Big Facts: The Parsons-Barkley Connection & More
Anytime the Cowboys (3-1) and the Giants (1-3) get together, the nation will be watching. That's no different this season for multiple reasons outside of just the rivalry that will have the attention of a Sunday afternoon crowd at AT&T Stadium.
Zeke running to victories
The Week 4 win over the Panthers marked the eighth time that Ezekiel Elliott has tallied over 140 rushing yards in a single game. It was his first time hitting the milestone since 2018 and improved the Cowboys overall record to 8-0 when Elliott hits that rushing mark. Additionally, Dallas is a remarkable 16-1 when he runs for over 117 yards during his career.
Dak in rare company through four games
It has been an MVP-caliber start to the year for Dak Prescott. No stat shows the combination between production and efficiency than his touchdowns (10) and completion percentage (75.2%) through the first four games. Both are career highs for Prescott and he's just the fourth to achieve the combo since 1950, joining Tom Brady (2007), Peyton Manning (2013), and Russell Wilson (2020).
Every Giants game is a revenge game
In 2016, two of the three regular season losses came at the hands of the Giants as New York bottled up the rookie combo of Prescott and Elliott more than anyone else that season. Since then, Dallas has won seven-straight against New York where both 2016 draftees started, with the only loss since then was in the final game of the 2020 season that eliminated the Cowboys from playoff contention.
35 is the magic number
Complementary football has been the story over the last few weeks. Dallas has been cohesive on both sides of the football, and it shows with 41 points against the Eagles in Week 3 and 36 points against a tough Carolina team last Sunday. Should the Cowboys hit 35 points against the Giants, it'll be the first three-game streak with 35-points or more since Week 14-17 of the 2014 season.
'Danny Dimes' is not just a nickname
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is having a career-best start to the year. He has tallied his best yards per game, completion percentage, passer rating, and touchdown ratio since he entered the league. But one thing that has stayed consistent is the deep threat ability as all four of his touchdown passes have been thrown for 20-yards or more. He is also just one of three players with 1,000-plus passing yards and 150-plus rushing along with Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts.
Nittany Lions are always hungry
Saquon Barkley and Micah Parsons have been close for a long time. How long? Well, the former Penn State star tailback hosted a 17-year-old Parsons on his recruiting visit to State College. Barkley's collegiate years ran from 2015-17 while Parsons played the following two seasons for the same program. The two have remained close since the initial connection, with Barkley even texting Parsons on his draft day. Sunday, the two will meet as enemies for the first time and it's safe to say there will be no sleepovers this week.
Flipping head coaches – Just four years ago, the Cowboys and Giants squared off with Jason Garrett as the head coach on one side, and Ben McAdoo leading the Giants on the other side. Now, they're both assistants on the opposite side as Garrett is NYG's offensive coordinator and McAdoo is an offensive consultant with the Cowboys.
Garrett is 92 percent Dallas & NYG – Jason Garrett has been involved with 437 regular season games during his NFL life, whether it was his during his 11-year career as a player or coaching on the sidelines. But 405 of those games have seen with the Giants or Cowboys. Garrett played eight seasons in Dallas and then three with New York. After two seasons (32 games) as an assistant coach with the Dolphins under Nick Saban, Garrett has spent the rest of his coaching time with Dallas and the Giants.
Giants have former 4 Cowboys assistants – Jason Garrett is one of four former Cowboys assistant coaches on the Giants staff. Along with the Giants' OC, they have Jerome Henderson, Derek Dooley and Freddie Kitchens – all of which served as assistant coaches with the Cowboys at one time.
Rookie sack history – When Chauncey Golston and Osa Odighizuwa combined for a sack last week, followed by a sack from Micah Parsons, it marked three rookies getting involved in a sack in one game. It was the first time since 2005 when three Cowboys rookies all had part in a sack in a game, joining DeMarcus Ware, Chris Canty and Jay Ratliff.
Zack Attack – In just three games played this season, Zack Martin has had the highest individual grade in the entire NFL twice. According to the analytical website – ProFootballFocus – Martin is playing at an All Pro level once again. Last week against the Panthers, Martin's grade of 95.8 topped all player as he helped the Cowboys run over the Panthers to 245 rushing yards.
Jarwin is a Giant-Killer – Fresh off an 18-yard touchdown catch last week against the Panthers, Blake Jarwin did something rather rare for his career – he scored against someone other than the Giants. Five of his seven career touchdowns have occurred against NYG, including three in one game during the 2018 season finale – the first three of his career.
