It's an important NFC East battle on Sunday Night Football when the New York Giants host the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. Both teams are trying to maintain momentum after making the postseason in 2022, but the Giants are trying to end a string of futility against their NFC East rivals. The Cowboys have won 11 of the past 12 meetings, including four in a row, and come off a 12-5 season. The Giants went 9-7-1 but reached the NFC's Divisional Round, where they lost 38-7 to the NFC East-champion Philadelphia Eagles. Dallas also made the Divisional Round but lost 19-12 to the San Francisco 49ers.
Kickoff in New York is set for 8:20 p.m. ET. Dallas is a 3.5-point favorite in the latest Giants vs. Cowboys odds, and the over/under for total points scored is set at 45. Before you lock in any Cowboys vs. Giants picks or NFL Week 1 bets, you need to see the Sunday Night Football predictions and betting advice from SportsLine NFL expert and Cowboys guru Larry Hartstein.
A former lead writer for Covers and The Linemakers, Hartstein combines a vast network of Vegas sources with an analytical approach he honed working for Pro Football Focus. Larry tied for 52nd place (out of 1,598 entries) in the 2022 Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest, going 53-34-3 ATS. Those selections formed the basis of his SportsLine NFL best bets article, which finished 36-25-1.
In addition, Hartstein has a keen sense of what to expect from the Cowboys and is 16-4 on his last 20 NFL picks involving Dallas, returning a whopping $1,150. Anybody who has been following him is way up.
Now, Hartstein has taken a close look at Cowboys vs. Giants and just revealed his expert picks and predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are several NFL odds and betting trends for Giants vs. Cowboys:
- Giants vs. Cowboys spread: Dallas -3.5
- Giants vs. Cowboys over/under: 45 points
- Giants vs. Cowboys money line: Dallas -170, New York +145
- DAL: Cowboys are 9-4 ATS as road favorites under Mike McCarthy (since 2020)
- NYG: Giants won seven of 14 games as underdogs in 2022
- Giants vs. Cowboys picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why the Cowboys can cover
Dallas ranked in the top six in the NFL on both sides of the ball last season, scoring 26.8 points per game (fourth) and allowing 19.7 (sixth). The roster is loaded with stars, with quarterback Dak Prescott leading an offense that also features receiver CeeDee Lamb and running back Tony Pollard. On the defensive side, Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence can wreck plans. Prescott threw for almost 2,900 yards despite missing five games, while Pollard rushed for 1,007 in a platoon with the departed Ezekiel Elliott, and Lamb totaled 1,359 receiving yards.
Lamb could find a lot of openings against a Giants secondary featuring two rookie cornerbacks. The Cowboys' defense tied for third in the NFL in sacks, with Parsons posting 13.5. Lawrence got three of his six sacks in a 23-15 Week 3 victory at New York. Cooper Rush started at quarterback for Dallas in that game. Prescott threw for 261 yards, 106 to Lamb, in a 28-20 victory in Dallas in Week 12. The Giants ranked 25th in yards allowed (360 per game) in 2022. The Cowboys were 11-8 against the spread overall last season and went 8-5 ATS as a favorite. See which team to pick here.
Why the Giants can cover
New York was 14-5 against the spread overall (including playoffs), the best mark in the NFL, and was 11-3 ATS as an underdog. The Giants got quite a boost from coach Brian Daboll and the play of quarterback Daniel Jones last season. Jones had a career-high 3,205 passing yards and contributed 708 yards to a rushing attack that averaged 146 yards per game. That ranked sixth in the NFL, and a healthy Saquon Barkley played a huge role in that. He started 16 games and rushed for 1,312 yards and 10 TDs. Now Jones has some new weapons in the passing game.
A trade with the Raiders for tight end Darren Waller and the addition of former Colts receiver Parris Campbell gives the quarterback reliable targets. Waller topped 1,000 yards twice with the Raiders, and Campbell had 62 catches in Indianapolis last season. New York had some issues on defense in 2022, but the unit tied for second in the league with 13 fumble recoveries. It allowed 213.5 passing yards per game (13th in NFL). See which team to pick here.
How to make Cowboys vs. Giants picks
Hartstein has broken down Sunday Night Football from all sides and is leaning over the point total. He also has discovered a critical X-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. He's only sharing what it is, and the rest of his expert NFL picks and analysis, at SportsLine.
So who wins Cowboys vs. Giants on Sunday Night Football in NFL Week 1, and which critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Cowboys vs. Giants spread to back, all from the NFL expert on a 14-6 roll on picks involving Dallas, and find out.
