Welcome, Giants fans, to this week's episode of “Could the NFL Season Be Saved?”
Walk through one of those three doors and you'll find a win against the Cowboys on Thursday that will double the momentum gained from Sunday's win against the Browns, even the record at 2-2, cheer up hungry fans, put an end to talk of a one-sided rivalry and chart a path to a respectable season.
However, please be careful.
Behind the other door lies the same kind of humiliation they suffered in a 40-0 loss to the Cowboys in a prime-time home game last season, only confirming the skeptics' belief that the combination of four 20-plus-yard gains, eight sacks and smart coaching synergy used to beat the Browns was an anomaly.
And, of course, beyond the door of the final game lies the dull possibility of either victory or a close defeat, suggesting another long (but perhaps not disastrous) season ahead.
“We've got to win a district game to play meaningful football in December,” left tackle Andrew Thomas said, “and try not to look too far ahead or look too far back in the past. If we win, things will look different.”
So which of these three doors will it be?
Can the suddenly rising Giants really start from scratch after defeating the struggling Cowboys for just the second time in their last 15 meetings?
“It's a new day,” safety Jason Pinnock said. “So I'll put it like this with my big brother. We joke about it all the time: Yeah, you've been beating me up for probably 12 years, but in year 13, I'm gonna beat the crap out of you.”
Just eight days ago, the Giants were in a near-doomed situation after opening their season with back-to-back close losses to the Vikings (who would have thought they'd go 3-0 after Week 1 with wins over the highly-anticipated 49ers and Texans?) and the Commanders.
At the time, it seemed impossible that the trajectory of their season could change so quickly.
But if the Giants can win on a Thursday for the first time since 2015 and then record consecutive Sunday-Thursday wins for the first time since Sept. 21-25, 2014, that could be just the kind of turnaround they could achieve.
“I think it's encouraging, honestly,” defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence said of the short week. “I think it's good because we don't have to get too hung up on the win. It's the next step and that's what we need.”
What the Giants don't need is a reminder of what happened when the Cowboys visit MetLife Stadium to open the 2023 season.
The Giants suffered the third-worst shutout loss in franchise history (40-0), were defeated by sacks (7-0) and turnovers (3-0) and allowed touchdowns on defense, offense (a pick-six) and special teams (a blocked field-goal return).
That marked the start of a dismal 1-5 start.
“That game was embarrassing for sure. It's tough to lose your home opener like that,” Thomas said. “It's a new season, a new team. Even though we won that game, the mentality is the same.”
If the struggling Cowboys view the Giants as their annual upside game — quarterback Dak Prescott is 12-0 as a starter in this rivalry game since 2017 — this is a rare opportunity for the mirror to be two-sided.
The Cowboys are coming off back-to-back losses, teammates Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence were criticizing each other on the bench against the Ravens, their rush defense (5.4 yards per carry, 185.7 yards per game) is last in the NFL and their rush offense (3.6 yards per carry, 73.7 yards per game) isn't much better either.
Anyone who watched the Cowboys dominate the Giants on both sides of the line of scrimmage over the past seven seasons might find it hard to believe they were playing, in the words of DeMarcus Lawrence, “Little League Football.”
“I think each guy has different motivations,” coach Brian Daboll said, “and my main focus is getting ready to go against this team, a team that just played these first three games in 2024. We'll have different players, different tactics, but we're making sure we're ready to go.”
The parallels start to emerge: The Giants were booed vigorously by their fans after leading 40-0 in the second half before Cowboys Nation took control, just like they were booed vigorously by the home crowd two weeks earlier.
A win against the Cowboys would restore some fairness.
“Honestly, it's about proving ourselves,” Pinnock said. “We're not trying to prove non-believers wrong, but we're trying to prove ourselves and this building and all the people who believe in us that we're right.”
