Via @dallascowboys
New York Giants (0-1) vs. Dallas Cowboys (0-1) at AT&T Stadium
NFL Week 2: 8:20 ET on Sunday, September 16, 2018
The New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys is one of the fiercest rivalries in the NFL, and that will be renewed this Sunday evening as both teams enter this contest at 0-1. Records don’t usually when these two teams face off, but the fact that both have aspirations of winning this division make this AFC East showdown a huge contest as the loser could quickly find himself two games out for the division lead.
Pick Six Crushes Giants Home Opener, 20-15
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It was a big opening day for the New York Giants, as new head coach Pat Shurmur the selection of running back Saquon Barkley, and the return of Odell Beckham, Jr. had the Giants thinking that this was going to be quite a year. However, a 32-yard interception return for a touchdown by Myles Jack dampened those aspirations as the Jacksonville Jaguars prevailed 20-15.
This was a contest dominated by Jacksonville for the most part. The teams traded field goals in the first quarter, but Jacksonville would jump ahead with their second field goal by Josh Lambo, a 39 yarder that gave the Jaguars a 6-3 lead. With a little less than three minutes left in the half, quarterback Blake Bortles connected on a one-yard touchdown to T.J. Yeldon to extend the lead to 10.
New York would get a last-second field goal to pull themselves within seven just before the half came to an end and would add a third field goal by Aldrick Rosas early in the third quarter to cut the deficit to four.
The Giants looked to take the lead a little less than four minutes into the fourth quarter as quarterback Eli Manning went back to pass, but his pass was intercepted by Jack, who raced 32 yards for the touchdown to extend the lead back to 11. A 68-yard dash by Barkley went for a touchdown, with the two-point conversion failing. The Giants trailed by five with a little over 11 minutes left in the game but they would get no closer.
Manning threw for 224 yards and Barkley rushed for another 106. Beckham had 11 catches for 111 yards. The defense recorded one sack and one turnover.
Panthers Smother Cowboys in 16-8 Victory
Two of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL meant this last Sunday when Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys took on Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers. However, it would be the play of the two defenses that would be the big story, especially for Carolina, which recorded six sacks and limited the Cowboys to just 232 yards in the 16-8 victory.
After a scoreless first quarter, Carolina would add 10 points in the second to take the lead heading into the half. Newton scored from 4 yards out a little over six minutes into the second quarter and Graham Gano added a 27-yard field goal just before the half.
The lead became 16 when Alex Armah scored from one yard out 48 seconds into the fourth quarter. Dallas would battle back though, adding a four-yard touchdown from Ezekiel Elliott with 8:51 left in the contest. The two-point conversion was good, and Dallas was just one score away from tying this game.
The Cowboys were riding high and looked like they had an opportunity to at least tie the score. However, with 1:23 left in the game, Mario Addison, who sacked Prescott twice in the contest, stripped the ball out of the Dallas quarterback’s hands for a fumble, cementing the victory.
Prescott finished with 170 yards passing and Elliott had 69 yards rushing. The Dallas defense had three sacks and intercepted two passes.
Trends:
New York:
- 5-2 ATS in their last seven games on the road when facing a team with a losing record at home.
- 2-5 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a losing record.
- 1-5 ATS in their last six September games.
- 2-6 ATS in their last eight games against teams from the NFC.
Dallas:
- 5-1 ATS in their last six games verse NFC East teams.
- 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games against teams with a losing record.
- 2-5 ATS in their last seven games at home.
The Winner Prediction
This may be a very disappointing season for New York Giants fans, as this is just not a good football team. Dallas may not live up to expectations either, but they are ahead of the Giants at this point. Therefore, expect the Cowboys to win, likely by seven.
The Pick: Dallas Cowboys -3 (-105)
The Total
The total is set at 46, but these are two really good offenses who combined to produce 48 points last week. That’s probably about the total they produce this week as well, so take the slightly over.
The Pick: Under 42.5 (-110)