NFL Week 1 odds: Giants, Cowboys face questions in evenly matched opener
The Cowboys will play at least the first part of the season with rookie Dak Prescott starting at quarterback in place of Tony Romo, beginning with their opener against the Giants in a divisional showdown. The game is listed as a pick’em at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Dallas was a solid home favorite for the game before Romo suffered a fracture in his back during the preseason, leading to some major line movement in favor of New York.
Prescott, a fourth-round draft pick out of Mississippi State, played well in the preseason, reminding some of Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson due to his dangerous combination of mobility and arm strength.
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The Giants will look to frustrate Prescott and force him into some early mistakes in his regular season debut. First-year head coach Ben McAdoo previously served as offensive coordinator in New York and was promoted following the resignation of two-time Super Bowl winner Tom Coughlin after a terrible end to last season in which the Giants dropped six of seven games straight up. They have gone 0–5 straight up and 1–4 against the spread in their past five season openers, according to the OddsShark NFL Database.
The Cowboys have won five of the previous six meetings between these two team but have failed to cover the last three. The total has gone over in seven straight games dating back to 2012.
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Romo played just four games a year ago due to injuries, and Dallas went 1–11 without him, posting a 2-9-1 mark against the spread. Offensive production was the biggest problem for the Cowboys down the stretch, with the under going 8–4 in the 12 games that Romo missed.
Even though it was the preseason, the over went a perfect 4–0 in Dallas games, with Prescott taking most of the snaps. However, the team lost three of those games, going 2–2 against the spread.
