Justin Tuck says NY Giants ‘must win’ tomorrow
Terrelle Pryor (2) is pressured by New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck (91) at MetLife Stadium. The Giants defeated the Raiders 24-20. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The most talked-about game this week is tomorrow’s Sunday Night Football game between the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots, and all the talk about that game isn’t surprising nor undeserved. I mean, it’s a marquee matchup between two great, popular teams. But two other well-known teams are going at it tomorrow, and it’s a rivalry game with an awful lot on the line. Tomorrow’s battle between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys is the first of several key games that could decide the NFC East, which is one of the two most hotly contested divisions in the NFL this year. Like the NFC North, there are three teams with a legitimate chance at winning the division, and the team on the outside will have to stay at home.
The Giants started off the season 0-6, which was an incredibly baffling start to the season. But since then, the Giants have won four straight games and are back in the thick of the playoff race (hopefully they sent “Thank You” cards to the rest of the division for their mediocrity). They have their confidence back, a legitimate running attack again with Andre Brown leading the way, and the offensive line is finally doing its job.
4-6, however, isn’t an easy record to fight back from, and losing this game would cause the Giants to go 4-7 with no margin for error, whereas the rival Cowboys would be 6-5 and hold a key division victory. The Giants understand the magnitude of this game, and veteran star defensive end Justin Tuck rightfully called it a “must win” contest.
He said, via CBS New York, “Instead of us digging ourselves out of a hole there, if we lose this football game, it’s more like them throwing dirt on it. Mathematically is would not put us out of it, but we are looking at it as a must win.”
Great analogy right there from Tuck, and this quote encapsulates just how crucial tomorrow’s game is for just the Giants and Cowboys. And the fact that both of these teams are rivals only makes this game even more important, and it has a lot more bearing on the future than the Broncos-Patriots tilt (even if that game is rich with storylines and star players).