Week 2: First look at Sunday night matchup 0-2.

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Giants at Cowboys Color Rush Riley Dixon Jersey , That is the tough-to-climb-out-of pit NFL teams want to avoid falling into. Since 2007, 91 teams have fallen into it. Only 10 (10.9 percent) have climbed out and reached the playoffs.Both the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys are 0-1 after losing season-opening contests, the Giants to the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-15 and the Cowboys to the Carolina Panthers 16-8.One of them will leave the field after Sunday night’s game in that 0-2 abyss.Giants head coach Pat Shurmur has said often that he believes the Giants are on the right path. He told the team’s official website this week that he’s trying not to stress over having lost in Week 1.“I’ve been involved in a lot of first games of the season,” Shurmur said. “You just move forward. That’s the important thing is you move forward. You learn from the mistakes you made, you build on the things you did well and you just keep moving. That’s the important piece. That may get old as we go through these Mondays with me saying that, but you can win a game and still go through that process. When you lose a game, it hurts more, but you still go through the same process.”There are 30 players on the Giants roster who weren’t part of last season’s disaster, when the team started 0-5 and finished 3-13. They believe this team is different than last season’s, than most Giants teams of recent vintage that went home for the winter when the regular season ended.Wide receiver Sterling Shepard called the game against Jacksonville “really encouraging” despite the loss.“If you look at the game, we were a few plays away from coming out with a different outcome,” he said. “But guys do a good job around here just bouncing back and kind of brushing it off, and fixing the things we need to fix and I feel like that’s what we’ll do this week. Be ready for Dallas.”Odell Beckham Jr. is also spreading the optimistic message.“There was just a lot of moments and opportunities [against Jacksonville] where we had chances and we didn’t connect. Whether it was the first game or whatever it is, we just missed those chances, but they are right there,” Beckham said. “Our plan is for them to be there all year, so instead of seven points it could have been three extra touchdowns. There’s twenty-eight, it’s just a matter of time before everything starts clicking. We came out and put our best foot forward and it’s a good place to start.”The Giants opened the week as 3.5-point underdogs. Follow our Giants-Cowboys Hub Page for continuing coverage all week.The Cowboys are, of course, led on offense by quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott. On defense, the big names include linebacker Sean Lee and defensive end Demarcus Lawrence, who had 14.5 sacks in 2017. Dallas comes off a game in which it scored only 8 points and totaled only 232 yards of total offense.The Giants got some potentially good news on Tuesday. Coach Pat Shurmur announced on WFAN radio star linebacker Olivier Vernon Color Rush Landon Collins Jersey , who sat out Week 1 with an ankle injury, is expected to practice on Wednesday.We will have much more coverage throughout the week, including offensive and defensive breakdowns, a look at what to watch on Sunday, and more.By the numbers328 — Beckham (324) needs four receptions to surpass former TE Bob Tucker (327) for 8th all-time in receptions in franchise history.251 — Odell Beckham Jr. needs 251 receiving yards (4,535) over the next two games to surpass Lance Alworth (4,785) for most receiving yards by a player through his first career 50 games.22-28-1 — That’s the Giants record in Sunday night games.49 — That’s how many touchdown passes Eli Manning has thrown against Dallas. His most vs. an NFC East opponent is 51 against the Philadelphia Eagles.4 — That’s how many touchdown passes Manning (339) needs to surpass Fran Tarkenton (342) for sixth-most all-time.New York Giants final 53-man roster projection: What the Giants might look like Who will make the initial 53-man roster for the New York Giants? We have been making projections on that for months now, even updating them after each preseason game.Well, there are no more preseason games and rosters have to be trimmed from 90 players to 53 by 4 p.m. ET on Saturday. So, here is our final 2018 Giants 53-man roster projection. Let’s see how close I get. I’m putting the over/under on correct selections at 49.OffenseQuarterback (3) — Eli Manning, Davis Webb, Kyle LaulettaNo change.Manning is still the Giants’ guy. Webb is No. 2. Lauletta, like Webb did last season, will spend game days in street clothes unless an injury moves him up the depth chart.Giants-Patriots: Was Kyle Lauletta’s night better than the stats indicated?Running back (4) — Saquon Barkley, Wayne Gallman, Jonathan Stewart, Shane SmithNo change.Robert Martin was impressive in the preseason until