ARLINGTON, Texas — The season starts tonight for the Giants, because the NFC season starts tonight for them. So the stakes are as high as you can get them before Halloween, and not solely for the Cowboys, who will be desperate to make a last stand here to save a season already on the brink.
It is the cruelest of teases, this prospect of a hushed stadium, of Jerry Jones standing humbled on his sidelines, of Wade Phillips scratching his head one more time, of Tony Romo running for his life from Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck. America watching doomsday in Dallas for America’s Team.
This chance to bury the ‘Boys six feet under in their sixth game of the season.
The sky has been falling in Dallas; the panic buttons have been pushed. Jones has given the team a “put up or shut up” pep talk. Zebras have been monitoring practice. But if the Giants don’t bury the ‘Boys, they don’t get to feel good about any four-game winning streak heading into their bye week. They don’t stay atop the division. They leave Jones’ palace with a worse division record than the Cowboys.
So let’s see what kind of killer instinct we get from these Giants tonight. Helmet-to-helmet hits may be against the rules, but there is no NFL crackdown on killer instinct. Because that is exactly what it is going to take to bury the ‘Boys.
Because one of these nights, Phillips’ ‘Boys will stop committing undisciplined penalties. One of these nights, Phillips’ ‘Boys will stop turning the ball over. If that night is tonight, the Giants won’t be able to play the survive-and-advance football they showed against the Lions and survive an archrival waiting for them inside Last Chance Saloon.
So here is the Post’s How To Bury The ‘Boys blueprint:
* START FAST:
This accomplishes two things. It ratchets up the anxiety on the part of the Cowboys, who are already suffering a crisis of confidence. And it makes the natives even more restless than they will be at the start of the night.
* TARGET MIKE JENKINS:
The beleaguered cornerback, a Pro Bowler last season, has been flagged for four pass interference penalties over the last two weeks. Eli Manning threw for 330 yards against the Cowboys the night Jones opened his $1.2 billion palace last season and he may have to do it again — possibly with a diminished Hakeem Nicks (hamstring) — to open up the running game for Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. Jenkins does have two picks against Manning, one of which was a pick-six.
“It’s going to be a good week because I always get Eli,” Jenkins told the Dallas Morning News.
* SWARM FELIX JONES:
Marion Barber isn’t the barbarian he used to be. Jones is a home run waiting to happen, and the Giants must guard against checkdowns and screens that are designed to counter Big Blue’s kamikaze pass rush. The Giants completely took Houston’s Arian Foster out of the game and made Tennessee’s Chris Johnson earn every last yard. Jones was 22-for-88 rushing, 4-for-38 receiving in the first three games. He is 29-for-131 rushing, 14-for-78 receiving in the last two.
* FORCE TONY ROMO TO PLAY CATCHUP:
Romo is under immense media and fan pressure, and has been prone to mistakes, particularly in the fourth quarter. Because he is so dangerous outside the pocket, the Giants must keep him boxed in, so the sizzling Umenyiora (eight sacks), with help from Tuck, can tee off on him and employ his dreaded tomahawk strip (seven forced fumbles). Perry Fewell has the flexibility to confuse Romo with either a three-safety or three-corner alignment. Let outside linebacker Michael Boley sing “Me and My Shadow” to tight end Jason Witten.
* DON’T LET DeMARCUS WARE WRECK THE GAME:
One week it’s Dwight Freeney, the next week it’s Julius Peppers or Mario Williams, and this week it’s Ware (seven sacks). Let Shawn Andrews help David Diehl with this monster.
* TOUCHDOWNS, NOT FIELD GOALS:
The Cowboys have a contingent of big, physical weapons at wideout (Roy Williams, Dez Bryant) and tight end (Witten, Martellus Bennett) and quick-strike capacity (Jones, Miles Austin). The potential for a shootout should not be dismissed. Given that Lawrence Tynes missed the Detroit game with a sprained ankle, it wouldn’t be the best idea to trust him completely anyway.
* BREAK ONE, DARIUS REYNAUD:
The Cowboys are dead last in kickoff coverage. And kicker David Buehler hasn’t exactly been Mr. Touchback. Reynaud (19.2-yard average) needs to crack his season-high 31-yard return.
Bury the ‘Boys.