Sports
Giants gaining confidence as Cowboys look for answers
Sep 22, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (11) lines up during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images The Dallas Cowboys whipped the New York Giants twice last season, including a 40-0 demolition in a primetime affair at the Meadowlands.
Dallas returns to the scene for another primetime contest against the Giants on Thursday night when the two NFC East teams meet at East Rutherford, N.J.
Dallas has won the past six meetings and 13 of the past 14 with New York, with last season’s trouncing of the Giants in the season opener the most one-sided of those contests.
The Cowboys led 26-0 before the middle of the second quarter as Giants fans booed their team all night long.
“I’m a person, every game I act like it’s the Super Bowl for me, for myself,” New York safety Jason Pinnock said Tuesday. “But, of course, you do remember. I think everybody will remember home opener being beat like that on primetime TV.”
Dallas (1-2) hasn’t been so fearsome to start this season. After defeating the Cleveland Browns in the opener, the Cowboys have been routed by the New Orleans Saints and then lost 28-25 in a misleading final score to the visiting Baltimore Ravens last weekend.
The Cowboys scored 19 unanswered fourth-quarter points to make it close, but the comeback didn’t mask the issues.
“We’ve got to get it right,” Dallas star linebacker Micah Parsons said. “You know what I’m saying? This is a winning organization. I’ll uphold that standard, but at the same time, everyone has to uphold the standard. And I think I’m confident in my faith, and I just think we’re being tested right now. I really believe we’re being tested. It has to come together. It’s humbling.”
Dallas defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence didn’t like seeing his squad trailing by 22 points at home.
“It doesn’t matter how much willpower you have at the end,” Lawrence said. “If you don’t start good, most likely you’re not gonna finish good, so the outcome is the outcome. Only thing we can do is go and review it and get better from it.”
New York (1-2) won 21-15 at Cleveland last Sunday for its first victory.
Daniel Jones threw for two touchdowns for the second straight game while passing for a season-high 236 yards.
The Giants suddenly have a chance to be .500 after opening with two losses. However, the dreaded Cowboys are back in town. In last season’s other meeting, host Dallas won 49-17.
“Yeah, we don’t like losing to anybody, especially a divisional game,” Jones said. “We understand what this game means, and we’ll be ready to go.”
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has passed for an NFL-best 851 yards as well as four touchdowns. He also has been intercepted twice and sacked nine times.
Dallas’ run game is sagging with Rico Dowdle leading the way with 88 yards and Ezekiel Elliott contributing 62. The Cowboys rank 30th in the NFL with an average of 73.7 rushing yards per game.
Parsons, the fourth-year star, has just 12 tackles and one sack. He had 40.5 sacks over his first three seasons.
New York ranks 29th in scoring offense at 15 points per game. Jones has passed for 600 yards with rookie wideout Malik Nabers (271 yards) accumulating 45 percent of the yardage. Nabers has three touchdown receptions.
“I have confidence in all our guys,” Jones said, “and Malik’s played well, but we’ve got a lot of good receivers.”
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is impressed with what he has seen of Nabers.
“He has the size and the speed and the body control,” McCarthy said. “I think he’s a very exciting player when the ball’s in the air. That’s what stands out to me.”
New York cornerbacks Adoree’ Jackson and Dru Phillips both sat out practice on Tuesday due calf injuries. Star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (foot) was limited.
Dallas cornerback Caelen Carson (shoulder) and safety Markquese Bell (ankle) both sat out Tuesday, and McCarthy termed the duo game-time decisions.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Behind Mark Vientos' clutch hit, Mets edge Twins, snap 12-game skid
Apr 22, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (4) watches his RBI double against the Minnesota Twins during the fourth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Mark Vientos redeemed himself for an earlier baserunning miscue by delivering the tiebreaking single in the eighth inning, and the host New York Mets snapped a 12-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.
The losing streak was the longest for the Mets since a 12-game skid from Aug. 10-23, 2002.
However, the much-needed victory may have been costly for New York, which lost shortstop Francisco Lindor due to left calf tightness after he scored from first on Francisco Alvarez’s double in the fourth inning.
Lindor, who was 2-for-2 with an RBI infield single in the first, was injured the same night Juan Soto returned from a 15-game absence caused by a strained right calf. The Mets won their first three games after Soto was injured on April 3 before beginning their losing streak.
Soto went 1-for-3 with a walk but was picked off for the second out of the eighth following his single. Brett Baty and Alvarez kept the inning afloat by drawing walks against Taylor Rogers (0-1) and Justin Topa, respectively, before Vientos’ bloop single to right scored Baty.
Vientos was thrown out at home by several feet for the final out of the sixth after running through third base coach Tim Leiper’s stop sign on Marcus Semien’s double.
Luke Weaver (2-0) threw the final 1 1/3 innings for the Mets. The right-hander, who also was the winning pitcher in New York’s previous victory on April 7, got Luke Keaschall to pop up with the bases loaded to end the top of the eighth. He allowed Brooks Lee’s two-out single in the ninth before striking out Byron Buxton to end the game.
