New York Giants (2-7) @ Dallas Cowboys (5-3)

Lines Available

Giants(+750) @ Cowboys(-1200): O/U 38.5
Giants+16.5(-110), Cowboys-16.5(-110)

The Dallas Cowboys (5-3) return home to face their division rival New York Giants (2-7) for the second meeting of these two teams on the season. The first meeting was a Week 1 blowout win by the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys will return home after an emotional loss to their other division rival Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants were absolutely spanked by the subpar Las Vegas Raiders in a game that their starting quarterback was lost for the season.

Writer’s Record
Leans: 10-26 -9.02u
Bets: 14-22 -9.26u

Main Storylines to Watch

When do the Cowboys put in their backups? I somewhat joke, but the Cowboys handled the Giants easily in Week 1 and now the Giants lost their starting QB and were sellers at the deadline. The Cowboys are massive favorites in this game leading to a most likely run-heavy approach due to game script. I expect a lot of backups to get time in the second half if the game goes as projected. This will be a complicated game to predict for fantasy purposes.

What are the Giants’ goals for their final eight games? The Giants have had a tough season thus far and it looks to only get worse. They were sellers at the deadline and now have to finish the season without the QB they invested in in the offseason. Despite the large investment, the Giants could be a possible team to select a QB early in the 2024 NFL draft depending on where they land. They have young talent at WR, but their current backups do not provide much use in getting them the ball to see what they have in their WRs. Is it worth over-feeding Barkley all season in what looks to be a wash of a season? This game will be very telling for what the Giants plan to do for the rest of the season.

Dallas Cowboys

QB

Dak Prescott: Prescott has three straight 24-plus-point fantasy performances. The Cowboys are massive favorites in this game and Prescott might not need to do much for the Cowboys to be victorious. Prescott is a great rest-of-season option at QB, but I believe Prescott has a limited upside in this game due to the projected game script.

RB

Tony Pollard: Despite Pollard’s recent struggles, he is still a workhorse in this Cowboys offense. The projected game script of this matchup leads me to believe this will be a run-heavy approach for the Cowboys. I expect to Pollard to get major volume in the first three quarters of this game with the backups coming in for garbage time. Start Pollard with a top-15 expectation this week.

WR

CeeDee Lamb: Ceedee has three straight games with over 100 yards receiving. Lamb has been the top receiving option for this Cowboys team. I expect Lamb to see five to seven targets in this game early on before the Cowboys coast to victory. He is still an auto-start, but I do not expect the same ceiling he has had in his previous three contests.

TE

Jake Ferguson: Ferguson stepped up last week as the second option in this passing offense. The Eagles are a good matchup for opposing tight ends but Prescott has historically favored his tight end position and Ferguson has proved he can handle a bigger workload. Ferguson is an auto-start at tight end for the rest of the season.

New York Giants

QB

Tommy DeVito: Daniel Jones is out for the rest of the season, so Tommy DeVito is the next up at the quarterback position for now. DeVito was significantly better last week compared to his performance against the Jets. The Cowboys and Jets have similar caliber of defenses. DeVito should be started in no type of league format.

RB

Saquon Barkley: Saquon has been the only effective offensive player for the Giants in the past two weeks. Saquon is an auto-start due to projected volume, but he will most likely be inefficient with the Cowboys’ defense being able to concentrate mostly on stopping him.

WR

Giants WR room: Wan’Dale Robinson is the receiver to own in this receiver room, but Tommy DeVito will make it hard for anyone to be fantasy valuable. Wan’Dale I believe to be worth picking up and stashing on your bench to see if he can take over the number one option with Darren Waller now on IR.

TE

Daniel Bellinger: Waller has been put on injured reserve with a hamstring injury and the Giants have no need to bring him back early with their record being as poor as it is. Bellinger managed three catches on three targets in relief for Waller last week. Bellinger is a solid backup, but I would avoid this TE group as there are better options on the wire.

Betting Insight

PLEASE NOTE: This is intended for entertainment purposes. This is not intended as gambling advice. If you are looking for gambling advice from professionals, please sign up for the SportsEthos WagerPass. These are the thoughts of our fantasy football division experts, and some are sure to be better than others.

The Vegas projected score of this game is 27.50 Cowboys to 11.00 Giants. The Giants are going to be forced to pass the ball whether they like it or not. I think this game will be closer than the last matchup, but that is not saying much. I like the odds of the Giants getting a fourth-quarter score to make it respectable, and DeVito to get over his low passing total that he surpassed last week in relief for Daniel Jones.

Lean: Last to Score – NY Giants (+220) .5u to win 1.1u (DraftKings)
BET: Tommy DeVito Over 164.5 (-115) 1.15u to win 1u (DraftKings)