An inside look at Sunday’s Giants-Cowboys NFL Week 10 matchup in Dallas, Texas:
Marquee matchup
Cowboys LB Micah Parsons vs. Giants LT Andrew Thomas
Parsons moves up and down the line, and there will be snaps when he knocks heads with Thomas, one of the top protectors in the league. When that happens, it will be best-on-best. Thomas returned last week after missing seven games with a strained hamstring, and he was not happy with his performance, which graded out as just fine by Pro Football Focus. The guy sets a high standard for himself. Parsons is a beast, pure and simple. He has 7.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss and 17 quarterback hits. He was a one-man wrecking crew in Week 2 against the Jets. Thomas shook off the rust in his return and this should be quite a confrontation when these two knock heads.
Paul’s pick
Let’s skip the sarcasm and the snide remarks, because what’s the use? This is a mismatch, and the only shot at an upset is if the Giants have a healthy turnover margin advantage, score or set up points with their special teams and get lucky with several bounces. Maybe the defense can hang in for a while, but it will be a challenge for Tommy DeVito and the offense to generate first downs, much less points.
Cowboys 27, Giants 6
Four downs
New digs: The trade of Leonard Williams to the Seahawks left a void along the defensive line and also opened up a prime locker right next to Dexter Lawrence, nicely situated in the middle of the room. The team leaders made sure not to let just anyone inhabit that space. “I don’t know if too much went into it, honestly, just some guys came up to me and told me I should move, and I ended up moving,’’ linebacker Bobby Okereke told The Post. Why was this? “Guys on the team felt comfortable with me moving to this locker,’’ Okereke said. “Maybe respect to Leo, the leadership he brought to this team.’’
The big hurt: Daniel Jones in the best of times is not emotive. Yes, he does smile, but “stoic’’ is an apt description of the vibe he gives off. His expression did not change much as his words were filled with frustration at the realization that his season is over with a torn ACL. Could there have been a worse scenario for him in the first year of his new contract? “Yeah, I mean it’s been tough,’’ Jones said. “It’s been a tough year with the injuries, with the neck and this, and then where we are from a record standpoint is tough, too. We put a lot into this. Put a lot of effort and time into it, and to not get the results on the field is probably the most frustrating part of it all.’’
X marks the spot: Is safety Xavier McKinney under extra scrutiny this game? You betcha. His complaint that the leaders on defense are not being listened to was not exactly parroted by his teammates, and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said he was stunned and hurt by the insinuation that the lines of communication are not clear enough. McKinney is in the final year of his rookie contract, and if he wants to return, he needs to pick up the pace on the field and get in line off the it.
Dak attack: Time for a quick quiz: In which game did Dak Prescott have zero touchdown passes and his fewest passing yards of the season? If you guessed the season-opening, 40-0 rout of the Giants, you win. Strange, but true. Prescott is seventh in the league with a quarterback rating of 100.7, completes 70 percent of his passes and has 13 touchdown passes and five interceptions. And there is this: Since losing twice to the Giants as a rookie in 2016, Prescott is 11-0 in his starts against them.