What's Up?
Dating back to last season, the Giants have found plenty of success because of their ability to turn negatives into positives. But after suffering a 20-14 loss in Philadelphia this past Sunday, New York wide receiver Amani Toomer hinted Burress' accidental shooting distracted his team, saying, "We dealt with this all week, and played our worst game - I'll let you figure it out." Without Burress, Giants' receivers dropped numerous balls, including a would-be 85-yard touchdown pass by Domenik Hixon early in the second quarter. Eli Manning had one of his worst performances of the season, completing just 13 of his 27 pass attempts for 123 yards. And, to add injury to insult, starting running back Brandon Jacobs (knee) and standout cornerback Aaron Ross (ankle) left the game because of injuries.
Chalk Talk
While Eli Manning tends to get most of the credit for the Giants' success this season, the New York running game is really the engine that makes this team go. The Giants have rushed for more than 112 yards in all but three games this year and have broken the 200-yard rushing mark five times. Brandon Jacobs, who's battling a knee injury that could keep him out of Sunday's game, has rushed for 1,002 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Connections
Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who played for four different teams in his NFL career, was a backup quarterback for the Giants from 2000-03 . . . Cowboys special teams coordinator Bruce Reed was on New York's coaching staff from 2002-03 . . . Giants quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer coached the Cowboys quarterbacks in 2006.
Miscellaneous
The Cowboys hold the series advantage against the Giants 54-37-2, but New York holds a 1-0 record against Dallas in the playoffs, and we probably don't need to point out when that victory occurred . . . The Cowboys are 2-0 on Sunday Night Football this season and are 5-1 at home so far this season . . . If the Cowboys pick up a victory against the Giants, they will secure a winning season for the 30th time in franchise history (49 years) and this will become the fifth winning season in the past six . . . Pro Bowl wide receiver Terrell Owens needs just 87 receiving yards to pass James Lofton for fifth place on the all-time receiving yards list. Owens also needs just four catches to pass Art Monk for seventh place on the all-time receptions list . . . Of the past 21 games between the Giants and Cowboys, 12 have been decided by no more than a touchdown - two of the nine by more than a touchdown occurred in the Cowboys' two-game regular-season sweep of the Giants last season.
