Rank'Em: Debuts, Black Cats Highlight MNF vs. NYG

1971 – Cowboys 20, Giants 13 – This was just the second Monday Night Football appearance for the Cowboys, but ironically enough, is the answer to a trivia question. This was the Cowboys' final home game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas before moving to Texas Stadium in Irving. The Cowboys won the game 20-13, a nice sendoff to the iconic stadium and the first-ever home of the franchise.

1986 – Cowboys 31, Giants 28 – While these two teams played in the final game at the Cotton Bowl, it took 15 years for them to face each other on Monday Night at Texas Stadium. The season opener of 1986 had plenty of fireworks, including two touchdowns from Herschel Walker, who made his NFL debut. The Cowboys won the game, but the Giants ended up winning their first Super Bowl that season.

1987 – Cowboys 33, Giants 24 – The season before was a great game so the NFL decided to pair up the Giants and Cowboys again on Monday night. Once again, Dallas got the win, needing some late-game heroics from the defense. Ed "Too Tall" Jones deflected Phil Simms' pass into the hands of Jim Jeffcoat, who returned the ball for a touchdown. Oddly enough, those same three players created the same exact play and result in a 1985 win at Texas Stadium.

1994 – Cowboys 38, Giants 10 – This game will be remembered more for what happened at halftime rather than the two halves around it. The Cowboys dominated the game from start to finish, but it was a rather intense fight that occurred after the final play of the first half that got ugly on both sides. Order was restored eventually and the Cowboys picked up where they left off in the second half. Emmitt Smith had 163 rushing yards, his ninth-best performance of his career.

1995 – Cowboys 35, Giants 0 – Once again, another game that garnered headlines outside of the field of play. But Emmitt Smith needed one carry into the season to show what kind of year this could be. Smith's 60-yard touchdown set the tone for the game and season as the Cowboys dominated for a 35-0 win on opening night. The game was also the time owner Jerry Jones strolled onto the field with Phil Knight of Nike, showing the world of their new game-changing partnership.

1998 – Cowboys 31, Giants 7 – The goal for every team is to find a way to dominate all three phases of the game. But when one player manages to do that by himself, it must be a heroic night. That's what Deion Sanders did to the Giants in an early-season game back in 1998. Sanders returned a punt for a touchdown, returned an interception for a score and even caught a 52-yard pass from Jason Garrett, who started the game. The Cowboys rolled the Giants 31-7 but Sanders' performance prompted the league to give him a unique award that just so happen to fit with his nickname. Sanders is the only Cowboys player to win the NFC "Prime Time" Player of the Week award.

1999 – Giants 13, Cowboys 10 - What's worse than losing a road game to an NFC East team by the score of 13-10? Losing two straight road games to an NFC East team with the score of 13-10. After losing to Philly on the road for the Cowboys' first loss of the season, Dallas came back and dropped another close game – this time to the Giants, 13-10. Tiki Barber had 231 all-purpose yards, including an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

2003 – Cowboys 35, Giants 32 (OT) – This was Bill Parcells' return to the Meadowlands and it was certainly a memorable night. Billy Cundiff booted seven field goals, including one that tied the game in regulation and then another in overtime to give Parcells his first win with the Cowboys, beating the team he won two Super Bowls with. The Cowboys lost a 23-7 second-half lead, only to rally back in the final seconds behind Quincy Carter and the offense to force overtime and then eventually win.

2006 – Giants 36, Cowboys 22 – Yeah, the Cowboys lost the game, but hope was restored among Cowboys fans who witnessed Tony Romo take over for Drew Bledsoe at halftime. Romo still threw an interception on his first pass that night, but was able to spark the offense just enough to get excitement levels back up again. Romo wasn't able to pull off a win that night, but did resurrect the Cowboys from a 3-3 record to a 10-6 finish and a playoff spot.

2010 – Giants 41, Cowboys 35 – Just like the Cowboys were able to find some positivity among a loss in the previous MNF game with the Giants, that was the opposite after the next meeting. The Cowboys again lost to New York, but this time it was a broken collarbone injury to Romo that gave fans little hope the Cowboys would recover from what was now a 1-5 start after losing to the Giants. The Cowboys not only fell to 1-7 but Wade Phillips was fired as head coach, opening the door for Jason Garrett to take over as interim coach. Garrett's first game was against the Giants and the Cowboys were able to win the rematch in the Meadowlands.

2019 – Cowboys 37, Giants 19 – Less than a week after Halloween, it was a black cat that stole the show on this night. The elusive cat ran onto the field in the second quarter in the midst of a close game. After it finally left the field of play, the Cowboys were somehow able to flip the momentum, especially in the fourth quarter when they outscored the Giants 21-3. Blake Jarwin caught his fourth career TD against the Giants, while Dak Prescott also threw TD passes to Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. The Cowboys defense got into the act at the end with Jourdan Lewis returning a fumble 63 yards to pull away for the win.