• WR Malik Nabers, New York Giants — over 6.5 receptions: Through three games, Nabers has seen a league-leading 37 targets on his way to an 81.2 PFF receiving grade, a credit to his incredible ability to separate. According to PFF’s new weekly Separation Report, Nabers has found separation on over 60% of his routes so far this season.
• Rivalry battle kicks off Week 4: An NFC East divisional showdown chock-full of animosity opens the week, featuring bitter rivals in the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.
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Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes
Dallas Cowboys (-5.5) vs New York Giants [Total: 45]
Game Overview
Week 4 kicks off with an NFC East divisional battle chock-full of animosity between Dak Prescott’s Cowboys and Daniel Jones’ Giants.
The Giants are coming off a huge upset victory in Cleveland, winning a game outright in which they were 6.5-point underdogs. The team found itself up a pair of scores heading into the second half and unleashed its pass rush on Deshaun Watson, racking up 10 sacks on 41 total pressures — 11 more than any other team in Week 3.
That’s an impressive jump, considering the team generated just 29 pressures over the first two contests. It's hard to beat a team that can harass opposing passers at will like this, and if the Giants manage to sustain any level of that production, it will go a long way toward keeping the team in games down the stretch.
Dallas’ issues, however, seemingly came to a head this past week as they struggled to find footing in nearly every facet of the game, at home against the Ravens, with frustrations being visible on the sideline. The Cowboys came to life in the fourth quarter, but it was ultimately too late.
The glaring problems on both sides of the ball regarding the run game have left this team largely unable to function. Questions surrounding the backfield resonated all summer long, and those answers are starting to take shape, as the Cowboys' running game has looked rough, to say the least. The unit ranks in the bottom five in explosive run percentage (4.8%) and yards after contact per attempt (2.2).
Fitting the run has been by far the most alarming of this team’s troubles. Dallas’ first-round pick in 2023 on the interior, Mazi Smith, has struggled mightily in that regard, earning the lowest qualifying PFF run-defense grade (27.5) at his position through three games. But the woes don’t stop there, as the entire team has been porous, surrendering the league’s worst EPA per rush allowed (0.261) — a rate that is nearly four times higher than the next worst team.
Without some sort of foundation in the running game, the Cowboys won’t be able to take advantage of teams through the air as they had hoped to this season. With Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb being as talented a duo as any in the NFL, it’s crucial that this team doesn't live or die by putting everything on their shoulders.
WR Malik Nabers, New York Giants: Over 6.5 receptions (+111) — 10.0% PFF Greenline Edge
After three weeks of play, there is just one thing to say about the Giants' top-six pick at receiver: Malik Nabers is going to be a problem in this league. Opposing defensive coordinators are going to want to grab a coffee or two, because it’s going to take a long week of preparation to hold this guy down.
New York’s dynamic first-year target is already drawing comparisons to former Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr’s rookie campaign. Through three games, Nabers has seen a league-leading 37 targets on his way to an 81.2 PFF receiving grade, a credit to his incredible ability to separate. According to PFF’s new weekly Separation Report, Nabers has found separation on more than 60% of his routes so far this season.
That could be problematic for Dallas with how cornerback Trevon Diggs has struggled in recent weeks. The vaunted former All-Pro has generated a 66.7 PFF coverage grade thus far, due in large part to having allowed a 78.6% open target rate, the fifth-highest among qualifying cornerbacks.
All that is without mentioning the beef that has been brewing since the summer between these two talented players. This is one you’ll want to watch.
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