EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys are off to a slow start and concerns are mounting after two straight losses at home.
The anxiety in Big D could reach a tipping point on Thursday night when the Cowboys (1-2) travel to face the New York Giants (1-2).
Both New Orleans and Baltimore played well against Dallas. However the Cowboys have dominated the Giants of late. They have won the past six games and 13 of 14 overall.
In their two games last season, Dallas won by a combined margin of 89-17. It's the biggest point differential the Cowboys have had in two games against an NFC East rival in a season.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy didn't want to talk about the past. Like Giants coach Brian Daboll, he has been focused on Thursday night.
“I talk to them everyday. I have a team meeting every day," said McCarthy, whose team had a 16-game winning streak at home before the recent losses. “I have an opportunity obviously to talk to the offense more. We understand where we are: we’re 1-2. We have our first division game in front of us.”
Giants safety Jason Pinnock looks at Thursday's game as a new opportunity.
"My analogy goes toward my big brother,” Pinnock said. “We joke about this all the time. It’s sort of like, he probably beat on me for 12 years, but that 13th, I’m going to bust your (butt). It is what it is.”
All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb was animated in the presence of Dak Prescott with offense struggling against Baltimore, appearing to call for more targets with the Cowboys on their way to a three-touchdown deficit.
It took two days for Lamb to face reporters, but the mea culpa finally came.
"Quite honestly, I failed myself and obviously I failed the team just as far as producing and being that game-breaker player and obviously a guy that they can lean on," Lamb said. "I kind of let the game get to my head a little bit."
The same thing happened a year ago in a 42-10 loss at San Francisco, when Lamb tied his season low with four catches and had just 49 yards receiving. He responded with four consecutive 100-yard games.
“I plan on doing that again,” Lamb said after a pause, smile and chuckle when reminded of the visit to the 49ers.
The previous time the Cowboys and Giants played, Prescott threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns. That has to be a concern with New York's secondary banged up.
Mike McCloud hurt a knee in the opener and has missed the past two games and fellow cornerbacks Dru Phillips and Adoree Jackson left with calf injuries Sunday and are out for Thursday. Expect Tre Hawkins to be active this week.
Dallas has never played on the road on three days’ rest, according to the team. The Cowboys always host a Thanksgiving game, which is the first explanation for such a statistical quirk.
McCarthy didn’t know off the top of his head how many times Green Bay played on the road on a Thursday after a Sunday in his 12-plus seasons in charge of the Packers.
It was five times, including just before he was fired 12 games into the 2018 season when the Packers went to Seattle. The first four were all trips to Detroit, which is about 500 miles from Green Bay compared to the 1,500 miles separating Dallas and New York.
“First time you go through it, you have a different feeling,” said McCarthy, who is in his fifth season with the Cowboys. “You’re going to do play two Thursday games. It’s just part of playing for the Dallas Cowboys. I guess I’m used to it.”
Starting running back Devin Singletary has lost fumbles on the Giants' opening possession of the second half the past two weeks. He's worked on it the past few days.
“You gotta get back to the fundamentals,” he said. "It goes a long way and that’s what we’re doing now.”
Singletary has 5,468 yards from scrimmage on 1,114 touches in five-plus seasons. He has fumbled 16 times.
Daboll is sticking with Greg Joseph as his kicker despite seeing him miss his only field-goal attempt Sunday.
Joseph was signed off the Lions practice squad last week after Graham Gano injured a hamstring chasing down a returner on the opening kickoff against Washington.
The injury hurt New York in the 21-18 loss. Punter Jamie Gillan missed an extra point and New York failed on two, 2-point attempts.
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AP Pro Football Writer Schuyler Dixon contributed to this report.
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