It became a Cowboys Week tradition.
Justin Tuck, a peaceful sort despite the violence he authored on the field, slipped out of character and used the “H” word whenever he referred to his most despised opponent.
“I hate the Cowboys,’’ he would say.
Tuck hasn’t played for the Giants since 2013 but the loathing remains. He will be in attendance Sunday night when the Giants open up their season against the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium, and yes, the hate is still there.
“You don’t even have to ask me about that,’’ Tuck told The Post recently, chuckling at the memories of his annual Dallas Declaration of Detestation.
Tuck was front-and-center for one of the great days in Giants history, a 21-17 upset-special road victory over the No. 1-seed Cowboys in an NFC divisional playoff game that ignited the improbable Super Bowl run after the 2007 season. There are those in the building who forever keep that game close in their heart.
That was so long ago and so far away from where the Giants now reside. Abhorrence must be earned and a rivalry must be cultivated, with at least a semblance of balance needed to infuse both sides with ample disapproval for each other. The Giants have lost 11 of their last 12 games to the Cowboys. And so hating them makes little sense, because you can hate a bully all you want, but that does not stop the bleeding from the repeated punches in the nose foisted upon the underling.
Daniel Jones and Dexter Lawrence, first-round picks in 2019, are 1-7 against the Cowboys. Saquon Barkley arrived a year earlier and thus has more Dallas Depression on his ledger: an unsightly record of 1-9.
Jones hears it from the diehards.
“Yeah, absolutely,’’ Jones said Tuesday after a practice in the steamy heat. “Giants fans are passionate, there’s a long history, a long tradition of these matchups in the NFC East — Cowboys is certainly up there. We understand that.
“We haven’t had success recently, we understand that. Focusing on what we’re doing kind of right now.’’
The only morsel of sustenance for this group came in the 2020 finale, when a 23-19 victory over the Cowboys (with Andy Dalton at quarterback) kept the Giants’ slim playoff hopes alive — until later that night when Doug Pederson’s Eagles went into the tank against Washington, attracting the ire of then-head coach Joe Judge and sending the Giants to clean-out-the-locker chores.
There were two fairly close calls last season. The Giants led 13-6 at home midway through the third quarter in Week 3 and lost 23-16 to the immortal Cooper Rush. The Giants led 13-7 in Arlington, Texas, in Week 12 and gave up 21 consecutive points in a 28-20 loss. Sense a common theme?
Sterling Shepard is 3-11 against the Cowboys. The longest-tenured Giants player made his NFL debut (as did Ben McAdoo as head coach) on Sept. 11, 2016, caught a touchdown pass from Eli Manning as the Giants beat the ’Boys 20-19 at AT&T Stadium, spoiling the first NFL game for rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. Shepard and the Giants swept the season series that year.
“My first game,’’ Shepard told The Post. “First touchdown in my NFL career. It was special. My grandpa got to see that, he passed a little bit after. It’s definitely a special game and one I’ll always remember. And my first ‘W’ in the NFL as well. Later that year we got another one.’’
Since then, Shepard is 1-11 when facing the Cowboys.
“It went down from there,’’ Shepard said with a sigh.
It is nearly as brutally bad for the Giants when they tangle with the Eagles, especially after coming off the most recent ignominy: losing to the same team three times in one season — the first time ever for a franchise that first inflated the footballs in 1925. The Giants have lost 12 of their last 14 games to the Eagles, but that tale of woe can wait. In a short-sighted and silly scheduling quirk, the Giants will not see their closest division neighbors until Week 16 — Christmas Day — after they have already completed their two-game season series with the Cowboys.
“I don’t think what happened last year has any bearing on this game,’’ coach Brian Daboll said.
Daboll, who cleansed away so many losing demons in 2022, could not wipe away the stain of an 0-2 mark against the Cowboys. He hopes what happened last year, and the year before that and for so many years gone by, has no bearing on what goes down Sunday night, when this lopsided series resumes.
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