The Cowboys aren't the only team heading into this game with a new defensive coordinator. Dennard Wilson, who was a defensive quality control coach for the St. Louis Rams from 2012-2014 when Brian Schottenheimer was their offensive coordinator, comes over after calling the Tennessee Titans' defense for the last two seasons.
Similar to Christian Parker, Wilson's specialty is in the secondary. He'll be working with a relatively experienced group that features Greg Newsome II, Deonte Banks, Dru Phillips, et. Looking back at Wilson's Titans defenses, they based out of a 3-4 but were in nickel an average of 68.6% of the time. There'll likely be a good chunk of zone coverage, as the split between zone and man in Tennessee under Wilson was 76.6% to 23.4% respectively. It's also a unit that likes to press on the outside, as the Titans corners did so on 58.7% of plays in 2025.
So not only will Dallas' outside receivers (George Pickens, CeeDee Lamb and Ryan Flournoy) need to win quickly off the line, they'll need to find the soft spots in zone coverage. Wilson's defense in Tennessee was primarily in Cover 3 (31.1%) and Cover 4 (24.1%). Against Cover 3, one of the best areas to attack is up the seam. Keep an eye on Jake Ferguson in that area too, who has been a frequent target of Dak Prescott's there seam in the past. Speaking of Prescott, he completed 105/152 passes (69%) against Cover 3 last year for 1,064 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions.
One more note: A play that Wilson's defense with the Titans struggled against last season was a rub concept from an outside receiver to spring the inside receiver free on a slot fade. The Giants have different personnel of course, but it could be something to keep an eye on.
**Dallas' front \*six\* must earn their keep against the run**