The New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys renew their rivalry in the season-opening Sunday Night Football matchup, capping off the first full Sunday of real, live NFL games.
Giants vs. Cowboys 2015, ‘Sunday Night Football’ preview: NFC East rivals battle in primetime
Do we have to remind you what happened the last time the Giants and Cowboys played on a Sunday night?
The Cowboys surprised nearly everyone last year with their 12-4 record and first division title since 2009, and enter this season with even higher expectations. However, it’s been a while since Dallas fielded a consistently good team. It hasn’t made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons since 2006-07 and hasn’t enjoyed back-to-back 10-win campaigns since 1991-96.
If the Cowboys are going to live up to their hype as Super Bowl contenders, they'll have to do so without the services of the key cog in the balanced, ball-control offense that made them so successful last year. DeMarco Murray, who rushed for a franchise-record 1,845 yards in 2014, took his talents to Philadelphia and left the Cowboys with a huge hole to fill in the backfield. They'll do that this season with a running-back-by-committee approach, hoping that a versatile group of backs will pay dividends on the field.
The Giants are trying to avoid falling into a rare period of extended mediocrity. They went 6-10 and 7-9 in 2014 and 2013, respectively, and last year missed the playoffs for the third season in a row. The Giants haven’t had three straight losing seasons since 1973-80, and the late 1970s were also the last time they went four straight seasons without a postseason berth. Those years are considered by many to be the darkest days of the proud franchise.
The offense got a makeover last year with the hiring of coordinator Ben McAdoo, and this winter it was the defense's turn to get a much-needed facelift. The team hired coordinator Steve Spagnuolo (who won a Super Bowl ring with the team in 2007), hoping to improve a unit that ranked 29th in yards allowed in 2014. Stopping the Cowboys' potent attack won't be easy, especially without its best defensive lineman (Jason Pierre-Paul) and a safety group ravaged by injuries.
Digits
Despite the loss of Murray, the Cowboys still have a terrific offensive core with Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten and one of the best offensive lines in football. Aside from the inevitable decline in talent in the running back corps, there are a couple other factors working against the Cowboys.
The NFC East is historically a really tough division to repeat as champs. The last team to win back-to-back titles was the Philadelphia Eagles, who won four in a row from 2001-2004. Dallas also didn't catch any breaks from the schedule makers. Using the 2015 projected win totals from the Westgate SuperBook (as of Aug. 22), the Cowboys have the second-hardest schedule in the league behind only the 49ers. They play five of their final eight games on the road, including trips to the frozen tundras of Green Bay (Dec. 13) and Buffalo (Dec. 27).
For better or for worse, one of the biggest storylines surrounding the Giants has been the unprecedented number of injuries they've suffered. The Giants led the league in Football Outsiders' Adjusted Games Lost metric in each of the last two seasons, losing the equivalent of 137.5 starter-games to injuries in 2014 and 141.3 starter-games in 2013. Their luck doesn't seem to have turned this year, either. The Giants lost four safeties to injury during training camp, their starting left tackle (Will Beatty) to a torn pectoral muscle in May, and their best defensive player, (Pierre-Paul) to severe hand injury in July.
Beatty graded as the 10th-best run blocker among tackles in 2014, according to Pro Football Focus. He was placed on the PUP list, which means that rookie Ereck Flowers will have to protect Eli Manning's blind side for at least the first six weeks. Pierre-Paul led the team in sacks last year, including 9.0 in the final five games, and his timetable to return is unknown. Although the Giants did draft talented safety Landon Collins, they're still probably going to line up on Sunday night with two safeties who have a combined zero NFL starts.
Who to watch
Odell Beckham Jr. - This is a no-brainer pick and it becomes even more interesting when you consider the circumstances of the game. The last time the Cowboys and Giants played was Nov. 23, 2014 -- also a Sunday night matchup -- and a game that featured the Catch Heard ‘Round the World by Beckham, an incredible one-handed touchdown grab that made him an instant superstar.
Beckham also has a chance to break a pretty impressive record. He had at least 90 receiving yards in each of his final nine games of last season, matching Michael Irvin (1995) for the longest streak in NFL history.
Randy Gregory - There are big expectations in Dallas for the rookie defensive end, who had three sacks in three preseason games and will be counted on to fill the pass-rushing void with Greg Hardy suspended for the first four games of the season.
So far, he's showed off a bevy of impressive moves and has drawn favorable comparisons to guys such as Jason Taylor and Charles Haley. Now he needs to translate that talent into production against a Giants offensive line that has more questions than answers entering this season.
How to watch:
When: 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
TV: NBC
Commentators: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya
Online: NBC Sports Live Extra, Verizon NFL Mobile
Preliminary Judgment
Most of the experts are going with the Cowboys to win their season opener. Seven of the eight pickers at CBS Sports are taking Dallas, with Will Brinson as the lone Giants guy. All seven experts at SB Nation plus the OddsShark computer think the Cowboys will defend their home turf on Sunday night.
Odds
The Cowboys are 7-point favorites with an over/under of 51, according to OddsShark.com.
Further Reading
For more on the Giants, head on over to Big Blue View. For everything Cowboys, check out Blogging the Boys.
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