Cowboys Today: Predictions for Thanksgiving matchup vs. Giants and Brandin Cooks returns

The passing game was bound to change when Cooper Rush took over for the injured Dak Prescott at quarterback. One thing that’s different is how much the ball is being pushed down the field. According to TruMedia, Prescott attempted 10.8 percent of his passes 20 or more yards down the field. Rush is less, but not by much: He’s attempted 9.4 percent of his passes beyond 20 yards. A similar trend exists with passes at or behind the line of scrimmage. For Prescott, 20.6 percent of his passes fit that category while Rush is in the same ballpark at 21.5 percent.

The difference, though, is a bit more in the intermediate game. Fifty-eight percent of Prescott’s passes went beyond five yards, whereas the figure is 50 percent for Rush. For 10-plus yards, it was 30.4 percent for Prescott while it’s 26.2 percent for Rush. Prescott has been above 55 percent on five-plus yards for all but one year in his career and over 30 percent in 10-plus yards for all but one year in his career, too. In terms of passing depth, the intermediate game is where there’s been the biggest change from Prescott to Rush.

Rush suffered a knee injury during Sunday’s game. He was limited Monday and Tuesday but was a full participant Wednesday. He said Tuesday that he was “good to go” for today’s game.

Cowboys RG Zack Martin and TE Jake Ferguson have officially been ruled out for tomorrow pic.twitter.com/ZAYPxGcLsu

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 27, 2024

Stay the course

Brandin Cooks is officially back, with the Cowboys bringing the veteran wide receiver off of injured reserve on Wednesday. It’s a positive development for the Dallas offense, especially given Cooks’ leadership and the respect he commands from the entire locker room.

Although Cooks’ return is a good thing, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy needs to be realistic in how he plans to call the offense, and which players he features. Dallas has been sorely lacking in playmakers around CeeDee Lamb, and that’s included Cooks when he was healthy, for the bulk of last season and earlier this season.

With it being his first game back after being out for two months, Cooks may be on a snap count, anyway. Regardless, the Cowboys need to lean in to where the results have been showing up. Having the full stable of wide receivers shouldn’t result in getting too pass-happy and abandoning the run game, especially after Rico Dowdle is coming off an 86-yard performance.

KaVontae Turpin has also shown up as a playmaker the past couple of weeks with two 60-plus yard touchdowns. He deserves to be involved in the Cowboys’ plan to score points.

Getting Cooks back should be helpful, especially as tight end Jake Ferguson remains out with a concussion. Having more weapons to work with is always a good thing, but McCarthy needs to make sure he doesn’t abandon what’s been working, just to accommodate Cooks’ return.

One Star Cowboys Podcast

Give this week’s episode a listen as we preview today’s game but spend most of the time talking about bigger picture topics, like the future of the Cowboys’ coaching staff. We also responded to several mailbag questions about the rest of the season and which players Dallas needs to make a priority in free agency.

Predictions

Jon Machota, Dallas Cowboys beat writer: The Vegas line has me second-guessing myself. I figured with all the drama in New York and the Cowboys coming off a win at Washington that they would be a touchdown favorite over the Giants. But the oddsmakers have Dallas as only a 3.5-point favorite. Maybe it’s because of the sun. It’s often an issue at AT&T Stadium during these 3:30 CT games. What a fun storyline that will be. But ultimately, I think Mike Zimmer has the Dallas defense heading in the right direction. I think Micah Parsons and company will make things very difficult for Drew Lock or whoever is playing quarterback for New York. Cowboys 17, Giants 10.

Saad Yousuf, Dallas Cowboys beat writer: I’m having a hard time not looking past this game for the Cowboys, not necessarily because I think they’re so much better than the Giants but more so because I don’t think this game reveals much about the team. If they lose, last Sunday’s win serves as a blip on the radar and it’s back to the miserable feeling when they lost five consecutive games. If they win, well, it’s the Giants. Get through this one, and then I think we’ll find out more about the Cowboys next week against the Cincinnati Bengals. Cowboys 20, Giants 9.

Charlotte Carroll, New York Giants beat writer: The Giants have plunged to the bottom of power rankings and climbed to the top of the league in embarrassment after Sunday’s thrashing by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It wasn’t just the loss but what came after that made the Giants look so bad: The postgame locker room was furious, and players like Malik Nabers and Dexter Lawrence didn’t hold back from venting their frustrations. This is a team teetering on the edge, so they desperately need to produce a respectable performance in front of a national audience to quiet the conversation. Thursday’s game won’t be pretty, but Dallas might not be good enough to embarrass New York. I think the Giants can at least hang around before ultimately falling. Cowboys 20, Giants 10.

(Top photo of Cooper Rush: Geoff Burke / Imagn Images)