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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Dan Benton

Behind Enemy Lines: Week 10 Q&A with Cowboys Wire

The New York Giants (2-7) and Dallas Cowboys (5-3) will square off on Sunday afternoon in a Week 10 matchup at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The Giants opened the week as 15.5-point home underdogs but that has improved to +17 as of this writing.

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With this matchup on tap, Giants Wire took the opportunity to hold a Q&A with Cowboys Wire managing editor KD Drummond.

Dak Prescott has been playing better this season but is still on pace for 11 interceptions and two fumbles. Are the turnover issues becoming at all concerning?

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Drummond: Not sure if you noticed, but Dak Prescott has been insanely good at protecting the ball this season. His interception percentage is below 2.0 and, seriously… two fumbles on a season? That’s supposed to be a bad pace? His turnover-worthy percentage is at a career-low 1.5% this season which means, as those who actually study these things have always said, 2022 was an aberration.

Giants Wire: With a projected 13 total turnovers this season, Prescott would have just three fewer than a season ago and the second-most of his NFL career. It would also be four more turnovers than Daniel Jones had last season (and two more than DJ had in 2021) when Drummond and Cowboys Wire continued to refer to him as “turnover-prone.”

The Cowboys are 5-1 against teams with a record of .500 or worse and 0-2 against teams above .500. Is that an anomaly or are they a mid-pack group?

Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images

I think the bigger issue than the caliber of team Dallas plays has been the circumstances, specifically the playing surface. Dallas is 5-0 when playing on artificial turf and 0-3 when playing on pure or hybrid grass. The defense just hasn’t been able to keep the same energy when their footing isn’t sound.

Fortunately, that means they’re absolute heat-seeking missiles on their home turf of AT&T Stadium. The offense has found its footing after the first month and a half of shifting to Mike McCarthy’s scheme, but the offensive line is still working to adapt to Mike Solari.

Overall though, no one will care until they beat SF or Philly in the playoffs.

Micah Parsons has proven himself to be an absolute class act. What about him do you like more -- his play on the field or his personality and leadership off of it?

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Micah Parsons is the alpha this team has needed, so that’s a really great and tough question. I don’t think the two can be separated because his off-field demeanor and leadership qualities so clearly go hand-in-hand with his on-field performance. They fuel each other and it’s amazing to get to witness on a weekly basis.

Have we thanked the Giants recently for passing up on him in order to draft (checks notes) Kadarius Toney and Evan Neal?

The Giants may be a dumpster fire but Dexter Lawrence has established himself as the best nose tackle in the league. How can the Cowboys limit him on Sunday?

Kevin R. Wexler / USA TODAY NETWORK

Center Tyler Biadasz has been average this season, but the play of the guards will be important here because double-teaming Dexter Lawrence is a must.

Fortunately, Zack Martin is a Hall of Famer and Tyler Smith is playing out of his mind right now and may be the best young guard in the league. It will be a tough task, but not having to also worry about Leonard Williams will be a big help in being able to focus attention on DL.

Just don’t ask me how we’re going to stop Kayvon Thibodeaux from rushing against Terence Steele at right tackle, because I have no answers there.

Let's hear your prediction. Who wins, why is it Dallas and how bad are the Giants going to get smacked around this weekend?

Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

The Cowboys are clearly the better team, playing at home where they’ve won 11 games in a row (against the Giants). It’s not going to be 40-0 ugly, but a close game against a UDFA rookie QB would be a huge disappointment.

Hopefully, Dallas doesn’t take anything for granted, comes out and exploits the talent mismatch, and gets the thing put away early. 42-10.

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