The Cowboys–Giants rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants.
The Cowboys began their play in the 1960 season; however, it was in the subsequent season that they transitioned to the Eastern Division, establishing a divisional rivalry with the Giants. In the early 1960s the New York Giants were beginning to wind down as an NFL powerhouse and entered a period of poor play where they did not make the playoffs from 1964 to 1980. While the Giants dominated the Cowboys in the first few years of the rivalry, the Cowboys picked up steam and took control from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, winning 17 of the 20 meetings between the two teams in the 1970s. In the 1980s however the Giants struck back, and the rivalry has been relatively even handed ever since with intermittent spurts of dominance (the Giants in the late 1980s and the Cowboys in the early 1990s). The rivalry would also swing in favor of the Giants during the 2000s and early 2010s. Recent history has swung back in favor of the Cowboys, as they have beaten the Giants eleven out of the last twelve matchups since 2017, and 20 of the last 26 matchups since 2013.
This rivalry stands out in American sports because no other team from Texas shares a division with a team from the New York area, nor has a sustained rivalry with one, primarily due to the significant geographical separation between the two regions.
The Cowboys lead the overall series, 78–49–2. The two teams have met once in the playoffs, with the Giants holding a 1–0 record.
Notable rivalry moments 1960s Cowboys 31, Giants 31 (December 4, 1960) – The first meeting between the Cowboys and Giants occurred in 1960 at Yankee Stadium. The game ended in a 31–31 tie. Eddie LeBaron threw three touchdowns for Dallas including two in the fourth quarter, while George Shaw and Lee Grosscup combined for three touchdown throws for the Giants. L. G. Dupree ran for a Dallas touchdown and caught two scores. This was the first game in franchise history in which the Cowboys did not lose, as they opened their inaugural season with ten straight losses. Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry was one of the most fateful figures in the history of both franchises. Drafted by the Giants in 1947, he played multiple roles – defensive back, halfback, and quarterback – and in those roles he recorded one rushing touchdown, one passing touchdown, two touchdowns off fumble recoveries, and three touchdowns off INTs. He made one Pro Bowl as a player, in 1954, the same season he joined the Giants' coaching staff. After he retired as a player at the end of the 1955 season, he became the Giants' defensive coordinator inventing the 4-3 Defense, serving in that role through 1959. In 1960, he became head coach of the first-year Cowboys and in his 29 seasons went 35–16–2 against the Giants. According to The Last Cowboy: A Life of Tom Landry, by Long Island author Mark Ribowsky, Tom Landry's widow, Alicia, claims that after the way the Jones family treated her husband when they purchased the team, that the long-time coach no longer followed the team and went back to being a fan of the Giants until his death in 2000.
1970s Cowboys 20, Giants 13 (October 11, 1971) – The Cowboys defeated the Giants 20–13 in the first Monday Night Football meeting between the teams and the last NFL game at the Cotton Bowl.
1980s Giants 13, Cowboys 10 (OT) (December 19, 1981) – The Giants defeated the Cowboys 13–10 in overtime on a frigid Saturday afternoon in Giants Stadium to clinch the Giants' first playoff berth in 17 seasons. Joe Danelo kicked the winning field goal in overtime after missing a potential game-winner earlier in the extra period.
1990s Cowboys 16, Giants 13 (OT) (January 2, 1994) – In the final game of the 1993 season, with both teams at 11–4 and competing for the #1 seed in the NFC playoffs, Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith suffered a separated right shoulder in the first half, but continued to play in obvious pain, amassing 168 rushing yards, including 41 on the game-winning drive, as Dallas won 16–13 in overtime. Smith also locked up the NFL rushing title with his tough, gritty performance. After the game, sportscaster John Madden paid a visit to Smith in the locker room to congratulate him, the only time Madden (as an announcer) would pay such a visit to a player, later writing "[It] was one of the toughest efforts I've ever seen by any football player in any game." The loss meant the Giants were the #4 seed, while the win earned the Cowboys the #1 seed (and a bye in the playoffs), giving Smith time to heal, and he would go on to lead the Cowboys to victory over the Buffalo Bills as the MVP of Super Bowl XXVIII. Meanwhile, the Giants would defeat the Minnesota Vikings 17–10 in the wild-card round before falling to the San Francisco 49ers the following week. Cowboys 38, Giants 10 (November 7, 1994) – The 7–1 Cowboys hosted the 3–5 Giants as two-time defending Super Bowl champions. After a scoreless first quarter, a touchdown pass from Troy Aikman to Alvin Harper and a one-yard Emmitt Smith rushing score left the Cowboys up 14–3. On the final play of the first half, Aikman launched a long pass to Harper in the end zone; Harper was hit in mid-air by Giants safety Tito Wooten and suffered a sprained left knee. Cowboys receivers coach Hubbard Alexander then attacked Jarvis Williams of the Giants and Michael Irvin punched Williams with a helmet. As the brawl escalated, Cowboys safety James Washington grabbed a camera and monopod from a local photographer and brandished it like a sword, yelling for Giants players to take him on. Irvin was fined $12,000 and Washington $10,000 by the league. When order was finally restored, the Cowboys defeated the Giants 38–10. Giants 13, Cowboys 10 (October 18, 1999) – The Giants offense was stagnant most of the evening, but two missed Dallas field goals and a red zone interception by safety Sam Garnes kept the score low, while Emmitt Smith was held to just 26 yards rushing on 22 carries. The game was tied 3–3 in the fourth quarter before Tiki Barber returned a Toby Gowin punt 85 yards for a touchdown. With two minutes left, Smith tied the game with a two-yard touchdown run; but on the ensuing drive, quarterback Kent Graham found Barber out of the backfield for a 56-yard catch-and-run all the way down to the three-yard line. A 21-yard field goal by Brad Daluiso gave the Giants the lead with one second remaining. The final kickoff saw Deion Sanders scrambling to the 25-yard line before pitching the ball to Kevin Mathis, who dashed all the way to New York's 20 before lateraling to Singor Mobley, who raced all the way to the endzone. However, Sanders was flagged for an illegal forward pass, ending the game in a Giants win. Barber finished with 233 all-purpose yards, as the Giants defeated the Cowboys for the first time on Monday Night Football after losing the first seven meetings.