an ankle injury derailed him after 3 carries for 11 yards on Thursday. Jhurell Pressley (7 carries, 40 yards, 5.7 yards per carry) and Jalen Simmons (11-41-3.7) have also made strong cases for themselves. One of those guys is going to land on the 10-man practice squad [See full practice squad explainer]. I’m just not sure which one.Tight end (4) — Evan Engram, Rhett Ellison, Jerell Adams, Scott SimonsonNo change.I have gone back-and-forth on the idea of keeping four tight ends on the roster. Consideringthat the Giants will rely heavily on two-tight end sets this season keeping a fourth tight end on the roster Youth Sterling Shepard Jersey , especially one who is a blocker first, seems like a good idea. Simonson gets the nod over Ryan O’Malley and Garrett Dickerson.Wide receiver (5) — Odell Beckham Jr., Sterling Shepard, Cody Latimer, Russell Shepard, Hunter SharpChange: Sharp in, Kalif Raymond outThe Sharp-Raymond battle really comes down to which guy the Giants prefer as the punt returner. Judging by the fact that Sharp got first opportunities throughout the preseason, he would be guy. Despite his preseason drops, I also think the 5-foot-11, 198-pound Sharp could be more useful as a wide receiver than the 5-9, 160-pound Raymond.Offensive line (9) — Starters: Nate Solder (LT), Will Hernandez (LG), Jon Halapio (C), Patrick Omameh (RG), Ereck Flowers (RT); Reserves: John Greco, Chad Wheeler, John Jerry, Nick BectonChange: Brett Jones traded to Minnesota Vikings, Nick Becton addedBecton left Thursday night’s game with an ankle injury, which complicates this projection somewhat since we have no idea of the severity. I am going to put him on the roster for now, giving me two reserve inside players and two reserves tackles. I will admit I cheated a little on this one. Becton is my ninth lineman, and I was sorely tempted to choose veteran guard Chris Scott. Thing is Alec Ogletree Jersey , I think whoever the ninth lineman is will be getting cut no later than after Week 1 vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars. I strongly believe the Giants will be searching the waiver wire for a veteran swing tackle.Sitting in the press box Thursday night, Patricia Traina reminded me that Scott is a vested NFL veteran, meaning that if he is on the initial 53-man roster his salary is guaranteed for the entire season. Becton is not a vested veteran (you need four years experience) and the Giants would be able to cut him without penalty.DefenseDefensive line (6) — Starters: Damon Harrison, Dalvin Tomlinson, B.J. Hill; Reserves: Kerry Wynn, Robert Thomas, A.J. FrancisChange: Avery Moss droppedMoss didn’t really belong with the defensive linemen, anyway. Besides, he played far less than Romeo Okwara and others in the first three preseason games. They have somewhat redundant skills set, but I think both Thomas and Francis make the squad. If the Giants want an additional EDGE player, Okwara would be in and Francis out.Linebackers (8) — Starters: Alec Ogletree, B.J. Goodson, Olivier Vernon, Kareem Martin; Reserves: Lorenzo Carter, Ray-Ray Armstrong, Mark Herzlich, Connor BarwinNo changeI’m sticking with Herzlich over Calvin Munson or undrafted free agent Tae Davis. Every time I try to stick a fork in Herzlich’s Giants career I end up being wrong. If I’m going to be wrong this time, it will be because Herzlich finally actually doesn’t make it.The thing I’m really concerned about here is Barwin’s health, both for this projection and for his ability to contribute. Cornerbacks (6) — Starters: Janoris Jenkins, Eli Apple; Reserves: B.W. Webb, Donte Deayon, Chris Lewis-Harris 4Dalvin Tomlinson Jersey , Leonard JohnsonChange: Deayon and Lewis-Harris in, Grant Haley outDeayon pretty much demanded to be kept on the 53-man roster with his monster two-interception night Thursday. Lewis-Harris who got the majority of the early action Thursday. He was active vs. the run and the pass with 6 tackles and 2 passes defenses. Haley is intriguing, but I have reservations about his readiness for the active roster. Practice squad makes sense for him.Johnson could lose this spot if the Giants keep someone like Okwara for the pass rush or one of the young running backs.Safeties (5) — Starters: Landon Collins, Curtis Riley; Reserves: Michael Thomas, William Gay, Andrew AdamsChange: Gay added, Darian Thompson outThompson, the third-year free safety, did not dress again on Thursday due to a lingering hamstring injury. He hasn’t played or practiced since the first preseason game. The guess here is that he’s headed to injured reserve. Unfortunate for him, but it means the Giants won’t have to choose between Gay and Adams for a final safety spot.Special teamsPlacekicker — Aldrick RosasPunter — Riley DixonLong-snapper — Zak DeOssiePractice squad (10 players)RB Robert Martin, C Evan Brown, OL Nick Gates, S Sean Chandler, DL Tyrell Chavis, TE Garrett Dickerson, WR Amba Etta-Tawo, CB Grant Haley, WR Travis Rudolph, LB Tae Davis

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