It’s that time again as the age-old tradition of Dallas Cowboys football on Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner. This year they play host to a 2-9 Giants team that hasn’t won a game since October 6. Last week they benched Daniel Jones and later cut him, turning to Tommy DeVito to move forward.

DeVito and the Giants were eliminated by the Buccaneers, and the quarterback suffered an injury in the game that leaves his status for this one up in the air. Regardless, the Cowboys are just 3.5 points favorites, a reflection of the fact that they haven’t won a home game all year. Will this be the one? Let’s see what our writers think.

When New York has the ball

Put pressure on whichever quarterback is there

Whether it’s Tommy DeVito or Drew Lock or the ghost of Charlie Conerly, the Giants’ offense is a mess right now. The run game was predictably bad, and the passing game is even worse. However, they are especially bad when they are under pressure: only three teams have a worse EPA/dropback when under pressure this year.

Enter Mike Zimmer and the Cowboys defense. They have hit the ground running since Micah Parsons returned, coming into this game ranked sixth in pressure. And with DaRon Bland returning last week, and the emergence of Josh Butler, the defense as a whole was at its best when it came to the quarterbacks. That’s the key to success this Thanksgiving.

When Dallas has the ball

Feed Rico (again).

Cowboys fans have seen a lot of bad defense this year, but so have Giants fans. In fact, the Giants rank 31st in EPA/run, slightly ahead of the Cowboys. They were actually worse than Dallas in terms of runs inside the tackles, a surprise given the presence of Dexter Lawrence.

Well, no one runs the ball into the tackles more than Dallas, who led Rico Dowdle to successful returns last week. Dowdle posted a 52.6% success rate on his 19 carries, the ninth-best mark ever in Week 12. Driving Dowdle against a weak Giants defense is the key to the short-week win.

Now on to your BTB writers’ predictions…

Tom Ryle (7-4):

I think this might be the first time in 2024 that the Cowboys have played in a game with the superior roster despite many injuries, and I’m pretty sure Cooper Rush is a better quarterback than Tommy Devito (or Drew Lock) . The big fear is that they will be disappointed after the bizarre, emotional victory over the Commanders. Countering this is how the Giants have already indicated they are in major rebuild mode with the release of Daniel Jones.

I’m taking Dallas to win this time, 24-16, and hope I don’t jinx them.

Matt Holleran (6-5):

It’s hard to believe, but Sunday’s performance was the best we’ve seen the Cowboys play in almost two months. While it wasn’t perfect by any means, they did beat a Washington team 7-4 along the way, which is certainly a good performance. This week, the Cowboys finally have a chance to build on some momentum as they take on a struggling New York Giants team.

It won’t be the dominance we’ve seen from Dallas on Thanksgiving the past two seasons, but they should be able to win this game. Their lack of offensive firepower will keep it close, but Dallas gets their second straight division win and gives us all a Happy Turkey Day.

Give me the Cowboys, 24-16.

Jess Haynie (8-3):

Dallas will have the better quarterback and it doesn’t seem like they’re ready to openly tank just yet, while the Giants have made their intentions clear. Dallas finally gets a home win, albeit cheap considering the opponent.

Cowboys 27, Giants 16.

Mike Poland (5-6):

Okay, let’s get into the positive, optimistic Thanksgiving spirit and call it another win for Dallas. The Giants offense now looks to Tommy DeVito or Drew Lock to try to bring order back to an offense that ranks last in passing touchdowns.

Last week, DeVito threw zero touchdowns. Getting sacks and pressure on the QB will seriously disrupt what little hope the offense has, but now the Giants offensive line is looking at both starting tackles to miss the game. Yeeeee!

Cowboys win, 24-14.

Dana Bartholomew (8-3):

For the first time in a long time, I’m rooting for the Cowboys to win this week. I still have no faith in this Cowboys team. It took a crazy circus ending last week to get it done against the Commanders. So this pick is less about the Cowboys and more about how bad the Giants are. These teams are a little different now than last time, with Cooper Rush and Tommy DeVito/Drew Lock leading the offenses, but the outcome should be the same.

Cowboys win on Thanksgiving, 10-27.

Brian Martin (7-4):

The Cowboys are bad, but the Giants are even worse. Both teams appear to be competing for a Top 10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but only the Giants appear to be taking that into account in how they approach the rest of the regular season. That’s why I think the Cowboys play to win and walk away with their second consecutive “W” in this Thanksgiving game.

Give me Dallas, 24-13.

Chris Halling (4-7):

Despite many fans pushing for the team to tank, I find it hard to believe this team can’t beat the Giants. They just got knocked out by a struggling Bucs team, and now they’ll likely have Drew Lock as their starting quarterback on Thursday. The Cowboys defense eats Thanksgiving and scores two touchdowns.

Cowboys win 37-10.

RJ Ochoa (8-3):

It feels like the most ridiculous thing of all time, but I’m confident the Dallas Cowboys will win and cover on Thanksgiving Day. They are clearly bad and I still don’t believe the playoffs are realistic, although I will certainly feel a certain way about it on Friday morning if they win this game, but they are not the quitters that the Giants are. Give me Dallas in a game we all enjoy like tryptophan courses through our systems.

Cowboys win, 23-10.

David Howman (7-4):

It seems like everyone expects the Cowboys to win this one, and that makes me the most nervous. This team hasn’t won at AT&T Stadium since 2023, and while hosting the Giants with potentially a third quarterback in a short week seems like the perfect opportunity to do that, I also have very little confidence in the Cowboys to live up to their expectations to make it come true. potential.

I also have very little confidence in the Giants, who at this point seem determined to tank for the rest of the year. I can see this being a lot closer than it has any right to be, but I think Mike Zimmer’s defense creates just enough confusion to get the win.

Cowboys win 23-18.