Thursday, September 17, 1998

DALLAS (1-1) AT NEW YORK GIANTS (1-1)

Monday, Sept. 21 ... 7:15 p.m., ABC

OPENING LINE - Giants by 3-1/2.

RECORD VS. SPREAD - Cowboys 1-1; Giants 1-1.

SERIES RECORD - Cowboys lead 44-25-2.

LAST TIME MET - Giants beat Cowboys 20-7 on Dec. 21, 1997 at Dallas.

LAST WEEK - Cowboys lost to Broncos 42-23. Giants lost to Raiders 20-17.

LAST WEEK'S STARS - Cowboys RB Emmitt Smith had 93 yards and 1 TD on 20 carries. Giants DE Chad Bratzke had 9 tackles, 2 sacks and a forced fumble.

COWBOYS OFFENSE - RUSH (No. 2), PASS (No. 11), OVERALL (No. 3)

QB Troy Aikman was 5-for-12 for 88 yards and 1 TD before breaking left collarbone. Aikman is out 4-8 weeks and will be replaced by Jason Garrett (14-for-19 for 113 yards). WR Michael Irvin led team with 6 catches for 81 yards. WR Ernie Mills had 2 catches for 42 yards, including 36-yard TD. RB Sherman Williams had 33 yards rushing on 4 carries.

GIANTS OFFENSE - RUSH (No. 26), PASS (No. 24), OVERALL (No. 29)

WR Ike Hilliard had 8 catches for 78 yards and 1 TD. QB Danny Kanell was 23-for-33 for 188 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. RB Tiki Barber had 32 yards on 13 carries. Barber also had 5 catches for 34 yards. WR Chris Calloway had 4 catches for 43 yards and 1 TD. Calloway has at least 1 catch in 34 straight.

COWBOYS DEFENSE - RUSH (No. 22), PASS (No. 23), OVERALL (No. 23)

S Singor Mobley and LB Randall Godfrey each had 6 tackles. S Darren Woodson and DT Hurvin McCormack had 5 tackles each. Cowboys have held Giants to 20 points or less in 11 straight.

GIANTS DEFENSE - RUSH (No. 16), PASS (No. 26), OVERALL (No. 27)

DE Michael Strahan had 2 sacks and 6 tackles. Strahan and Bratzke are tied for second in NFC with 4 sacks. S Tito Wooten had 9 tackles. LB Jessie Armstead had 1 sack, 5 tackles and forced fumble. LB Marcus Buckley had 6 tackles and fumble recovery.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Cowboys K Richie Cunningham is tied for first among NFC kickers with 19 points. Cowboys P Toby Gowin leads NFL with 50.0 average. Giants P Brad Maynard leads NFL with 8 punts inside 20-yard line.

KEY MATCHUP - WR Irvin vs. CBs Phillippi Sparks and Conrad Hamilton.

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Cowboys have won 30 Monday night games, second to San Francisco's 31 for most in NFC. ... Garrett's last start was Thanksgiving Day 1994, when he went 15-for-26 for 311 yards and 2 TDs vs. Green Bay. ... Smith has 11,451 yards rushing and moved past Thurman Thomas for eighth on career list. ... Giants have won last 3 vs. Cowboys. ... Giants are 8-0-1 in last 10 vs. NFC East rivals. Have also won last 7 divisional games at home. ... Giants were penalized 13 times for 90 yards in loss to Raiders. ... Calloway has caught TD pass in each of last 5 regular-season games. ... Giants are 7-1-1 when Kanell throws at least 1 TD pass.