FRISCO, Texas – For the first time in 252 days, the Cowboys will play regular season football on Sunday night against the New York Giants.
It's the same team that Dallas closed their 7-9-1 2025 campaign against in Week 18, but a very different one at the same time. John Harbaugh has taken over as head coach after nearly two decades in Baltimore, and is looking to pick up an early marquee victory in his first game as New York's shot caller.
On the Cowboys sideline, Brian Schottenheimer's second season features a roster that's very different from a season ago too. The headline has been a new-look defense with 34-year-old first-time coordinator Christian Parker at the helm. He too is searching for a good first impression on a primetime stage.
So, what are some of the most important areas of the game to keep an eye on Sunday night? Let's jump into them in the first Here We Goooo of 2026:
Cowboys offense needs to find their spots against zone coverage
The Cowboys aren't the only team heading into this game with a new defensive coordinator. Dennard Wilson, who was a defensive quality control coach for the St. Louis Rams from 2012-2014 when Brian Schottenheimer was their offensive coordinator, comes over after calling the Tennessee Titans' defense for the last two seasons.
Similar to Christian Parker, Wilson's specialty is in the secondary. He'll be working with a relatively experienced group that features Greg Newsome II, Deonte Banks, Dru Phillips, et. Looking back at Wilson's Titans defenses, they based out of a 3-4 but were in nickel an average of 68.6% of the time. There'll likely be a good chunk of zone coverage, as the split between zone and man in Tennessee under Wilson was 76.6% to 23.4% respectively. It's also a unit that likes to press on the outside, as the Titans corners did so on 58.7% of plays in 2025.
So not only will Dallas' outside receivers (George Pickens, CeeDee Lamb and Ryan Flournoy) need to win quickly off the line, they'll need to find the soft spots in zone coverage. Wilson's defense in Tennessee was primarily in Cover 3 (31.1%) and Cover 4 (24.1%). Against Cover 3, one of the best areas to attack is up the seam. Keep an eye on Jake Ferguson in that area too, who has been a frequent target of Dak Prescott's there seam in the past. Speaking of Prescott, he completed 105/152 passes (69%) against Cover 3 last year for 1,064 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions.
One more note: A play that Wilson's defense with the Titans struggled against last season was a rub concept from an outside receiver to spring the inside receiver free on a slot fade. The Giants have different personnel of course, but it could be something to keep an eye on.
Dallas' front *six* must earn their keep against the run
Sunday night will be the first time the world learns what a Christian Parker defense truly looks like. It's expected that his scheme will see a lot of heavy nickel packages in the secondary, especially after Dallas selected Caleb Downs with the 11th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to play that nickel corner role.
With that extra defensive back can sometimes come lighter boxes in the middle of the field. While on staff with the Eagles last season, Philadelphia had the highest rate in the NFL of light boxes at 75.2% of their defensive snaps. For comparison, the Cowboys deployed a light box on 58.6% of their defensive snaps last year. Against those looks in 2025, the Giants offense scored seven rushing touchdowns, the second-most in the league.
If that aspect of the Eagles defense transfers over into Parker's scheme, Dallas' defensive line especially will need to play at a high level. Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark have now had a full offseason together to build chemistry and learn how to work off of each other, and it'll need to show up against the run. In 2025, Williams stuffed 19 rushers for a loss or no gain, the most among all defensive tackles. His 8.6% run stuff rate was the highest by any player since 2018. With more weight on his and the defensive line's shoulders in the run game, that kind of production will need to follow.
What could give Dallas challenges with that is the amount of sub packages (less than 3 WRs) they could use. They're a John Harbaugh staple, as the Ravens deployed it 68.6% of the time in 2025. Fullback Patrick Ricard and tight end Theo Johnson are two guys that can help up front blocking in the run game, meaning Dallas' second level defenders like DeMarvion Overshown, Dee Winters and Jaishawn Barham will need to be aggressive in attacking and getting off blocks to make tackles.
Giants' four-man rush has to be contained
Earlier, we talked about how Dennard Wilson's defense will likely play a lot of nickel coverage. They'll also look to generate pressure on the quarterback with four pass rushers, as Wilson's defense in Tennessee blitzed just 23.3% of the time in 2025. With Tyler Smith out as he recovers from thumb surgery, it'll be even more important for T.J. Bass and the Cowboys' offensive line to hold up against New York's deep pass rush arsenal.
Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Kayvon Thibodeaux and DJ Reader are among the names that Dallas will have to deal with while down their best offensive lineman. On four man pass rushes in 2025, Tennessee's defense under Wilson had 35 sacks, tied for the third-most in the NFL. Wilson's personnel with the Giants is a step above what he had with the Titans, in my opinion, so that could lead to an even more productive season in terms of sack numbers.
The wildcard in Wilson's back pocket is going to be Arvell Reese, the fifth-overall pick out of Ohio State. Reese will play at inside linebacker, but was an excellent pass rusher in college and can do just about anything that's asked of him. He's the perfect fit for what Wilson wants to be a "positionless" defense. Identifying whether Reese is coming as a blitzer or dropping into coverage will be important for Dak Prescott.
Speaking of Prescott, he was sacked 19 times and pressured 129 times against four-man rushes in 2025. The best way to nullify getting the heat brought on him? Run the football. Getting Javonte Williams going early and often in the game could go a long way in not just slowing down the Giants' pass rushers, but opening up different elements of the offense like the play action passing game to have success.