2000s Cowboys 35, Giants 32 (September 15, 2003) – In 2003, the teams met at Giants Stadium on Monday Night Football. The game marked former Giants head coach Bill Parcells' first visit to Giants Stadium as head coach of the Cowboys. The Cowboys led 29–14 after three quarters, but they lost the lead over the last 15 minutes and found themselves down 32–29 with 11 seconds to play. The Giants simply needed to kick off and play a "prevent" defense for 1 or 2 plays, but the kickoff went out of bounds, putting the Cowboys at their own 40 with no time elapsed, and Quincy Carter completed a deep pass to Antonio Bryant, who went out of bounds at the New York 34 to stop the clock with four seconds left. Billy Cundiff then converted a 52-yard field goal as time expired to send the game to overtime and kicked a 25-yard field goal in the extra session to win the game for the Cowboys. Cundiff tied an NFL record with seven field goals in the game 35–32. Giants 21, Cowboys 17 (January 13, 2008) – In 2007, the Cowboys swept the Giants in the regular season, winning the NFC East with a record of 13–3 and No. 1 Seed in the NFC. However, in the division round of the playoffs, the 5-seed Giants (10–6) went into Texas Stadium and stunned the top-seeded Cowboys 21–17 en route to winning Super Bowl XLII against the New England Patriots. Cowboys 20, Giants 8 (December 14, 2008) – Amid several weeks of off-field acrimony involving Terrell Owens, Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Marion Barber, and owner Jerry Jones, the Cowboys shut down the Giants in New York's final trip to Texas Stadium (and first since the 2007 playoffs), 20–8. Owens and Witten combined for eight catches for 82 yards while Patrick Crayton and Deon Anderson had two receiving scores. Romo completed 20 of 30 throws for 244 yards despite being sacked four times (once for a Giants safety) and injuring his back in the process. The Cowboys sacked Giants quarterback Eli Manning eight times and limited him to only 191 passing yards and two interceptions snatched by Terence Newman. Giants 33, Cowboys 31 (September 20, 2009) – Lawrence Tynes made a 37-yard field goal as the game clock expired to give the Giants a 33–31 victory over the Cowboys and spoil the opening of the new Cowboys Stadium, with a crowd of a record-breaking 105,121 people. After the game, Giants quarterback Eli Manning signed the wall of the visiting locker room and wrote "'33–31' First win in the new stadium" next to his name.
2010s Giants 41, Cowboys 35 (October 25, 2010) – the Giants defeated the Cowboys in Cowboys Stadium 41–35, leaving the Cowboys at a disappointing 1–5 for the year. This contest is notable for the Giants linebacker Michael Boley driving Tony Romo to the turf and causing Romo to break his left clavicle and most likely ending the Cowboys chances at a playoff run. Cowboys 33, Giants 20 (November 14, 2010) – Jason Garrett made his head coaching debut for the Cowboys in the 2010 rematch against the Giants on November 14. The Cowboys raced to a 19–3 lead and won 33–20, intercepting Eli Manning twice (Bryan McCann picked off Manning in the end zone and scored from 101 yards out) while Jon Kitna had three touchdowns. This game is also remembered for a power outage that disrupted play for about 15 minutes. Giants 37, Cowboys 34 (December 11, 2011) – During the teams' first meeting of the season, with the NFC East lead on the line, the Cowboys led the Giants 34–22 with 5:41 left to play. Eli Manning led the Giants to a comeback by scoring 15 points, and the Giants' Jason Pierre-Paul blocked Dallas kicker Dan Bailey's game-tying field goal with 6 seconds remaining. The Giants took a knee with 1 second left and won the game 37–34. This game was selected as #2 on Top 20 NFL Games of 2011. Giants 31, Cowboys 14 (January 1, 2012) – The Giants hosted the Cowboys in what amounted to a de facto NFC East championship game. Both teams entered the game with identical 8–7 records and a share of the lead of the NFC East. With the division title and a playoff berth on the line the game was flexed to the 8:30 pm Sunday Night Football slot. While the Giants took a 21–0 halftime lead, Tony Romo brought the Cowboys back, making the score 21–14 early in the 4th quarter. The Giants would hold on however, winning 31–14 and earning their first NFC East Division title and playoff berth since 2008 while knocking the Cowboys out of the playoffs. The Giants eventually won Super Bowl XLVI against the New England Patriots.