Carrie Underwood has a busy week, with the New England Patriots-Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday, promoting her new album and now back at work for the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys on the first Sunday night game of the regular season.
Giants vs. Cowboys 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch ‘Sunday Night Football’ online
Dallas is strongly favored in the season’s first Sunday night game.
The Giants and Cowboys don’t need much hype, but this is definitely a point in the rivalry where Dallas has the upper hand. The Cowboys won the last four games -- the longest streak in the rivalry since they won five in a row in the mid-1990s -- and are coming off a 12-4 season while New York went 6-10.
As always, Tony Romo and Eli Manning dominate the headlines coming into this game, but the big question for Dallas will be replacing DeMarco Murray. He rushed for a franchise-record 1,845 yards last season, and the Cowboys don't have a marquee back to replace him. Instead, they will share the load between Darren McFadden, Joseph Randle and newly acquired Christine Michael, and hope it was their offensive line that made Murray look good, and not the other way around.
While Romo has a happy Dez Bryant -- he signed a 5-year, $80 million contract extension in the offseason -- Manning won't have his favorite deep threat. Victor Cruz has been out since a knee injury last October, and the Giants still aren't sure when he'll be back. That leaves a lot of pressure on Odell Beckham Jr., who made himself a household name last year with his famous one-handed catch over Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr.
The Giants also have question marks in the running game, which was ineffective last year. Veteran Rashad Jennings is healthy this season, and New York acquired scatback Shane Vereen after his impressive Super Bowl performance with New England.
Defensively, the Giants had a bad season last year, and will be missing Jason-Pierre Paul as he recovers in solitude from his fireworks injury. Dallas will be missing three key players. Defensive end Greg Hardy (domestic violence) and linebacker Rolando McClain (substance abuse) are starting four-game suspensions, while cornerback Orlando Scandrick is out for the season with a knee injury.
Expectations are much different for the two franchises coming into the season. Dallas is looking to win back-to-back NFC East titles for the first time since winning five straight from 1992-96, while the Giants just want to avoid three straight losing seasons, something they haven’t done since the ugly days of the late 1970s.
The oddsmakers favor Dallas, with the line moving between 6 and 7 points at OddsShark.
How To Watch
When: 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington,Texas
Network: NBC
Announcers: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya
Online: NBC Sports Live Extra
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