The Giants put their undefeated record on the line Monday night against the Cowboys in a prime-time NFC East bout.
New York, with first-year coach Brian Daboll at the helm, has leapt out to a surprising but impressive 2-0 start. Dallas, meanwhile, has limped to 1-1 with quarterback Dak Prescott still out with a thumb injury. It will be Cooper Rush, who led last week’s upset win over the Bengals, taking the field behind center for the Cowboys in East Rutherford, N.J.
This marks the first time this season the Giants are favored. Being the underdog has been a good spot for New York, though, which is 2-0 against the spread (ATS) after slim wins against the Titans (21-20) and Panthers (19-16). The Cowboys looked lifeless in their season opener, held out of the end zone in a 19-3 loss to the Buccaneers. But Mike McCarthy’s team played inspired football in Week 2, pulling off a 20-17 upset against the Bengals.
This is the first division game for both teams and the oddsmakers aren’t anticipating any fireworks. The point total is the second-lowest of the week, above only Thursday night’s Steelers-Browns game.
- Moneyline: Cowboys (+100) | Giants (-118)
- Spread: Cowboys +1.5 (-118) | Giants -1.5 (+100)
- Total: 39 Over (-110) | Under (-110)
The Cowboys dominated the Giants last season, outscoring them 65-26 across two meetings, both wins. That was with Prescott healthy and behind center, Amari Cooper still in the fold, a better offensive line and a much better rushing attack. A lot has changed.
Dallas’ leading receiver so far this season is Noah Brown, not CeeDee Lamb, and the two-headed backfield of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard has not been particularly effective. The Cowboys defense, led by linebacker Micah Parsons, is the strength of the current iteration of this team. New York and Dallas are tied for the ninth-best scoring defense in the NFL—each allows 18 PPG.
Parsons, who is questionable for the contest, has four sacks on the year and Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has already been sacked eight times this season. Other notable questionable designations for Dallas include tight end Dalton Schultz (knee) and receiver Michael Gallup (knee).
Saquon Barkley has been the focal point of New York’s offense in both games thus far. He romped for nearly 200 total yards against the Titans and was largely contained by the Panthers, though not for lack of trying—he had 24 touches. Jones has spread the ball around to his receivers relatively evenly and Sterling Shepard (14 targets) has been his No. 1 option so far.
Neither offense is necessarily capable of taking over this game, but the Dallas defense might be. The Cowboys have faced tougher tests than the Giants have to begin the season with the Week 2 win against Cincinnati showing that this team can still compete without its franchise quarterback.
I like Dallas getting points on the road as insurance, but you wouldn’t be wrong to just bet on an outright Cowboys win. And barring a bad beat like what happened in the closing seconds on Thursday night, the under feels plenty safe. Across four total games, these teams barely combined to score just over 60 total points.
The Pick:
Cowboys +1.5
Under 39
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