Following a disappointing loss in their season opener, the Dallas Cowboys return home to face the division rival New York Giants. Staring down an 0-2 start which teams rarely recover from, the Cowboys need to defend their home turf and come away with this key divisional victory.
Despite their abysmal offensive performance against the Carolina Panthers, Vegas still has Dallas as a 3 point home favorite Sunday night. The over/under is set at 42 points after the Cowboys and Giants put up 8 and 15 points respectively in their season openers.
Let's look into this game a little deeper and see where you should be placing your money.
Dallas Cowboys
As mentioned the Cowboys' offense was downright awful in their week one loss to Carolina. Scoring just 8 points all game and tallying only 60 yards in the first half, Dallas simply couldn't get out of their own way offensively on Sunday.
Defensively, though, Dallas had a strong showing. Though they struggled defending Cam Newton on option plays a bit, they were able to stay strong in the red zone and keep the point total low. This defense single handedly kept the Cowboys in the game and gave their offense multiple chances to tie it up in the fourth quarter.
Dallas failed to cover the 3 point spread last week, but the under of 42.5 points did hit in their 16-8 loss.
New York Giants
Like the Cowboys, the Giants had a disappointing opener offensively, falling to the Jaguars at home 20-15.
Though both Odell Beckham and Saquon Barkley posted impressive stat lines, the Giants offense as a whole was handcuffed by their suspect offensive line play. Eli Manning could never get comfortable in the pocket, resulting in missed big plays through the air. And, though he did break off a 69 yard touchdown run, Barkley was bottled up most of the afternoon.
On defense the Giants posted a strong effort, but injury to Leonard Fournette and overall poor play from Blake Bortles is what really kept them in the game.
The Giants failed to cover the 3 point spread, and the score total hit under.
Trends
- The under has hit in 7 of the Giants' last 8 games.
- The under has hit in 4 of the last 5 Cowboys/Giants games.
- The Cowboys are 7-3 straight up against the Giants their last 10 match-ups.
- The Cowboys are 2-5 against the spread their last 7 home games.
Prediction
For the second straight week I'd advise against picking a winner here and actually betting on the score total. With these two anemic offenses, I think under 42 points is the best bet you can make. Of course, the Giants have the skill position players necessary to explode offensively, but they also have a weak offensive line which the Cowboys' strong pass rush should exploit.
I see DeMarcus Lawrence and company eating all night and keeping Eli Manning uncomfortable in the pocket, but I also see the Cowboys offense continuing to struggle to score.
I actually think Dallas can win this game and potentially cover, but under 42 points is the most reasonable expectation to make.
