Ravens that has him labeled a game time decision against the Giants, and indicates he’s less than 100 percent right now — even if he were to suit up at MetLife Stadium. Of course, if he can not, it truly takes a hatchet to the depth of the cornerback unit that is still without Bland, for now.
“Time management and lack of sleep is the way you get it done,” Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters about dealing with a short week in the NFL.
On Thursday, the Cowboys will face a New York Giants in a must win showdown as both squads try to avoid falling to a 1-3 record. In previous years, no one would look at the Giants as a legit threat to Dallas, as the Cowboys have gone 6-0 against them in the last three years. In the Dak Prescott era, the quarterback is 12-2 against them.
But 2024 is looking a bit different. The Cowboys can’t seem to stop the run and the offense has plenty of flaws it must improve. If the team fails to fix its biggest issues, there are some Giants players that will make them pay for it.
That’s why listening to McCarthy speak on the biggest mistake you can make on a short week foreshadows a scary reality for the Cowboys ahead of Thursday Night Football: There just won’t be too much time to make adjustments, something they need desperately.
“The worst thing you can do on a Thursday game, regardless of what happened, especially when you don’t win that Sunday, is spend a ton of time on that game,” explained McCarthy. “And I’ve done it. But Monday is critical. You have to get the (gameplan for) first, second, and third down in. That’s the way I’ve always done it.”
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