Victor Caratini lofted a game-tying sacrifice fly in the fourth for the Twins, who have lost five of their past six. Buxton knotted the game again with a solo homer in the sixth.
Mets starter Clay Holmes gave up two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out three over seven innings. Twins starter Connor Prielipp allowed two runs on four hits and no walks while fanning six in his major league debut.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Teen's match-winner keeps New England rolling, Atlanta sliding
Apr 22, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New England Revolution defender Will Sands (23) and Atlanta United midfielder Saba Lobjanidze (11) collide while fighting for the ball during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Peyton Miller’s 78th-minute goal was the match-winner as the visiting New England Revolution defeated Atlanta United, 2-1, on Wednesday night.
Carles Gil assisted on both goals for the Revolution (5-3-0, 15 points), who extended their winning streak to four matches. They also snapped a six-match road losing streak dating back to 2025.
Atlanta (1-7-1, 4 points) dropped its fourth league match in a row and has gone winless in its last five MLS matches (0-4-1).
The 18-year-old Miller scored his team-high third goal of the season on a cross from Gil from the left side of the scoring area. The United States youth international chipped it over Atlanta goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos to make it 2-1 Revs.
The goal came shortly after Will Sands scored a 73rd-minute equalizer. Gil’s corner kick met Sands’ head and, with Hoyos off his line, it sailed into the net to make it 1-1. It was Sands’ first career goal.
Atlanta scored the match’s first goal after the Revs’ Alhassan Yusuf had his would-be opener disallowed on an offside call.
After Pedro Amador got on the end of a cross from Alexey Miranchuk, he fed it to Saba Lobjanidze in front of the goal. Revs goalkeeper Matt Turner parried away Lobjanidze’s point-blank attempt before Fafa Picault had a simple finish on the rebound to make it 1-0. It was Picault’s second goal with Atlanta United across all competitions.
Atlanta had an opportunity to equalize in second-half stoppage time, but Matt Turner stopped Emmanuel Latte Lath’s volleyed attempt.
Turner ended the evening with eight saves. Hoyos was credited with two saves for Atlanta.
With the loss, Atlanta United’s record in their last 13 matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium fell to 1-6-6.
Wednesday marked New England’s first road win since a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Crew on August 23, 2025.
–Field Level Media
Sports
DC United ends scoring drought, earns 4-4 draw with Red Bulls
Apr 22, 2026; Harrison, New Jersey, USA; Red Bull New York forward Jorge Ruvalcaba (11) reacts after scoring a goal against D.C. United during the second half at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images Tai Baribo scored his third goal in the 80th minute as D.C. United ended a long scoring drought and escaped with a 4-4 draw in an adrenaline-fueled match against the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night in Harrison, N.J.
Jackson Hopkins added a goal and an assist for D.C. United (2-4-3, 9 points), who rallied from a two-goal deficit. D.C. has not won in its last five games, going 0-2-3 over that stretch.
The offensive splurge came from a D.C. team that entered the match with an MLS-low four goals. Baribo has now scored six of the team’s eight goals this season.
Jorge Ruvalcaba scored two spectacular goals in the second half for struggling New York (3-3-3, 12 points), which has won only one of its last seven MLS matches.
Ronald Donkor added a goal and two assists and Julian Hall scored his team-high sixth goal for the Red Bulls, who have surrendered 18 goals in their last five matches.
New York struck first in the 15th minute with a precise pair of passes by Adri Mehmeti and Donkor, which set up Hall for a low right-footed shot past on-rushing D.C. keeper Sean Johnson (one save).
Just six minutes later, the Red Bulls took advantage of a lack of pressure from the D.C. defense as a cross by 17-year-old Matthew Dos Santos was deflected by D.C. defender Aaron Herrera.
The ball found Donkor in the center of the box and he fired a right-footed shot to the bottom left corner for a 2-0 lead.
D.C. answered in the 37th minute in transition as Hopkins crossed from the right side to Baribo in the middle of the box. With a sliding right-footed shot, Baribo beat New York keeper Ethan Horvath (one save).
New York countered in the 52nd minute in transition as Emil Forsberg found Ruvalcaba sprinting down the left wing. Ruvalcaba beat one defender then watched another slide past before rifling a tough-angle shot into the top right corner for a 3-1 lead.
But D.C. answered, taking advantage of the tendency of the back line of New York to play too far forward. D.C.’s Joao Peglow won two balls near midfield and sent them forward for breakaway goals five minutes apart.
Hopkins scored the first to make it 3-2 and Baribo followed in the 59th minute to tie it up.
After Ruvalcaba scored again in transition in the 71st minute, Baribo answered from just in front of the goal line with his equalizer on a feed from Silvan Hefti, who had two assists in the match.
In stoppage time, D.C.’s Jacob Murrell appeared to score a transition goal but was called for a foul, shoving a defender out of his way before flicking in a shot with his left foot.
–Field Level Media
