New York Giants vs Dallas Cowboys Pick and Preview
Giants +3 (11-2, 5-1 road, 4-1 div) vs. Cowboys -3 (8-5, 5-1 home, 2-2 div)
SNF Dec. 14th Dallas, TX 8:15pm - over/under 45.5 NBC
Two NFC heavyweights will renew what has grown into a very interesting rivalry Sunday when the New York Giants play at the Dallas Cowboys. NBC’s Sunday Night Football will broadcast the Giants-Cowboys matchup to a national TV audience beginning at 8:15 p.m. Eastern.
New York and Dallas are not entering this game carrying quite the momentum either would’ve liked. The Giants (11-2) lost at home to Philadelphia last week, 20-14, while Dallas (8-5) blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and lost 20-13 at Pittsburgh. The Cowboys’ loss handed the NFC East Division title to the Giants. Dallas remains in the hunt for an NFC Wild Card spot, but the Cowboys need a strong finish against a tough schedule. Five teams are within a game for the final Wild Card spot: Dallas and Atlanta (8-5), Philadelphia (7-5-1), and Washington and Chicago (7-6).
The Giants, meanwhile, still have the best record in the NFC, leading Carolina (10-3) by one game in the race for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Giants will host the Panthers next week in another key NFC game.
The New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys both rank in the Top 10 in the NFL in total offense. The Giants are 6th (358.5 yards per game), and the Cowboys are 9th (351.2). New York also ranks 3rd in scoring at 28.2 points per game and 2nd in time of possession. Dallas is 7th in the league in passing yards per game.
Both teams are in the Top 10 in the NFL in total defense, too, with New York 7th at 283.1 yards allowed per game and Dallas 9th at 292.3. It will be an interesting matchup when the New York rushing game (ranked #1 in the NFL) battles the Dallas rushing defense (ranked #9 in the NFL).
The sportsbook at Betus has the Dallas Cowboys as an early favorite by a field goal in the Sunday Night Football game. In the first Giants-Cowboys meeting this season, New York was a 9.5-point favorite and hammered the Cowboys 35-14 at Giants Stadium. Eli Manning only threw for 147 yards in front of the home crowd, but he had three touchdown passes. Brandon Jacobs rushed for 117 yards and the Giant defense overwhelmed Dallas, which played without quarterback Tony Romo. Dallas committed four turnovers and had only 183 total yards.
The Giants have been a 3-point road underdog twice previously this season, winning outright in both cases, at Philadelphia (36-31) and at Pittsburgh (21-14).
As a favorite of less than a touchdown, Dallas is 5-1 outright and 4-2 against the spread. In its two previous home games as a slight favorite, Dallas has won both games -- 41-37 against Philadelphia and 13-9 against Tampa Bay -- but failed to cover the spread in the Philadelphia game.
New York has posted a 10-3 record against the spread this season, which ties Baltimore for the second-best ATS record in the NFL this season. Dallas, meanwhile, is 6-7 against the spread, despite having covered the number in three of its last four games.
Recent Meetings
This Sunday Night Football game will mark the fifth Giants-Cowboys meeting over the past two seasons. The Cowboys won both regular-season meetings last season, 45-35 in Dallas and 31-20 in New York. However, in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, the Giants, as a touchdown underdog, shocked the Cowboys, 21-17, in Dallas en route to winning the Super Bowl.
The Giants have won two of the last three meetings in Dallas, with both of those wins coming when New York was an underdog.
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