Giants vs Cowboys Preview: What to watch for in week 4

One game at a time. Say it with me; one game at a time. The Giants picked up their first win last week in Cleveland and will look to keep it rolling against Jerry Jones and the rival Cowboys in week 4.

Smell that? Yup, embrace it, Giants fans that is the crisp, fresh smell of a dub straight out of the oven. They went into Cleveland, wreaked havoc on the Browns offensive line, scored a couple of touchdowns on offense, and came out with a win.

This week poses an even larger test against the Dallas Cowboys, who are coming off of two gut-wrenching losses to the Saints and Ravens. The Giants need to keep their foot on the gas and not back down from a Cowboys team that has dominated them in recent years. Play clean, aggressive football and you win the game. That's it.

Need some of this Justin Tuck energy Thursday night // Giants.com

Run the ball & let Malik Nabers cook

The Ravens ran the ball 45 times in last week's matchup against the Cowboys. They racked up 274 yards on the ground and averaged 6.1 yards per carry. Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson had a field day against the suspect Dallas Cowboys run defense, and that should be a key to this week's game for the Giants. Set the tempo by running the ball, bait the corners and safeties to cheat up, and take deep shots to Malik Nabers all day.

Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy Jr. are a talented 1-2 punch in the Giants backfield. I expect the Giants to get Tracy Jr. on the field more to complement Devin Singletary, especially as a passing down threat given his time as a wide receiver in college. With the strong offensive line play from the Giants through three weeks, Brian Daboll should lean on his running backs to try and replicate the masterclass the Ravens put on in Dallas this past week.

The Giants were able to have success on the ground in week 3, racking up 112 yards and running the ball 32 times. I noted in last week's preview that the Browns' run defense ranked 13th in run stop win rate in the NFL prior to the game, and the Giants did a good job of winning the battle on the ground. Look to them to keep up a strong ground game that has averaged over 100 yards+ through the early stages of this season.

On the other hand, we all knew Malik Nabers was talented, but man has he put on a show the last two weeks.

Nabers is looking more and more like a pro week after week. The expectation is for him to keep improving and the Giants recognize that. Daniel Jones and Brian Daboll recognize that. He has been targeted a whopping 37 times and has caught 23 of them, good for a catch percentage of 62% through three weeks. He has the most targets and second most receptions - behind only Rashee Rice of the Kansas City Chiefs - during that span. He is reliable, shifty, fast, and had the Browns adjusting mid-game because he burnt them over and over again in the first half.

Just look at how smooth his first touchdown grab was. He has ice in his veins.

The Giants need to keep feeding him the ball this week, and although he will have a tough matchup in Trevon Diggs to manage, he has proven that he has the chops to hang with any of the league's best corners.

Will Shane Bowen keep up the pressure on Dak in week 4?

The Giants finished week 3 with eight sacks, 17 QB hits, and five tackles for a loss. Bowen must have taken a page out of Wink Martindale's book, as his team was blitzing from all angles and pressuring Deshaun Watson non-stop. They not only got to Watson eight times, but they forced him into more errant throws than I have fingers and toes. Watson looked lost out there and Bowen may have just awoken the sleeping beast that is this Giants defense.

We didn't know how the Vikings would come out in Week 1, saw the signs of a lackluster Washington Commanders offense in Week 2 and were not surprised at a Deshaun Watson dud in Week 3. But now the tide changes. The Giants defense has the tall task of stopping Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb on Thursday night. The two are a formidable duo, and Prescott just threw for 379 yards and two touchdowns in last week's loss to the Baltimore Ravens at home. The defense needs to pressure Dak and keep Lamb at bay to win that battle in Week 4.

The defensive line is where it starts. Dexter Lawrence, Elijah Chatman, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari were awesome last week. They finally broke through and all five of them accounted for a half sack or more.

Through three weeks, the Giants now rank in the top-3 in the league in sacks (14) and have allowed just 186.3 pass yards per game (13th-best in the league per Covers.com).

Giants X-Factor

This week's X-factor is slightly different than weeks past. Rather than highlighting one player or coach, I have decided to change up the pace and give credit to multiple groups. Those groups are Big Blue's offensive and defensive lines.

Stingy, big, and mean. Like the Shaun O'Hara, David Diehl, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora days, these two groups are built to anchor each side of the ball. Listen, I lauded both groups above for their fantastic play last week but to truly compete with the best the Giants need these areas of their team to be successful.

Even after the two horrific weeks the Cowboys just had, they can't be underestimated. The offensive line needs to play a clean game and limit undisciplined penalties (looking at you Andrew Thomas) all while giving Daniel Jones time to throw and Devin Singletary lanes to run. Easier said than done right? Well, the offensive line has been one of the best in football through three weeks and they should only continue to improve from here on out. PFN ranks the Giants line at 20th in the league through three weeks, and they should continue to steadily climb as one of the more underrated units in the league.

After last week's display, the defensive line needs no further introduction. They are fast off the edge and clog lanes when opponents run the ball. They are now second in the league in sacks and eighth in QB pressures (30) per Pro Football Reference. There is a lot to be excited about with this unit and they should only get stronger from here on out.

If both of these units keep up their strong play against the Cowboys this week, then the New York media will have a field day, and all hope might not be lost.