BY BIANCA MUJICA
In one of the most prominent rivalries of the NFC East, the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants will play each other on Sunday at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The game will mark the first time the two teams face each other since last December’s game, in which the Giants ended the Cowboys’ 11-game winning streak. The Giants are playing their first away game against the Cowboys for the third season in a row.
“We’ve been thinking about them for a long time,” Giants linebacker Jonathan Casillas said. “All the preseason games were important, of course, but we’re all building for Sept. 10.”
Players from both teams seem impatient for their match, so much so that some have bickered over social media during the offseason.
Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins and Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant sparred on Twitter about each other’s stats and abilities.
Giants safety Landon Collins weighed in with his opinion that Bryant does not fully utilize his strength and is not quick enough for Jenkins, whom Collins said can easily predict Bryant’s actions.
When Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott confidently asserted in July that his team would win the NFC East, Collins said he highly doubted Prescott’s claim. He said the Cowboys “definitely won’t win.” His prediction: the Giants will “take over.”
Although the Giants have won three out of four meetings with the Cowboys in the past two years, the tension stems from a much deeper source.
The teams have challenged each other since their first meeting in 1960, which ended in a 31-31 tie. The competitiveness has only risen since.
“The Giants and Cowboys have been playing against each other twice a season for almost 50 years,” ESPN’s Jordan Raanan wrote. “There is history dating back to the days when Tom Landry was an assistant with the Giants before becoming a legendary head coach with the Cowboys.”
After the Cowboys went 13-3 during the 2007 regular season, the Giants ended their run in a divisional playoff game. That was also the last playoff game at the Texas Stadium, which the Cowboys called home before moving to AT&T Stadium.
As for Sunday’s game, the outcome is uncertain. The only guarantee is that it will be an intense game on both sides.
“It’s going to be gritty,” Giants guard Justin Pugh said. “It’s going to be tough. You’re going to feel like you were in a car accident after that game.”
