Getty Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman appears on a red carpet.
The Dallas Cowboys are set up for a major NFC East clash with the New York Giants, but one former QB is generating even more buzz with his comments.
Dallas and New York are two of the most storied franchises in the NFL, with the Giants winning four Super Bowls in their history and the Cowboys winning five. A key cog in three of those Dallas titles was Troy Aikman.
Aikman has spent his post-football career in color commentary, but his latest off-the-cuff words are drawing ire from Giants fans. In an interview with the Dallas Morning News, the six-time Pro Bowler expressed his thoughts on New York’s recent issues.
“I’ve seen a team that’s pretty fortunate to be 2-0,” Aikman said. “Defensively — I don’t want to say they’re like the Cowboys, because I do believe the Cowboys overall are a far better team than what I’ve seen of the Giants. Offensively, they’re just struggling. I think the offensive line’s a work in progress — the whole team is, I guess, for that matter. And that’s what happens when you have the turnover that they’ve had at the head coaching position… And it’s pretty amazing just how far the Giants have fallen.”
New York is off to a hot start under new head coach Mike Daboll, but it’s clear that Aikman is not sold on their first two wins. They may not have been convincing, but the Giants are entering Monday night ahead of the Cowboys in the NFC East.
Giants Undefeated Under Daboll, Cowboys at 1-1
For context on Aikman’s dismissal of the Giants, it’s important to understand their two wins: a 21-20 victory over the Tennessee Titans in Week 1 and then a 19-16 win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 2.
The Week 1 victory is the more impressive of the two, as the Titans are the defending AFC South champs and have similar expectations for this season. As Google’s box scores show, Giants running back Saquon Barkley went for a whopping 164 yards on the ground and added a score to boot as the Giants won after trailing 20-13 entering the fourth.
New York was less convincing against a struggling Panthers team, but Daboll and company will take the win. Dallas, on the other hand, is 1-1 after facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Losing Dak Prescott to injury is certainly a factor to consider, but the Cowboys were basically noncompetitive against Tampa in a 19-3 loss and narrowly protected their lead against the Bengals after going up 17-3 for a 20-17 victory.
Aikman Called Out by NFL Fans
As one can imagine, fans of the Giants did not enjoy Aikman raining on their undefeated parade. Many were quick to point out the Cowboys’ lack of playoff success in the past two decades, such as @BigBlueTogether‘s Tweet.
“’Pretty amazing how far the Giants have fallen’ is actually insane coming from Troy Aikman considering what the Cowboys have been since he was their QB,” the Giants fan Tweeted.
Another fan shared a similar sentiment, saying that Aikman should criticize his former team before talking about the Giants.
“This guy is such a homer & [clown emoji] Cowboys have won nada since he retired, absolutely nothing. Maybe go after Jerry for once,” @MetsSouthFla Tweeted.
Others, like @TomTrig31, poked fun at Aikman’s relationship with Dallas owner Jerry Jones.
“That’s Jerry Jones’ little bambino right there,” the fan replied.
Look like Troy turned out to be correct.
Not for nothing Troy isn’t a big fan of JJ and has criticized the team and ownership quite a bit. I’m a Cowboy fan and I hate when Troy (and worse yet Joe Sucks) calls Cowboy games. Until the giants stopping being a bad team they’ll get comments like this. Is it this year? Maybe but with the eagles looking like a solid team it’ll be tough for the other three to step up.