The NFC East sent three teams to the playoff last season, and two of them hook up to open this season when the Cowboys visit the Giants on Sunday night in New Jersey.
Dallas won 12 games last year but came up short, once again, in the playoffs. New York, on the other hand, exceeded expectations and won a playoff game.
How are we playing this game with our free Dal/NYG pick?
NFL Betting Lines
The Week 1 NFL betting market opened Dallas as a three-point divisional road favorite over New York, with an over/under of right around 47. Early betting action then edged the Cowboys to -3.5 and dipped that total to 45.5.
Cowboys-Giants NFL Betting Preview
Dallas played 12-5 last season and chased Philadelphia all the way to the final Sunday before missing out on the division title and the top seed for the NFC playoffs. But once again, the Cowboys proved post-season disappointments, losing a tough divisional-round game at San Francisco.
Dallas opened last season with a bad loss to Tampa Bay, then went on a 10-2 run, with wins over Cincinnati, Detroit, and Minnesota and two over these Giants. The Cowboys later reached 12-4 and held a slim chance of winning the division in Week 18 but laid an egg at Washington. Dallas then beat the Buccaneers in a wild-card game before losing to the 49ers the following week, 19-12.
So that’s 27 straight seasons for the Cowboys without reaching even the conference championship game.
Dallas ranked 11th in the NFL in total offense last year at 355 yards per game and 9th in rushing at 135 YPG. On the other side of the line of scrimmage, the Cowboys ranked 12th in total defense at 330 YPG but 22nd against the run, allowing 129 YPG.
Heading into this season, Dallas is playing against a wins over/under of 9.5.
New York, meanwhile, played 9-7-1 last year and made the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The Giants started 6-1 last season, with wins over Baltimore and Jacksonville, the only loss coming against these Cowboys. New York then stumbled through a 2-5-1 stretch, with another loss to Dallas, to reach 8-6-1. But a Week 17 victory over Indianapolis clinched the G-Men a wild-card berth.
Two weeks later, New York exposed Minnesota for the pretender it was in a wild-card victory before getting punked by Philadelphia in a divisional-round bout.
Now, the trick for the Giants is to take the next step and host a playoff game or two.
New York ranked 18th in total offense last year at 334 YPG and 4th in rushing at 148 YPG. However, 44 of those rushing YPG came from QB Jones, which is too much for our taste. That’s how careers are shortened. Meanwhile, the Giants ranked just 25th in total defense at 358 YPG and 27th against the run, giving up 144 YPG. And that’s too much, too.
Oddsmakers seem to think New York might suffer a regression this season, tagging the Giants with a wins O/U of 7.5.
Cowboys-Giants Recent History
Dallas owns the recent rivalry with New York, winning 11 of the last 12 meetings outright, going 9-3 ATS along the way. Last year, the Cowboys swept two games from the Giants by scores of 23-16 and 28-20.
Dallas won that first meeting as a one-point dog on the road, then pissed away the cover in the second meeting by giving up a meaningless touchdown in the waning seconds while favored by 10 points.
The Cowboys also out-gained New York last year by a per-game margin of 410-318.
NFL Betting Trends
Dallas with Prescott at QB is 3-0 SU but 1-2 ATS vs. New York with Jones at QB.
Totals Report
The totals split 8-8-1 in Cowboys games last season, which averaged 48 total points.
The unders played 9-6-2 in Giants games last season, which averaged 43 points.
So … 48+43=91, divided by 2, is 45.5. And what’s the total on this game?
The overs are 6-2-1 over the last nine meetings between these teams.
