Here’s a short list of things the Giants can accomplish with a win over Dallas tonight: gain sole possession of first place in the NFC East, enter their bye week on a four-game winning streak, and deliver a crushing — and perhaps fatal — blow to the Cowboys’ hopes of participating in the Super Bowl in their own stadium. A year and change ago, the Giants spoiled the opening of Jerry Jones’s everything-is-bigger-in-Texas football temple. A win tonight, also in prime time, would be just as sweet.
In fact, the possibility of burying the Cowboys seems to be just about all anyone is talking about today. Which is all well and good — a little Schadenfreude never hurt anyone. But the Giants are no mere spoilers: They have their own place in the NFC to worry about, and a win tonight would tie them with Atlanta for the most wins in the conference, at five. What a difference a month makes.
Of course, the Giants weren’t at their sharpest against Detroit eight days ago, but since Week 3, when the Giants lost to Tennessee and the Cowboys knocked off Houston for their only win of the year, only the Giants have been headed in the right direction. Although we suppose to Giants fans, both teams are headed in exactly the right direction these days.