Monday Night Football for week 3 will come to us from the Meadowlands, as two NFC East rivals go toe to toe, with the New York Giants (2-0) hosting the Dallas Cowboys (1-1). With both teams trying to keep pace with the impressive Philadelphia Eagles in the East, both teams will be desperate for a win to build some momentum.
Keep reading our previews for all the NFL best bets, with our prime-time bets currently sitting at 3-1-2 (+1.61u) after our Thursday Night Football best bet was a push, with the Steelers scoring 17. Our alternate bets managed 2-1 though, so don’t sleep on these tips either.
Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants Preview & Betting Tips
MetLife Stadium, Tuesday 10:15am AEST
Last Week
The Cowboys hosted the Bengals after a horrid week 1, where they were destroyed 19-3 at home by the Buccaneers whilst also losing quarterback Dak Prescott to injury. The market appears to have overreacted, with the number shifting 9.5 points due to the injury to Prescott. The Cowboys, led by Cooper Rush, proved everyone wrong, beating the Bengals 20-17 with a late field goal. They showed enough, particularly on defence, to shift the market’s perspective this week once again, which we will go into later.
The Giants managed to start the season 2-0, however they were far from perfect against a poor Panthers team. Both sides had absolutely nothing in attack, with the Giants scoring 2 field goals early purely from turnovers. Both teams made less than 300 total yards on offense, with the Panthers’ 3rd down efficiency (17%) the biggest factor in the result. And whilst the Giants defence should be commended for this statistic, more must be put on the Panthers coaching staff, with Head Coach Matt Rhule’s seat surely getting hot. With this result added to a tight win over the Titans in week 1, this Giants team could be one of the worst 2-0 teams in history.
Injury Report
Dallas Cowboys
Connor McGovern (OG) – OUT
Jayron Kearse (SS) – OUT
Micah Parsons (LB) – QUESTIONABLE
Tarell Basham (DE) – OUT
Dak Prescott (QB) – OUT
Michael Gallup (WR) – QUESTIONABLE
Dalton Schultz (TE) – QUESTIONABLE
Tyron Smith (OT) – OUT
James Washington (WR) – OUT
New York Giants
Wan’Dale Robinson (WR) – OUT
Leonard Williams (DE) – DOUBTFUL
Kadarius Toney (WR) – DOUBTFUL
Azeez Ojulari (OLB) – QUESTIONABLE
Kayvon Thibodeaux (OLD) – QUESTIONABLE
Shane Lemieux (OG) – OUT
Matt Peart (OT) – OUT
Darrian Beavers (LB) – OUT
Match Preview
After week 1, it appeared as though the Cowboys season was in real jeopardy of being over. They looked impotent in attack against an exceptionally good Bucs defence, and their franchise quarterback went down with a thumb injury that required surgery. This moved them from a 2.5-point favourite at home on the look ahead to the Bengals, all the way to a 7-point underdog last week. Cooper Rush ultimately came in and beat the Bengals outright, thanks in no small part to his all-pro line-backer Micah Parsons, who looks a good shot at winning the Defensive Player of the Year award.
The Giants have looked solid under new Head Coach Brian Daboll; however, they have had some luck in each of their opening games against two poor teams. The Titans led the Giants 13-0 at half time in week 1, before again leading 20-13 late. The Giants scored a touchdown and bravely went for the extra point, converting to take the lead by 1 late. The Titans probably should have still won, however a missed 49-yard field goal by Randy Bullock consigned the Titans to a week 1 loss. In week 2, the Giants’ defence was stout, however I believe that to be more of an indictment on how poor the Panthers’ offense is.
I don’t see many points in this game; however, the total is quite low. I would lean the under, but I’m going to take a side in this game. The look ahead for this clash was Giants -3.5, before opening Giants -3. After the Cowboys impressive win last week, all the money has come in on the Cowboys this week and the game now sits at a pick em’. Whilst we’ve clearly missed the best of the number, I’ll side with the Cowboys to get the job done this week and consign the Giants to their first loss of the season. The Cowboys have dominated this match up of late, winning 9 of 10, and whilst Prescott being out is huge, this Cowboys defence is legit behind Parsons, and with the Giants offense looking below league average, I believe the Cowboys can squeeze out a win.
Alternate Bet:
New York Giants (team total) under 20 - $1.88 @ NEDS
Dallas Cowboys H2H
$2 (2 Units)
