ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — A five-game losing steak behind them, the Dallas Cowboys can target a mystifying 0-5 record at AT&T Stadium for a club that a year ago was closing in on the franchise record for consecutive home wins.
There's some success to go with the adversity as the New York Giants visit for Dallas' annual Thanksgiving Day home game, but Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy isn't worried about testing his theory that handling the good times is more difficult than pushing through the bad.
“We’re still pretty far down in the valley of adversity right now,” McCarthy said. “We’ve made one step in the right direction. We’ve still got a lot of climbing to do. It was great to get some wind under our wings and start that.”
Coming off a 34-26 victory at Washington, the Cowboys (4-7) believe a rally to a fourth consecutive playoff trip is plausible, and the schedule supports the idea.
The end of a four-game stretch against teams with winning records is being greeted by the first of four against clubs currently under .500.
The Giants (2-9) enter Thursday's meeting on a six-game losing streak — not to mention the seven-game slide against their NFC East rival — and have replaced one quarterback question with another.
Tommy DeVito emerged with a sore throwing arm after his first start in place of the benched and subsequently released Daniel Jones. New York is giving Drew Lock more practice reps just in case.
DeVito didn't travel with the team so he could stay for treatment, but was expected to make the trip later Wednesday. He's listed as questionable.
If DeVito does get the start, it will certainly stir memories of his first a little more than a year ago in the same stadium. His first snap against the Cowboys was from the New York 1-yard line in a 49-17 loss.
“So much has happened from then,” said DeVito, who started five more times last season. “A little nervous going into it, so I’ve kind of been around the block now, kind of played in that stadium before, in that crowd. Obviously, Thanksgiving’s a little bit different, but I look forward to another challenge.”
Cooper Rush won his first five starts as an injury replacement for Dak Prescott in 2021-22. He was on a personal three-game losing streak before beating the Commanders with his best passer rating as a starter (117.6).
This will be the fourth consecutive start for Rush, who had five in a row two years ago. Prescott isn't coming back this time. He's out for the season after surgery for a torn hamstring.
“There's a rhythm to being the starter throughout the week and then obviously out there on game day,” Rush said. “There's a comfort level of getting back out there for sure. It's human nature. It's natural. You can prepare all you want, but game reps are game reps.”
Bad vibes at home
Counting a wild-card playoff loss to Green Bay last January, the Cowboys are on a six-game slide at AT&T Stadium. They had won the previous 16 in the 80,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof and giant video board above the field.
Dallas is back in the afternoon time slot at home for the first time since 2023 All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb lost a pass into the end zone in the sun with a chance to take the lead early in a 34-6 loss to Philadelphia.
The stadium's east-west alignment has been the subject of ridicule for years with the giant glass doors on each end.
Before the next home game against Houston, a large piece of metal and some debris fell from the roof as the retractable roof was being opened a few hours before kickoff.
No picks
The Giants are on the verge of setting an NFL record for most consecutive games without an interception.
New York has gone a record-tying 10 games without a pick since rookie linebacker Darius Muasau caught a tipped pass by Minnesota's Sam Darnold in the opener.
The San Francisco 49ers went 10 games over two seasons (1976-77), while the Oakland Raiders had an in-season run in 2017, which defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s unit has matched.
“Look, we got to do a better job of taking the ball away,” Daboll said.
Do it again
Rico Dowdle had 86 yards rushing, one off his season best, against the Commanders. The NFL's second-worst run game played a big part in an efficient Dallas offense helping pull off the Cowboys' biggest upset since 2010.
Now the Cowboys have to try to do it again. They couldn't the one other time Dowdle had some momentum. He was held to a season-low 25 yards in a blowout loss to Detroit a week after his season-best 87 in a last-minute victory at Pittsburgh.
“We didn’t have enough attempts (against Washington) and we still won the time of possession,” McCarthy said. “We just have to stay the course. The complementary football is the best way for us to win games. It has been the last couple of years.”
Tracy troubles
Rookie Tyrone Tracy has emerged as the Giants' top running back, replacing Devin Singletary. The fifth-round draft pick out of Purdue has a team-high 587 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
Tracy has lost fumbles the past two games, though. The first was in overtime in Germany against Carolina and resulted in the Panthers' game-winning field goal.
He also lost one at the Buccaneers 5-yard line with New York down 23-0. Tracy didn’t touch the ball again until the final series.
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AP Sports Writer Tom Canavan contributed to this report.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL
Schuyler Dixon, The Associated Press
