wishes the New York Giants won more games in his rookie year. The fact they have not makes their season finale Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys mean something.
The Giants can still get the first pick in the draft if they lose and Las Vegas beats Kansas City. Dart does not care about that and just wants to finish on a high note.
鈥淭his is a huge division game,鈥� Dart said. 鈥淭hat obviously matters to me a ton, and I鈥檓 excited to go out there and compete against them.鈥�
New York is 3-13, Dallas is 7-8-1 and there’s not much more on the line than draft positioning and Dallas’ Dak Prescott leading the NFL in yards passing. Cowboys first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer feels good about Prescott and the rest of the starters going on the field at the Meadowlands.
鈥淧lan on finishing strong,鈥� Schottenheimer said. 鈥�(We) get a chance to go 5-1 hopefully in the division, finish 8-8-1 and that鈥檚 the plan as we鈥檙e looking at now.鈥�
to take a step forward after going 3-14 in 2024. Instead, with an 0-3 start, and everything has fallen apart.
The biggest long-term question is whether ownership will fire or keep him and let him oversee the coaching search. Dart may or may not be the franchise QB moving forward, so he’s just focusing on this weekend.
“I care about winning, so whatever that takes,” said Dart, who has thrown for 13 touchdowns and run for nine.
The focus is on 鈥楩lus鈥�
First-year Dallas defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus鈥� job security is a topic of serious speculation with the Cowboys among the worst defensive teams in the NFL. A brief surge in three games after has faded and big plays allowed.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said on his radio during the week that any decisions on the coaching staff would come 鈥減ronto鈥� after the season. He has said several times there wouldn鈥檛 be an in-season firing of Eberflus, who was Chicago’s coach until being fired midseason last year.
Schottenheimer deflected a question about Jones鈥� comment.
鈥淚 want to get through this game, and then everything鈥檚 going to be evaluated,鈥� Schottenheimer said. 鈥淏ut the biggest thing that we want to do is make the right decisions in everything we do. My focus right now really is not on New Year鈥檚. It鈥檚 about figuring out how to block Dexter Lawrence, you know, 鈥楽exy Dexy.鈥� I mean, he is a big man. That鈥檚 our focus right now.鈥�
Giants’ pass rush gets another chance
Even with Kayvon Thibodeaux on injured reserve, New York still has Lawrence and edge rushers Brian Burns and Abdul Carter. 16 1/2 sacks, and late in his rookie year with stats to show for how much pressure he has caused.
鈥淗e鈥檚 committed to it and we鈥檝e talked a lot about him committing to his process and making some tweaks and changes, which is great,鈥� interim defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen said of Carter. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 always force the process, as well, so I think it鈥檚 just been continued commitment by him off the field and then on the field, he鈥檚 had some success. I think now, at this point, he鈥檚 in a little bit of a groove and a rhythm and gaining confidence and so that鈥檚 what you鈥檙e seeing on the field.鈥�
No championship in this opportunity
One of Schottenheimer鈥檚 pet phrases is 鈥渃hampionship opportunity,鈥� and he鈥檚 still using it even though the Cowboys are about to play their third game since being eliminated from the playoff contention.
They do have the incentive of trying to avoid consecutive losing seasons for the first time since the last of three in a row in 2002. Prescott said he has never had a losing season when he wasn鈥檛 injured. It has happened twice in Dallas in years cut short by injuries to the star quarterback (2020 and 2024).
鈥淭o me, a championship opportunity is you take whatever that game is, you give it everything you鈥檝e got throughout the course of the week,鈥� Schottenheimer said. 鈥淏ecause what you want is you want the bigger the game becomes, it鈥檚 no different. When you鈥檙e playing in a Super Bowl, you want it to feel no different than Week 6 or Week 7 or Week 8. Because it鈥檚 just another championship opportunity.鈥�
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AP Pro Football Writer Schuyler Dixon in Frisco, Texas, contributed to this report.
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