Giants vs. Cowboys Betting Line – Week 1 2015
Carrie Stroup here with your Giants vs. Cowboys betting line for Week 1. Sportsbook.ag Line: Dallas -6, Total: 51.
Two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning and the Giants look to start 2015 on a high note on Sunday night when they head to Big D to meet old foe Tony Romo and the Cowboys.
The Giants have dropped four straight season openers (including two to the Cowboys) and haven’t won in Dallas since Week 8 of 2012. Forcing turnovers will be New York's key to success in this matchup, as the club is 10-4 SU over the past two seasons when turning the opposition over multiple times and is 30-14 ATS when recording multiple takeaways on the road since 1992.
A healthy WR Victor Cruz (listed as doubtful with calf injury) would be a huge help to both Manning and 2014 breakout receiving star, Odell Beckham. The threat of Cruz on the opposite side would buy Beckham more single coverage and also create pockets for big TE Larry Donnell to work in. Instead, look for Reuben Randle to be opposite Beckham allowing Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli to focus on stopping the explosive playmaker. His defense is missing a key contributor at every level this Sunday though, with DE Greg Hardy and LB Rolando McClain both suspended and top CB Orlando Scandrick out for the season with a knee injury.
The running game has been often overlooked in Dallas, as 2014 was the first season the Cowboys were in the top-15 in the league in rushing since 2009, not a coincidence that was the last year Dallas made the playoffs. The Cowboys are 14-2 SU since 2013 when outrushing their opponents during the regular season, but new offensive coordinator Scott Linehan is not known to be a huge supporter of the run game. Entering his 14th season as an NFL coach, Linehan hasn’t had a top-10 rushing offense since 2003 in Minnesota, but the Giants are 21-57 ATS since 1992 when allowing 150+ rushing yards, so it will be an intriguing struggle. New York would like nothing more than for this to turn into a shootout; they’re 33-18 away from home when both teams score 20+ points since 1992.
The magic number in the game will be 28, because in the past two years, New York is 1-11 ATS when allowing 28 or more and Dallas is 9-1 ATS when scoring 28+ over the same stretch.
Look for Manning to lean heavily on RB Rashad Jennings to provide some balance for the Giants offense. New York’s success in 2014 was directly linked to the running game, as 15 of their 16 game results were the same as the running game results. Jennings looks to shake off some knee/foot troubles from last season that cost him the middle chunk of the year. In the first five games of 2014, he averaged 4.4 YPC and the team was 3-2, but after his injury, Jennings was averaging only 3.2 YPC as they closed the year 2-4 including a tough 31-28 loss to the Cowboys.
CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie will likely draw the assignment of covering superstar wideout Dez Bryant, but don’t be shocked to see safeties Brandon Meriweather or Stevie Brown providing support over the top. The New York front seven will need to hold its own against an elite Cowboys offensive line, and with no DE Jason Pierre-Paul (out indefinitely with injured finger), other veterans like LB Derrick Johnson and DT Cullen Jenkins will need to generate some kind of consistent pass rush.
The Giants defense will have their hands full with Bryant on the outside, but seem to have success against him in Dallas, keeping him out of the end zone in each of the past three Cowboys home meetings. Dallas has been the pick of late, going 3-1 ATS against New York in the past two seasons and 4-0 SU where all four games went Over the total. However, Dallas head coach Jason Garrett is 8-20 ATS as a home favorite and just 10-19 ATS in home games versus the NFC in his coaching career.
The Cowboys defensive line has only one active player with double-digit career sacks, former Jaguars DE Jeremy Mincey. Look for the emergence of the last two second-round picks, DEs Randy Gregory and Demarcus Lawrence to provide some much needed pressure on Manning.
Dallas also looks to put DeMarco Murray’s historic season in its rear-view mirror as RBs Joseph Randle and free agent pickup Darren McFadden look to fill the vacated slot. Randle had great success on the ground last season in limited action, racking up 343 yards on just 51 carries (6.7 YPC). McFadden, the oft-injured former Raiders ball carrier, will look to build on the momentum gained from playing all 16 games last season for the first time in his career. Entering his eighth season, McFadden has been a great indicator of success, as Oakland was 12-2 straight up when McFadden ran for over 100 yards.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
