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New York Giants: 3 Players to watch vs. Cowboys in Week 2

By Stephen Smith

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 22: Ereck Flowers #74 of the New York Giants waits to take the field before taking on the Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium on October 22, 2017 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 22: Ereck Flowers #74 of the New York Giants waits to take the field before taking on the Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium on October 22, 2017 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – OCTOBER 22: Ereck Flowers #74 of the New York Giants waits to take the field before taking on the Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium on October 22, 2017 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – OCTOBER 22: Ereck Flowers #74 of the New York Giants waits to take the field before taking on the Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium on October 22, 2017 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

The New York Giants are looking for their first victory of the season when they battle the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night. Here are three Giants players to watch closely.

The New York Giants look to bounce back from an opening game defeat when they travel to Big D, Dallas, TX to face the Cowboys (0-1) this Sunday night. Dallas leads the all-time series between these two long-time divisional rivals, 64-46-2.

This is a huge game for both squads. Neither team wants to start the season mired in a 0-2 hole. Heading into last year, since 2007 just nine of 83 teams that began the campaign 0-2 made the playoffs, per businessinsider.com. That’s why this contest is so crucial.

America will be watching since this is the Sunday Night Football matchup. There are plenty of marquee players on both teams, including Dallas’ Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott and DeMarcus Lawrence.

Regarding New York though, here are three Giants players to keep a close eye on.

Ereck Flowers, RT

The University of Miami product has been a bust since Big Blue selected him with the number nine overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Plain and simple. The 6-6, 325-pounder really struggled in the season opener against Jacksonville, allowing numerous quarterback pressures and committing a pair of costly penalties. The entire offensive line was brutal against the Jaguars, but Flowers’ performance was especially egregious.

The Miami native shifted over to right tackle once the G-Men signed free agent Nate Solder in March to man the left tackle position. Flowers simply does not have the athleticism or balance needed to play tackle in the NFL.

He will no doubt go head-to-head at times with Demarcus Lawrence of the Cowboys on Sunday. That is a recipe for disaster. Lawrence tied for second in the league with 14.5 sacks in 2017. He already has a sack (vs. Carolina) this season.

Flowers really has to step up his game or Eli Manning will get crushed under a heavy pass rush. He doesn’t protect Manning’s blind side but he has to improve drastically so the veteran quarterback has time to find his receivers from the pocket. This is a huge game for Flowers (and the Giants). If he falters again, it will be time to send him to the bench in favor of Chad Wheeler.

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