Dallas Cowboys (5-3) +9, 41 O/U at New York Giants (6-1)
Giants Stadium, Meadowlands, N.Y., 4:15 PM Eastern, Sunday
by Jay Horne of Predictem.com
NFC East rivals will clash this weekend in the Meadowlands when the Dallas Cowboys take the field with the New York Giants. The NFC East sports the strongest division in the NFL with everyone of its teams over the .500 win percentage mark. The defending Super Bowl Champions who are 6-1 will host the Dallas Cowboys who are struggling without their star Quarterback Tony Romo. Romo will again be out this week and the Cowboys will have to find away win without their Pro Bowl Quarterback.
Dallas started off the year strong winning 4 out of their first 5 games. Since then the Cowboys have lost 2 out of their last 3 and have not had the offensive power they had early in the season. Tony Romo has a broken pinkie finger on his throwing hand and his missed the last two weeks, Romo will not play this Sunday. The Cowboys were mauled by the Rams the first game Romo missed as the offense could not find away to move the ball with backup Quarterback Brad Johnson. Last week, the Cowboy defense which has been missing in action this season rose to the challenge keeping the Tampa Buccaneers to 9 points sealing a 13-9 win for Dallas. The Dallas defense will have to be at their best to get the upset this weekend against the Giants.
New York has been solid all season at a mark of 6-1 and solely in first place in the NFC East. The Giants are coming off a tough win when they traveled to Heinz Field to edge the Steelers 21-14. The only loss that New York was dealt this year was a Monday night contest against the Cleveland Browns. That night Eli Manning had a bad night throwing 3 interceptions and the Browns rolled the Giants 35-14. Manning has only thrown 1 interception in any other game this season and that has been big for defending Champs. The Cowboys defense will get some pressure to Eli and try to force some mistakes, if not the New York offensive could have a big day come Sunday.
Bookmakers opened the line at -9 favoring the New York Giants. Early betting action has around 70% of the public favoring the defending Champions. The over/under total for the game is 41 and early betting action slightly favors the over for the contest. Moneyline numbers have the Cowboys at +320 and New York at -400.
The Giants have been dominate on both sides of the ball this season. Offensively, the Giants rank #3 in the NFL in total yards averaging 378 yards per game. New York also claims the #1 ranked rush offense in the NFL at 155 yards per game on the ground. Running back Brandon Jacobs has carried the work load on the ground tacking up 563 yards this season averaging 4.9 yard per carry. Jacobs has accounted for 6 TDs this season and his success on the ground really boost the entire offense. Defensively, the Giants have been outstanding as well. New York ranks #3 in the NFL in total yards allowing 271 yards per game. They have held teams to 16 points per game ranking them 6th best in the league. New York looks to remain strong on both sides the ball this week and thrust themselves a bit further ahead in the NFC East.
The Cowboys offense ranks #6 in total yards averaging 365 yards per game. Those numbers are misleading with Quarterback Tony Romo not being in the lineup. Romo is the power behind the offense. Last week in the Cowboys win against the Bucs they had only 172 total yards offense with backup quarterback Brad Johnson. Johnson also had 3 interceptions in his first week at backup against the Rams. The offense has been sputtering even before Romo broke his finger and must get back to the way they were playing when the season started. Defensively Dallas has seen roller coaster rides. They have played well at times and also have not been able to stop teams at times. The Cowboys defense ranks #10 in the NFL holding teams to slightly under 300 total yards per game. The defense has allowed 23 points per game this season. Look for the defense to pick up in the next few weeks, as they know they have to pick up some slack until the offense can get back on their feet. DE DeMarcus Ware is 2nd in the NFL in sacks and could very well be a key factor in aiding some pressure on QB Eli Manning. If the defense can get to Manning, they could keep the game close.
Betting trends
New York has been great against the books. They have gone 11-2 in their last 13 ATS and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games at home. New York has gone on the under total in 4 out of their last 6 games. The Cowboys are a lackluster 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games and 2-5 in their last 7 games on the road. The total has gone over in 4 of their last 5 games. Dallas has won their last two games at the Meadowlands and it would be a huge accomplishment if they could pull it off this time around.
Jays Pick Over 41- This is a rivalry division game that has only went under 41 points once in their last 5 meetings. Eli has big day and concerns linger in Big D.
