Following the Dallas Cowboys Week 16 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, America’s Team and their fans took a collective sigh of relief. Not only did that win crown the Cowboys as the NFC East champions and secure them a playoff berth, but it also rendered their final game of the regular season against the New York Giants all but meaningless.
All week the concern hasn’t been how Dallas needs to find a way to defeat a Giants’ squad who started the season 1-8, but have ended it winning four of their last seven games. Instead, the biggest issue for the Cowboys is if they should rest their starters in preparation for the playoffs or risk injury by playing them against New York to avoid possible rust.