An inside look at Sunday’s Giants-Cowboys Week 15 matchup at MetLife Stadium:
Marquee matchup
Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs vs. Giants QB Mike Glennon
Beware. Diggs, in his second NFL season, leads the NFL with nine interceptions and is tied for the league lead with 17 pass breakups. Everson Walls (1985) has the Cowboys single-season record with 11 interceptions.
“I think you’ve just got to be smart about it, pick and choose maybe depending on what the route is, the matchup, all of the above,’’ Glennon said. “You can’t just completely avoid him, but you have to be smart about it at the same time.
“Any time you’re close to setting the NFL record for interceptions, as a quarterback, you’re going to know where he’s at.’’
Paul’s pick
This is a bad week to be short-handed in the defensive backfield. Dealing with CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and tight end Dalton Schultz with a full deck is not easy, and the Giants are severely depleted in their secondary. Dak Prescott has not been great the past two games, but he is almost always great (8-2 in 10 starts) against the Giants, and who out there is going to stop him?
Cowboys 31, Giants 13
Four downs
Leo hurting: Leonard Williams never misses games. He has been a remarkable iron man throughout his seven-year career — playing in all 108 games in his career. He was forced out last week in Los Angeles with a triceps injury, and the Giants are unfamiliar with taking the field without him. He is listed as questionable to play.
“Obviously, it would be great to have him out there,’’ said Dexter Lawrence, who lines up next to Williams. If he is not there? “I’ve got to step up and be a leader and take command of the D-line,’’ Lawrence said. “Just take command. Go wreck the game, do what I’ve been doing, keep playing well and just help the defense communicate better. Keep it going, keep it flowing.’’
Time running out: Sterling Shepard, after missing five consecutive games, returned last week against the Chargers but was not much of a factor, targeted four times with just two receptions for 27 yards.
“I was kind of told that it was going to go slow for me at the beginning,’’ Shepard said. “Just trying to get my feet back underneath me. As time goes on, I’ll begin to get more touches. I’m not really worried about it.’’
He has two years left on his contract, but his time could be nearing an end with the Giants. This particular matchup always means something special to Shepard, whose late father, Derrick, played for the Cowboys.
Just play him! It is the cry of frustrated fans. Just put Jake Fromm in the game, please, let’s see what the kid can do. Well, it is not as easy as that. There is this certain ritual called practice, and it is clear that, up until this week, Fromm, after arriving from the Bills’ practice squad, did not show enough to warrant snaps in a game. Maybe this week, maybe not.
“Yeah, that’s fair to say,’’ coach Joe Judge said. “How you practice is a very good indication of how you’re going to play. We have to see guys go out there and execute in practice. I can’t rely on someone telling me someone’s a ‘gamer.’ I don’t even know what that is.’’
First time, long time: For the first time in 15 years (30 games), a Giants-Cowboys game will not include Jason Garrett, who was fired by Judge as offensive coordinator after a Week 11 loss at Tampa Bay. Garrett was with the Cowboys as an offensive assistant and later the head coach from 2007-19 and spent the past two seasons with the Giants. Given that he played six years In Dallas and one with the Giants, Garrett has been a part of 46 of the past 52 Giants-Cowboys games.
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