Week one is finally here. After a long offseason, the Dallas Cowboys will kick off their regular season against the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football. In preparing for the matchup, today we will look at one of the key matchups in this game to highlight.
While the biggest matchup will be the Cowboys offensive tackles versus the Giants edge rushers, that conversation has dominated the talking space over the last week or two. Today, we are going to look at something a little different that could
impact the game the same, if not more than the Cowboys tackles versus the Giants pass rusher.
Jaxson Dart’s legs versus the Cowboys containment
As dominant as the Giants pass rush can be, this game will likely come down to the Cowboys defense keeping Jaxson Dart inside the pocket. There are still a lot of questions about Dart’s ability to win games through the air with his arm, and his ability to process defenses while navigating pressure. One thing that isn’t in question is Dart being an extremely good athlete who can win games with his legs if given the opportunity.
Dart went 4-8 as a starter last year for the Giants. In those four wins, Dart rushed for an average of 41 yards and scored four touchdowns on the ground. In the Giants 34-17 win against Christian Parker’s former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, Dart rushed 13 times for 58 yards and a touchdown. What stood out to me when watching these games is the Vic Fangio/Christian Parker defense were very aggressive in this loss blitzing Dart. While Dart had his struggles moving the football through the air, it seemed like Dart’s ability to scramble and beat pressure with his legs was a key factor in the Giants win in Week 6.
The Giants faced the Eagles just two weeks after that big NFC East win, and it was a completely different story. In their Week 8 matchup, the Eagles played the Giants offense completely different. After sending a ton of pressure at Dart in their previous matchup, the Eagles implemented a much more passive defensive approach in Week 8 forcing Dart to read the field, go through his progressions, and stay inside the pocket.
Dart finished that game, a 38-20 loss, by going 14-24 for 193 yard and a passing touchdown, while only rushing six times for 17 yards and a touchdown, compared to the 13 rushes for 58 yards in a touchdown in the Giants Week 6 win.
With Christian Parker having experience facing Dart in 2025, the “clog-and-cover” approach seemed to be much more effective against the rookie Dart and forced him to win from the pocket consistently.
This will put a lot of pressure on the Cowboys defensive front Sunday night, and with the week one jitters being a real thing, the Cowboys should be making sure they are playing under-control on the defensive line and playing with good integrity in their rush lanes when rushing the passer.
The Cowboys linebackers and secondary will also be put to the test Sunday night. This will be a fun matchup for DeMarvion Overshown, Caleb Downs, and Jaishawn Barham who should be tasked with keeping Dart from making plays with his legs and forcing him to win this football game with his arm.
The Cowboys did a relatively good job defending Dart’s legs last year in Week 18, only allowing him to rush for 32 yards on five carries. We will see if they can do the same on Sunday night at MetLife to help secure a week one win to kickoff the 2026 season.
