Dallas Cowboys Vs. New York Giants Odds Preview, Matchup Report and Prediction

Two hated NFC East rivals kick off the NFL season Wednesday night when the New York Giants host theDallas Cowboys at Metlife Stadium.

The defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants opened as 3-point favorites at most shops tracked by OddsShark.com, but the number was sitting at -3.5 or -4 early Wednesday.

In 2011, the New York Giants finished the regular season with a 9-7 straight up record with an 8-7-1 record against the spread. They followed that up with a perfect postseason, going 4-0 both SU and ATS en route to the championship.

Will they carry the momentum of last year’s incredible playoff run into a strong start in 2012? Will the betting trend towards the Giants continue throughout the day?

“Early in the week, (money) was coming in on both sides of the 4-point spread, but since last night, I am surprised how much of a swing towards the Giants,” said Kevin Bradley, a manager at Bovada. “Now, 75 per cent of the money on them and, in turn, we are seeing some last-minute future bets on New York at 20/1 after dropping from 22-1.”
The Dallas Cowboys had their second straight disappointing regular season last year. After starting off 7-4 straight up through their first 11 games, the Cowboys sputtered down the stretch with a 1-4 record straight up.

They finished the season up 5-10-1 ATS, and will be looking for much better results this season.

Last season famously came down to the final game of the season for these two teams. Both teams entered their game against each other in Week 17 with an 8-7 record, and the winner would win the NFC East and advance to the playoffs.

New York went on to win that game in dominating fashion, 31-14, and the rest is history.

New York’s handling of Dallas certainly hasn’t been out of the norm in recent years. In nine meetings since 2008, the Giants have had a stranglehold on this series, going 7-2 both straight up and ATS against the Cowboys.

This series has also trended heavily towards the UNDER in recent years with six of the last eight games between these two teams going OVER the total.

Dallas will undoubtedly be hungry for revenge for the way last season ended, but with New York lifting the championship banner, emotions should be running high on their sideline as well.

With Cowboys’ star tight end Jason Witten out (abdomen) and New York’s dominance in this series, signs seem to point to a win for the G-men in this one in a key early divisional battle.

PICK: New York Giants -3.5 (* note: most early contestants in the NFL Bankroll game at Odds Shark are also on NYG)