An inside look at Sunday’s Giants-Cowboys Week 3 matchup at MetLife Stadium.

Cowboys OTs Tyler Smith and Terence Steele vs. Giants edge rushers Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari

Yes, the time has arrived for Thibodeaux, the No. 5 pick in the 2022 draft, to make his Giants debut and for Ojulari to make his season debut. These two youngsters, coming off injuries, will be on a snap count, and Oshane Ximines has earned playing time based on his first two games.

The Cowboys were criticized for taking Smith with the No. 24 pick, but the rookie has played well enough so far. Steele is solid. Neither of them is Tyron Smith, who is on injured reserve, and it will be interesting to see how sharp Thibodeaux (knee) and Ojulari (calf) are after extended absences.

The Cowboys have weapons, with receivers Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb, and running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. Can Cooper Rush be an effective orchestrator? Rookie Evan Neal has to keep Micah Parsons from wrecking the game. It should be a raucous evening in the Meadowlands.

Cowboys 27, Giants 20

Dallas blues: Saquon Barkley has faced the Cowboys six times and lost to them six times. He has two 100-yard rushing games and four others in which he was pretty much stopped cold. He has one touchdown in the six games. Among running backs who have played in two games this season, Barkley leads the pack with 236 rushing yards (Nick Chubb of the Browns has 341 yards in three games). Every player wants to beat the Cowboys. Barkley has never done it.

“No fire needed,’’ he said. “I had enough motivation throughout the whole offseason just for the season in general, with my mindset coming in to try to be the best player that I can be, to help this team win games and we’re off to a good start right now, but we got to keep this thing rolling.’’

Big D in Dallas: The Cowboys are 1-1 because of their defense. They have allowed just two touchdowns, the fewest they have given up in the first two games of a season since 1996. This is the first time since 2002 the Cowboys have allowed 19 or fewer points in each of their first two games. And it is not as if they have gone against schlub quarterbacks — they’ve faced Tom Brady and Joe Burrow. Their second-year linebacker, phenom Micah Parsons, has four sacks this season and 17 sacks in his first 18 NFL games.

The James gang: Good for the player. Probably not so good for the team. That is the best way to describe what has gone on with the Giants’ receiving corps the first two games. Unhappy Kenny Golladay? Non-factor. Kadarius Toney? Non-factor and now hurt, again. Sterling Shepard? One bright moment coming off Achilles surgery. Darius Slayton? Non-factor. Promising rookie Wan’Dale Robinson? Non-factor. That leaves Richie James as the leading receiver, with 10 catches for 110 yards. He had 38 catches in 40 games the past three seasons for the 49ers.

“He’s played well for us,’’ Daniel Jones said. “He’s got a good feel for space, he’s got a good feel for getting open in zones and making plays after the catch.’’

Figure it out: There were no points in the first half at Tennessee There were two field goals in the first half last week versus the Panthers. Let’s see … that adds up to six points in the first half in the first two games. After halftime, the Giants are a different team on offense, scoring 34 points. They cannot continue slow starts, but it is encouraging that whatever is getting done at halftime is working.

“It’s detailed,’’ offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said. “Those conversations start happening throughout the first quarter and second quarter, really as the defense presents itself. We discuss them, make sure we’re all on the same page, and then get those adjustments to the players before moving on to half.’’