By Ian Palmer
The New York Giants will be facing the red-hot Dallas Cowboys at AT&;T Stadium in Arlington, Texas this Sunday, October 19 in a highly-anticipated NFL clash. The Cowboys ran roughshod over the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks 30-23 in Seattle last week and have won five games in a row to boost their record to 5-1. Meanwhile, the Giants slipped to 3-3 on the season with an embarrassing 27-0 loss at Philadelphia.
bet365 Betting Line – Giants vs Cowboys
- Game Details: N.Y. Giants (3rd – NFCE) at Dallas (2nd – NFCE) at AT&T Stadium KICK OFF – 4:25 PM ET
- Spread: New York Giants (+7.0) at 5/6, Dallas (-7.0) at 1/1
- Over/Under: 47.5 points – 10/11
- Money Line – To Win: New York Giants 23/10, Dallas 5/14
- Head to Head: Giants are 4-1 ATS in their last five visits to Dallas
- Match up Summary: The red-hot 5-1 Dallas Cowboys won their fifth straight game with a 30-23 victory in Seattle over the reigning Super Bowl champs last weekend. Dallas running back DeMarco Murray rushed for 115 yards and scored the winning TD with just over three minutes to go. The 3-3 Giants lost for the first time in four games when the Philadelphia Eagles shut them out 27-0 in Philly. To make matters worse, Giants’ wide receiver Victor suffered a right-knee injury and is now out for the season.
New York Giants:
- Overall Record: 3-3
- Record Against the Spread (won-lost-push): 3-3-0
- Home Record: 2-1
- Away Record: 1-2
- Over/Under Record: 3-3-0
The Giants’ offense didn’t show up in their shutout loss in the City of Brotherly Love last week after putting up an average of 35 points on the board in their three previous contests. New York’s offensive line didn’t offer quarterback Eli Manning any protection and this resulted in him being sacked six times. Manning also passed for just 151 yards. Backup quarterback Ryan Nassib entered the game and he was then sacked twice. The Giants’ running game wasn’t much better as they carried the ball just 23 times and gained 85 yards on the ground.
But as bad as the team played, the toughest pill to swallow was seeing their best receiver Victor Cruz tear the patellar tendon in his right knee. Cruz is now expected to miss the remainder of the season and it looks like first-round draft pick Odell Beckham Jr. will take his place in the lineup. Beckham Jr. caught just a pair of catches last week for 28 yards after a good debut game in which he scored a TD and had four receptions for 44 yards against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Giants may have running back Rashad Jennings back in the lineup against the Cowboys after he suffered a sprained knee land missed the matchup against Philadelphia. Jennings has 396 yards this campaign, which ranks him seventh in the league in rushing. New York depends on their offense since the defense has been inconsistent. The team allows a total of 378 yards against on average per game, which is 22nd in the NFL.
Dallas Cowboys:
- Overall Record: 5-1
- Record Against the Spread (won-lost-push): 4-2-0
- Home Record: 2-1
- Away Record: 3-0
- Over/Under Record: 3-3-0
The Cowboys utilized their excellent running game again in Seattle last week to upset the Seahawks. Although Seattle is known for their tough defense, Dallas rushed for 162 yards against them. Going into the game the Seahawks had allowed the fewest rushing yards against in the league. DeMarco Murray gained more than 100 yards for the sixth consecutive contest to match the record set by former NFL star Jim Brown. The Cowboys shouldn’t underestimate the Giants though even if they did allow the Eagles to rush for 203 yards against them last week.
Dallas quarterback Tony Romo also passed the ball against Seattle and combined well with receivers Terrance Williams and Dez Bryant as they each scored a TD. Williams and Bryant will be expected to give New York’s secondary a tough time, especially if cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie isn’t 100 per cent healthy. The Dallas defense has also been playing well as Seattle was limited to 206 yards since their offense played just 22 minutes. The feeling around the league is that Dallas will stretch their winning streak to six against the Giants and will also cover the spread.