COWBOYS at GIANTS
8:15 p.m., Cowboys by 4 ½, 44
HANK’S HONEYS: The one question that needs to be asked is are the Cowboys this bad? The answer is probably, and this game will prove it one way or another. Dallas has dominated the Giants behind Dak Prescott with six straight wins, including last year’s sweep by an 87-17 margin. On paper, they are the strongest team the Giants will have faced so far. No one would be surprised if they suddenly woke up as Daniel Jones fizzles once more under the lights.
On the other hand, they were lucky to beat the Browns in their opener and followed that with duds where their inability to stop the run was exposed. The Giants, who should be 2-1, may not have Saquon Barkley any longer but Devin Singletary, as long as he holds onto the football, is capable of getting the job done. And if the Boys have to devote too much attention to the Giants’ ground game, Malik Nabers can burn them the way OBJ once did. The Cowboys’ two corners are outstanding but if the Giants can get Nabers matched up elsewhere, he’ll have the advantage.
One sure way the Cowboys can cover is if they jump out early and make the Giants one-dimensional. The Cowboys can still get after the QB and the Giants certainly don’t want to see Jones dropping back in catchup mode. With the Giants hurting at the CB spot, Dallas will be in attack mode. Yet the Cowboys, even with Cee Dee Lamb, hasn’t been that explosive. They’ve struggled to run the ball, and that lack of balance has hurt them.
Above all, the Cowboys just don’t seem to be carrying any of the old swagger and shouldn’t be coming into the matchup with the usual confidence. The Giants have the momentum and in a short week, that’s important. The Giants would have covered this number in six of their last seven home games. They’ve also covered seven of their last 10 games as an underdog. Their odds of finally staying close to their rivals are pretty good. It shapes as a back-and-forth affair that favors the over with both offenses capable of scoring into the 20s.
IF I WERE A BETTING MAN: Giants and the over.
