The New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys will put the finishing touches on Week 3 in the NFL when these NFC East rivals square up for "Monday Night Football." For the Giants, they have a chance to continue being one of the bigger surprises of the early season as a win could bring them to 3-0 under first-year head coach Brian Daboll. Meanwhile, Dallas is continuing to chug along and keep the ship afloat as quarterback Dak Prescott remains sidelined due to a thumb injury he suffered in Week 1. In his place, Cooper Rush will continue to start under center for the Cowboys.
Here, we'll specifically be looking at the different betting angles that this game has to offer. Along with the spread and total, we'll also take a look at several player props and hand in our picks for how we see this showdown unfolding.
All NFL odds via Caesars Sportsbook.
How to watch
Date: Monday, Sept. 26 | Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Location: MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford)
TV: ESPN | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds: Giants -1, O/U 39.5
Line movement
Dallas opened as a 3-point favorite back in the spring when the lines were debuted and that advantage did increase to Cowboys -4 by early September. However, in the wake of Dak Prescott's injury leaving him unavailable for this matchup, this line naturally moved towards New York. Initially, the line flipped to Giants -4 but has since come back a bit towards Dallas and with the Giants being a slim 1-point home favorite.
The pick: Cowboys +1. Yes, Dallas is without Prescott, but their defense should be able to do enough damage that they won't have to ask Cooper Rush to do too much in primetime. Last week against Cincinnati, Rush boasted a 95.5 passer rating and kept the ball away from the opposition. It was simply an efficient outing that didn't shoot his team in the foot. If he can do that again, they should be able to edge out a New York team that -- while 2-0 -- only beat Tennessee and Carolina by a combined four points. Micah Parsons should have a field day attacking this O-line.
Key trend: Cowboys are 4-0 ATS in their last four road games.
Over/Under total
When a starting quarterback is sidelined, the total is oftentimes going to move considerably. That's the case here with these NFC East rivals after the total first opened at 48. Since then, it's dropped nearly 10 points to 39.5.
The pick: Under 39.5. Always a bit risky going under on a total this small, but this feels like a game where both offenses could struggle to get into the 20s. Dallas is coming off a Week 2 win over the Bengals where they held the offense to 3.8 yards per play and 4.6 yards per pass, largely thanks to their ability to attack the quarterback. We could see a similar showing from them here against the Giants, who have yet to hit the Over on their total this season. In fact, the Over is a combined 0-4 for these teams this season.
Key trend: Under is 5-1 in Cowboys last six road games.
Cooper Rush props
- Passing touchdowns: 1.5 (Over +159, Under -224)
- Passing yards: 207.5 (Over -117, Under -117)
- Rushing yards: 2.5 (Over -123, Under -111)
- Passing attempts: 31.5 (Over -121, Under -113)
- Longest pass completion: 34.5 (Over -111, Under -123)
- Completions: 19.5 (Over -123, Under -111)
- Interceptions: 0.5 (Over -117, Under -117)
Rush's lone start last season came on "Sunday Night Football" and Dallas was able to pull out the win, so I don't think there is a "Will Rush struggle under the primetime lights?" narrative out there. In that win over Minnesota, he dropped back 40 times and completed 24 of his passes for 325 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick.
Rush has gone over his passing yards prop in both of his career starts and will have another pass-catching weapon in the fold with receiver Michael Gallup set to make his 2022 debut in this game. With that in mind, leaning Over 207.5 passing yards seems like easy work for the Dallas backup.
Daniel Jones props
- Passing touchdowns: 1.5 (Over +172, Under -224)
- Passing yards: 198.5 (Over -125, Under -109)
- Rushing yards: 26.5 (Over -115, Under -119)
- Passing attempts: 28.5 (-117, Under -117)
- Longest pass completion: 33.5 (Over -117, Under -117)
- Completions: 17.5 (Over -148, Under +108)
- Interceptions: 0.5 (Over -113, Under -121)
Jones is 1-4 in his career against Dallas and I expect the Cowboys pass rush to be breathing down his throat for most of the contest. With that type of pressure, Jones could be rushed to throw and possibly place it into the arms of a Cowboy, so Over 0.5 interceptions at -113 is a bet here. Jones has also failed to go over his current passing yards prop in four of his last five starts.
Player props to consider
Ezekiel Elliott total rushing yards: Over 58.5 (-115). The Giants are giving up 4.9 yards per carry on the ground this season and have seen the opposing feature back go over this rushing yard total in each of their games thus far. Elliott wasn't particularly efficient in Week 2 (averaged 3.5 yards per carry), but has historically been solid against the Giants, averaging 82.7 rushing yards per game.
Saquon Barkley total receptions: Over 3.5 (+106). The logic here is Daniel Jones could be forced to get the ball out quickly due to Dallas' pass rush, which opens the door for Barkley to catch dump-offs out of the backfield. With the Cowboys being stout against the run, the passing game could also be a way for New York to get the ball in the hands of their most dynamic weapon.
