Blogging The Boys
At long last, it’s finally over. Well, almost over. The Cowboys’ 2025 season went from promising to discouraging to hopeful and then nightmarish. They’re out of the playoffs now and face a Giants team with no playoff hopes of their own to spoil. All that’s left, as they say, is the shouting, and it has our writers uncertain about what to expect.
Contain Jaxson Dart
It’s hard to believe, but the last time these teams met, Russell Wilson was the starter. He also had the game of his life, and was benched the next week. Perhaps that should have been our first clue about the state of this defense that’s all but ended the season.
Jaxson Dart is the captain now, and he has a firm grip on the starting job. Dart has flashed immense promise and, while not perfect, has helped put the Giants in position to win games… right before his defense gives up the lead. Sound familiar? Containing Dart and his ability to improvise outside of the pocket is key to limiting his effectiveness.
Find out about these rookies
As mentioned, the Giants defense has been bad. Not quite as bad as the Cowboys, but bad enough for interim head coach Mike Kafka to fire his defensive coordinator and name an interim coordinator. The worst part has been their run defense, where they rank dead last in yards per carry, yards before contact per carry, runs of 10+ yards, and EPA/rush.
The Cowboys will be without both Javonte Williams and Malik Davis, and we’ll likely see extensive playing time for rookies Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah, the latter of whom will be making his NFL debut. This should be a good proving ground for the two youngsters before heading into the offseason.
Now onto the predictions from your BTB writers…
Tom Ryle (8-7-1):
I think the desire to get to .500 will motivate them enough to get the win.
Cowboys 27, Giants 23.
Mike Poland (8-7-1):
Final game of the season, here we go! The Giants have their sights set on that first or second pick of the draft so winning really does them no favors here. Cowboys are looking for momentum going into next season and finish without a losing record. Dak is set to start, how long he plays for is another question.
Dallas win 31-17.
Matt Holleran (7-8-1):
Ultimately it would be better if the Cowboys lost this game, but the Giants are such a talent-poor team I don’t see that happening. Even if Dak Prescott and the rest of Dallas’ stars only play a quarter or so, the backups still should be able to beat the Giants.
Give me the Cowboys, 26-17.
Jess Haynie (7-8-1):
The Giants appear to be as committed to worsening their draft position as the Cowboys are. With home field and Dallas’ defense still in disarray,...
