The last time the Cowboys were 5-1 after six games was 2007, when they were a legitimate, quality outfit en route to capturing the No. 1 seed in the NFC, gaining home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and believing they were a bona fide Super Bowl contender.
Those plans went awry when Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning and a whole bunch of others off a wild-card team went into Texas Stadium and shocked the top-seed in a 21-17 upset that propelled the Giants to the Super Bowl. The stakes this Sunday for the Giants are quite different but, viewed in the narrow spectrum of this particular season, this is "stand up" time.
Once they cauterized the 0-2 wound with a three-game winning streak, the Giants needed to get to their bye week with a winning record and at least one victory in the back-to-back games at Philadelphia and at Dallas. They failed the first test, in inept fashion, and the 27-0 loss to the Eagles came with the heavy price of losing Victor Cruz for the remainder of the season to a torn patellar tendon. It is now safe in many corners to go back to the hand-wringing of the not-too-distant past and take a dim view of what awaits the Giants.
The Cowboys beating the Seahawks in Seattle was a victory that reverberated across all corners of the league. But be careful about stamping anything just yet. This is, remarkably, the first division game for the Cowboys, who will play six of their last 10 games against NFC East opponents. Predictions rarely varied when it came to projecting this season for Jerry Jones' team — it was all gloom and doom — and the better bet was they would not have five wins all season, rather than five wins after six games.
After a time-tested stretch of unyielding mediocrity — an 8-8 record in each of the past three seasons — the Cowboys have reinvented themselves into a running team, relying on a monster workload for DeMarco Murray, an offensive line filled with first-round draft picks and a decreased reliance on Tony Romo bailing them into and out of trouble.
The Dallas defense, well, that was supposed to be a disaster and no one is quite sure how it is holding together, but it is.
"That team took a lot of heat, more than I've ever seen and witnessed as far as predictions and preseason and everything like that,'' Giants safety Antrel Rolle said Tuesday on his weekly WFAN spot. "They were the team that everyone made fun of and they're proving everyone wrong.''
Now it is time for the Giants to bring the 'Boys back to earth. No one knows how coach Jason Garrett's club will handle life as a front-runner, with praise flowing to them like days gone by.
"When you're riding that high, you feel confident," linebacker Jon Beason said on WFAN. "They're going, 'Hey, you know what? We should roll over these guys.' That's exactly what you want. Let them be confident. I'm sure they'll have some respect for us but based on last week they're gonna be real confident."
The Giants are wounded, physically and emotionally, going into AT&T Stadium and can see a respite up ahead, their bye week arriving after Week 7. There is no reason the Giants cannot empty everything they have into this game, especially after they came up so empty in Philadelphia.
"After this we have a bye week, so there is no point in looking ahead to anything else besides this one game and this is a big one for us,'' Manning said.
In so many ways Manning was cheated out of competing against the Eagles. He never could count on a firm pocket in front of him. Sure, he held onto the ball too long a few times, but just two of the six sacks on him could be categorized as coverage sacks. He has been getting the ball out of his hands more quickly than any quarterback in the league other than Aaron Rodgers, but Manning barely had time to receive the snap before the Philly defenders descended on him. A few plays, Manning said, there was a chance for something to develop down the field with Odell Beckham Jr. but there was no time to make a play, other than Manning hitting the deck.
Asked about the performance of the offensive line, Rolle began riffing on what was really on his mind.
"I really don't know exactly how it breaks down with the offensive line, what I do know is, you take care of the guy in front of you,'' he said. "You whup the man that's in front of you, it's just mano a mano. To me that's what is looked like: We just got whupped, we got manhandled, we got punched in the mouth and we didn't fight back. Scheme is one thing and there's your heart and the way you attack the game. No one's gonna be perfect, we all get beat at some point in time, but how you respond to that, how you respond to getting beat, are you going to hang your head and allow yourself to stay beat or are you gonna raise up and fight like a man?
"I didn't see anyone raise up and fight like a man throughout the entire course of the game. We lost that game as a whole. I don't care who may have thought they had a decent game or who may have thought they played OK, no one played OK. When you lose 27-zip no one has a good game.''
Cruz was not off to a fast start this season, barely showing up among the NFL leaders in receptions — his 23 catches tied for 48th in the league. The anticipated yards-after-catch party he was supposed to enjoy in the new West Coast offense did not materialize, and he managed to score only one touchdown, but what the young receivers will now learn is that life is different without Cruz. He had not been prolific, but opposing defenses always knew where he was. That extra attention now can be split between Rueben Randle and Beckham. Although he clearly has star-power talent, it is asking too much for Beckham as a rookie, after missing so much time, to become an instant sensation. Randle, though, must take off the training wheels and emerge into a No. 1 receiver — maybe not every play, but at least sometimes.
"I think he is doing things better and we are on the same page on a lot of things,'' Manning said of Randle, not exactly a glowing endorsement. "Each week there is always something, whether it be a new route or new concept, we have to improve on.''
It would have been helpful if former Super Bowl hero Mario Manningham was able to succeed in his comeback attempt, but it wasn't to be. Jerrel Jernigan was not going to scare anyone, but at least he was a capable target, especially in the slot, but he is on season-ending injured reserve. Rookie Corey Washington, the darling of the preseason, has long arms and some potential, but he is not ready for this. Newly signed Kevin Ogletree, once he gets the offense down, figures to be the leading candidate at slot receiver.
It's got to be Randle, Beckham and Preston Parker, a 27-year old with experience with the Buccaneers, to carry the load. Parker has shown flashes, but everyone is concerned with his ball security, or lack thereof.
Any Cruz hangover will have to be expunged quickly from the locker room. Rolle didn't sound ready to move on just yet, but Wednesday starts the week of practice and eyes will be on the team leaders to point everyone's eyes forward.
Rolle could fathom how in Philly, "We took it, we took it, we took it, we took it and never once did we ever turn and fight back. That's not being a football player, that's about being a man.''
Then, he added "We need to do something about that this upcoming Sunday.''
It's the Cowboys then the bye. Or, possibly, bye, bye.
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