Cowboys vs. Giants Prediction
With Eli Manning back under center, will the New York Giants pull off a small upset on Sunday when they host the NFC East rivals the Dallas Cowboys at 1:00 p.m. ET?
Who Oddsmakers Like: Dallas. According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Cowboys are 3.5-point road favorites versus the Giants, who opened as 6-point home underdogs. As for the total, the number currently sits at 41.5 points after hitting the board at 41.
Who the Public Likes: As of Sunday morning, 69% of the betting tickets were on the Cowboys to cover the small spread and 51% of the money (suggesting, perhaps, that sharp players are at least conflicted).
Who the Trends Like: The over and the Giants. The over is 10-4-1 in the last 15 meetings between these two teams in New York and has cashed in 12 of the last 17 meetings overall. The home team is also 5-2 against the spread in the last seven meetings while the Cowboys are just 5-11-1 against the number in their last 17 road games versus the Giants. New York is also 5-1 at the betting window in its last six games against Dallas.
Who We Like: Give me the G-Men. The Giants have had a horrible season and they’re still depleted on both sides of the ball. That said, call me a sap but I think Eli re-entering the starting lineup is going to fire the Men in Blue up.
Remember when the Giants beat the Chiefs as a double-digit home underdog in November? Orleans Darkwa said something interesting after the game when asked how the Giants pulled off the upset. He credited Manning for providing a fiery, emotional speech that got the team jacked to play that day. When we think of Eli, fiery and emotional are far from the top of the list. That said, Manning can apparently be motivational when he wants to be and I get the sense that he will be again today after he had his consecutive starts streak snapped a week ago.
There are a couple of things that make me nervous about this game. One, the Giants are a horrendous football team. Let’s start there. Two, Dallas is still in the playoff hunt for the moment, is coming off an emotional, potentially season-saving win last Thursday against the Redskins, is the more rested team and will have Sean Lee back on defense. That’s reason enough to lay the points on the ‘Boys today.
Still, given the line movement that has already occurred on this game, plus the mini rebirth of Eli Manning, give me the home dog.
NFL WEEK 14 PREDICTIONS: NEW YORK GIATNS +3.5