10 things to watch in Giants vs. Cowboys

Dexter Lawrence has played well in all facets this season. Although he did not register a sack of Lions QB Jared Goff last week, he picked up two total pressures, including one quarterback hit. The fourth-year lineman made an impact in the run game with five total tackles on running plays, including three run stops. Lawrence finished the game with a season-high seven total tackles (three solo) while playing 88 percent of the defensive snaps. It was the sixth time in the last seven games that he played at least 86 percent of snaps.

The 25-year-old is enjoying a breakout campaign with career-highs in sacks (five) and quarterback hits (17) despite having seven games left on the schedule. Both of those numbers are more than twice as many as any other Giant. His 40 total tackles also puts him on pace to break his previous career-best of 54 total tackles set last year.

Last week’s win over the Vikings marked the first game in which Cowboys QB Dak Prescott was not sacked. He had been sacked multiple times in three of the previous four games prior to Week 11. The Cowboys’ 14 sacks allowed on the season are tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the fewest in the league. Cooper Rush started for the injured Prescott in Week 3 and completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 215 yards and a touchdown for a passer rating of 98.2.

“Wherever they found success against us last game is probably something that they’re going to try to come back to this week,” defensive lineman Leonard Williams said on Monday. “That’s something I’m going to try to study and prepare for and watch a lot of what happened to us last game.”

Thursday’s contest is the Giants’ 16th Thanksgiving game, the sixth-highest total in NFL history, with all of them being played on the road. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Giants were regular Thanksgiving participants. But after their 7-7 tie against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbetts Field in 1938, they didn’t play on the holiday again until 1982.

The Giants are 7-5-3 all-time on Thanksgiving but have lost their last three Turkey Day games, in 1992, 2009 and 2017. Their last win on Thanksgiving came in 1982 when Lawrence Taylor picked off a Gary Danielson pass in the fourth quarter and returned it 97 yards for the only touchdown in the Giants’ 13-6 victory. It is still the third-longest interception return in Giants history.

Speaking of Prescott, the 29-year-old quarterback has improved since…