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Keidel: Giants Can Join Heavyweight Division With Win Over Dallas

By Jason Keidel
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NFL players love to wrap themselves in all manner of metaphor. One of the more familiar -- if not myopic -- cliches is that football is akin to war, with players being soldiers.

But if we're to draw upon sports analogies, perhaps boxing serves us better. One of the most crucial characteristics in a fighter is confidence. Not only in his physical talent, but in his ability to outwit the man across from him.

To that end, the New York Giants enter their rematch with the Dallas Cowboys holding the belt, if you will. Not only do they know they can beat the sizzling Cowboys, they have done it. In Dallas, no less. Indeed, Big Blue is the only club to outscore the 11-1 Cowboys over four quarters -- a 20-19 victory in Week 1.

Dallas devotees will say they lost it more than the Giants won it, based on the dubious play by Terrance Williams, who snared a pass in the final seconds but forgot to dart toward the sideline. Instead, he was tackled inbounds, and thus the clock melted away before the Cowboys had a chance to kick a game-winning field goal.

LISTEN: McAdoo Likes Giants' Defensive Line's Chances Against Cowboys' O-Line

But we can play the "almost" game in any week, with any team, over any sport. As Don Shula famously asserted, the only stat that matters is the final score. The same fans will also say that it was Dak Prescott's first game, handing the ball to fellow neophyte Ezekiel Elliot, on a team getting its bearings with both rookies. While that's all true, it didn't prevent Dallas from winning its next 11 games and flipping football orthodoxy on its head.

No matter your excuses or explanations, this Sunday's game is rife with plots and subplots, from playoff implications to grudge matches to plain old payback. If incentive is the main metric, then it's a draw. Dallas wants to avenge its lone loss of the season, while the Giants are playing for playoff position, if not survival.

Many football pundits see the Giants as middleweights, their 8-4 record built on the backs of stiffs, the NFL iteration of the Bum of the Month Club. They beat the winless Browns and the hapless Bears and the fading Bengals. But, as the cliche goes, you can only play the clubs on your schedule. And they stand in stark relief against their recent teams, which all seemed to hemorrhage the kind of fourth-quarter leads they've sealed this season.

And if the Giants reach the playoffs for the first time in four years, they will have earned it.

MORE: Silverman: Elliott, Prescott Have Lifted Cowboys To Surprising Heights

Not only do they play the best team in the NFL on Sunday night, they follow that up with games against the Lions, Eagles and Redskins -- who are a combined 30-17-1.

All successful NFL teams are an amalgam of skill, will and luck. The Cowboys are not only remarkably good and efficient, they're also quite healthy. They lead the league in rushing, scoring and time of possession. Considering they are the only NFL team to run the ball more than pass it, their granite offensive line is intact, as is their bull of a running back, Elliot. When you realize he played for Ohio State last year -- playing a truncated, college schedule -- his durability is just as impressive as his dominance.

On the other hand, the Giants have not been as lucky. Jason Pierre-Paul, who finally found is old form after 2015, a season wrought with surgery, rumor and rancor, has now been shelved by hernia surgery, which essentially ends his season. Unless the Giants play deep into January, which is, well, unlikely.

Then there's the drama on the edge. Odell Beckham Jr., the most electric player on the planet, has been equal parts dazzling and baffling. His athletic splendor is simply spellbinding. Sadly, he does not command his emotions as well as he handles the football. When he's not pacing and ranting along the sidelines, or abusing then proposing marriage to a kicker's net, he's griping about the blatant disrespect he gets from officials. Every time Beckham doesn't catch a pass, it seems there's some abstract collusion in play. (And now we have Victor Cruz complaining that he hasn't seen the pigskin at a rate commensurate to his cachet.)

MORE: Palladino: Giants Should Assign JPP To OBJ's Behavior Detail

You may notice an alarming contrast across the field on Sunday, from another alleged diva receiver. Notice how exemplary Dez Bryant has been? For all the talk about the all-world wideout's temper, Bryant has been all about winning, his mood almost always paralleling Dallas' place in the standings. Now, with his team 11-1, Bryant is behaving like a Boy Scout. You could do a lot worse than having 11 Dez Bryants on your team.

Beckham is every bit the player Bryant is. He has the talent and temerity. But does he have the maturity?

If Beckham can lead the Giants to victory over Bryant's Cowboys, Big Blue may just may graduate from middleweights to heavyweights.

Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel

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