The Cowboys–Giants rivalry involves the National Football League teams the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants. The beginning of this rivalry is difficult to trace but perhaps is best defined by the first game these two teams ever played back in 1960 which resulted in a tie score of 31–31. In the early 1960s the New York Giants were beginning to wind down as an NFL powerhouse. After having been arguably the most dominant team in the Eastern Conference through the 1950s and early 1960s the Giants entered a period of poor play where they did not make the playoffs from 1964 to 1981. While the Giants dominated the Cowboys in the first few years of the rivalry, the Cowboys picked up steam and took control of the rivalry from the mid 1960s to the early 1980s, winning 17 of the 20 meetings bet