The NEw York Giants are looking to start the 2023 season off on the right foot by defeating the Dallas Cowboys. Here are three keys they must do to make sure they win the game.
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00:00 The New York Giants look to record their second straight regular season opening win since the 2009-2010 seasons.
00:08 This Sunday night, they'll try to do so against the Dallas Cowboys, against whom they are 6-7 at games played at MetLife Stadium.
00:17 So what do the Giants need to do to ensure that they come out on the right side of the ledger?
00:21 Well, here are three keys to victory.
00:24 Key #1 - Exploit the Cowboys' run defense.
00:29 Last year, the Giants weren't the only defense to have its struggles against the run.
00:34 Dallas finished 22nd, allowing an average of 129.3 rushing yards per game.
00:40 While the Giants, who finished five spots lower than Dallas in this category, upgraded their run defense,
00:46 the same really can't be said of the Cowboys, who put more of a focus on the back end of their defense.
00:52 And with all the talk about the Giants' new weapons in the receiving game,
00:56 this weekend could be a big one for Saquon Barkley, who has two 100-yard rushing performances against Dallas,
01:03 the last one coming in 2019.
01:06 Now, the Giants will probably want to control the clock on offense, something they've had success with last year
01:11 when they finished 11th with an average time of possession of 30 minutes and 13 seconds.
01:16 What better way to wear down the Cowboys' defense and keep last year's fourth-best scoring offense
01:22 that averaged 27.5 points per game on the sideline?
01:27 Key #2 – Win in the Red Zone
01:30 Last season, the Cowboys boasted the top-ranked red zone scoring offense,
01:35 in which they scored on 71.43% of their trips when they made it to the opponent's 20-yard line.
01:42 The Giants' red zone defense, however, was no slouch.
01:46 They finished fifth, allowing opponents to score 49.21% of the time.
01:53 The Giants had beefed up their defense this year to better hold up against speed and power,
01:58 and they'll need to continue their spoil-a-ways inside the 20-yard line in particular.
02:02 Key #3 – Score Early
02:06 Last year, the Giants were outscored by their opponents in the first quarter, 77-39,
02:12 for a league-worst minus-38-point differential in the first quarter.
02:17 Nestled in that struggle is the fact that the Giants scored on their opening drives just 36.8% of the time.
02:25 And with the atmosphere at MetLife Stadium expected to be electric,
02:29 nothing would give the home crowd an extra boost of juice than for the home team
02:34 to take the ball and march straight down the field and into the end zone.
02:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]