NFL Sunday Night Football Preview & Free Pick- Week 1

Sep 2015

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New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys

Pointspread: Dallas -6

Total Line: 51.5

The NFC East will take center-stage in Week 1 of Sunday Night Football when the New York Giants go on the road as six-point underdogs on BetOnline’s NFL betting odds against the rival Dallas Cowboys. All the action from AT&T Stadium is set to get underway at 8:30 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on NBC.

New York has two Super Bowl titles on its resume under veteran head coach Tom Coughlin and quarterback Eli Manning, but the team has fallen back a bit the last two seasons with a combined 13 straight-up wins. Last season, the Giants endured an extended seven-game losing streak while going 1-6 against the spread, but they rallied with a 3-1 record (SU and ATS) in their final four games.

The best thing to emerge from last year was rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.’s performance in just 12 starts. He led the team in both receptions (91) and total yards (1,305) to become Manning’s top target in an offense that was ranked seventh in the NFL in passing yards per game.

The Cowboys were able to turn things around in 2014 with a 12-4 SU (10-6 ATS) record and an NFC East title. They made it to the Divisional Round of the playoffs before falling to Green Bay. While the expectation level has been once again set high this season, the gaping hole in their running game left by the loss of free agent DeMarco Murray still has to be filled.

Dallas remains confident that the strength of its offensive line will make any running back on its roster successful, but that did not appear to be the case in a preseason where the Cowboys only scored more than 14 points once. If they cannot get the ground game going it will be up to veteran quarterback Tony Romo to try and win this game with his arm. Even with All-Pro wide receiver Dez Bryant in the lineup that has never been a good recipe for success in Big D.

The Giants have failed to cover ATS in their last four season openers. While Dallas is a healthy 6-2 ATS in Week 1 over the last eight seasons, it is also 1-4 ATS in its last five home games. I think it is going to take a few more weeks for the Cowboys to iron things out on offense and this opens the door for a play on New York and the six points on Sunday night.