NFL Week 1 Matchups To Watch - Giants vs. Cowboys

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Dak Prescott did plenty right last season leading the Dallas Cowboys to a franchise record-tying 13 victories. However he didn’t beat the New York Giants in two tries and was a quick out in the playoffs after the Boys earned the top seed in the NFC. Prescott will likely be without his backfield running mate with Zeke Elliott looking at a suspension, and that will make it tougher for the Cowboys to dent Big Blue’s stingy defense. They’ll give it their best shot though in the Week 1 opener.

Don't miss any of the NFL Week 1 action on Sunday, September 10, 2017 at 8:30 p.m. ET. This duel from ATT Stadium will be televised on NBC.

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Darren McFadden vs. Ezekiel Elliott

In all likelihood last year’s leading rusher Elliott will be suspended to open the year meaning McFadden becomes the lead back in an offense that is built to run the football. With all the talk about Dak Prescott and the job he did last season, Elliott was the one who made that offense work.

Dallas had the league’s second-best ground game last year with 149.8 yard per game with Elliott accounting for 1,613 yards on his own. McFadden isn’t Elliott and he shouldn’t try to be. He’s a solid runner and two years ago he amassed 1,089 yards on the ground to place fourth in the NFL. And he didn’t take over as the No. 1 back until midway through the year.

We saw a similar situation take place in Pittsburgh a few years back when veteran DeAngelo Williams filled in for an injured and suspended Le’Veon Bell and the Steelers didn’t miss a beat. Elliott accumulated all those yards behind one of the strongest offensive lines in the game and McFadden will do just fine.

Dak Prescott vs. The Giants

It was quite an impressive rookie season for the fourth-round draft pick, and if he didn’t face the Giants it would have been even better. We all know the story. Prescott took over once Kellen Moore and Tony Romo were shelved with injuries last preseason and many were wondering why Jerry Jones didn’t bring in a veteran quarterback at the time.

Prescott went on to have an outstanding season, but unlike other rookie quarterbacks around the league, he had a team surrounding him that was solid at every position. The line was strong, receivers were good and Elliott stabilized the backfield. Prescott would have had to really screw up to not have success.

The Cowboys won 13 games and had the best record in the NFC with Prescott throwing for 3,667 yards and 23 touchdowns with just four interceptions. However, it was the Giants and their ferocious defense that handed Dak two of his three regular season losses. The first one was a mulligan in last year’s opener, but later in the year the G-Men clamped down, accounting for half of his interception total, three sacks and a 45.4 rating.

Giants Defensive Ends vs. Cowboys Offensive Tackles

This matchup pits four of the best players at their position and will be a battle all night. The Giants spent a bunch of money last offseason to upgrade their defense and Olivier Vernon was one of the players brought in. And now that Jason Pierre-Paul is back after blowing off his hand, the two are the premier bookends in the NFL.

The pair combined for 15.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles last year leading the Giants to the second-best run defense and third-best scoring defense in the league. Without JPP when the teams met in New Jersey last season, the Giants had a fine defensive showing, holding the Boys to a season-low seven points and intercepting two Prescott passes.

It will be up to La’el Collins and Tyron Smith to keep the pressure off Prescott and create holes for McFadden. The Cowboys offense works when Dak doesn’t have to. Run the football and let Prescott take chances in less risky situations was the plan last year that worked so well.

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