The Dallas Cowboys swept the New York Giants in their regular-season series last season. Will the Giants get some measure of revenge in this Week 1 matchup? Or will the Cowboys continue their mastery of Eli Manning and company? The Cowboys and the Giants are +200 and +1800 to win the NFC East.
Daniel Jones can wait. The Giants will still be quarterbacked by two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning, and until further notice, he remains as the top guy under center for New York. Manning has been on a decline, though, having failed to register a quarterback rating better than 50 in each of the last three seasons, and there’s no sign of him turning back the hands of time, but at the very least, he is a serviceable and experienced signal-caller. Last season, he threw for 4,804 yards and 21 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. In last year’s Week 16 36-35 home loss to the Cowboys, Manning passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns with a pick on 24 of 41 completions. The real star of the Giants overall is running back Saquon Barkley, who will have to do more heavy lifting once again. In his rookie year, Barkley had 1,307 rushing yards and 11 rushing scores. The Giants sacked Dak Prescott four times for a loss of 19 yards in that Week 16 defeat.
The Giants are 4-2 against the spread (ATS) in their last six games.
Betting on the Dallas Cowboys (0-0)
We’re still unsure about Ezekiel Elliott’s status of playing in Week 1 against the Giants, as the running back remains in negotiation for a new contract with the Cowboys. Dallas, however, has a contingency plan for a potential Elliott absence. In case Elliott misses Week 1, expect rookie Tony Pollard to be the Cowboys’ bell cow in the backfield. The Cowboys also have a decent passing attack with quality talents who can deal damage to the Giants’ stop unit. Dak Prescott leads the Cowboys’ passing attack, and he’ll have the likes of Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, Randall Cobb, and whatever is left of Jason Witten as his top targets. The offensive line remains a strength for the Cowboys, so Elliott will be well protected while Pollard should find spaces to run through. Prescott was fantastic in the Week 16 win last season over the Giants, tossing four touchdowns with zero interceptions and finishing with 387 passing yards on 27 of 44 completions.
The Cowboys are 4-1-1 ATS in their last six home games against the Giants.
Writer’s Prediction
The Dallas Cowboys win their first game of the 2019 season, with a final score of 36-24.
