EWB Football Predictions – September 7-8, Giants, Jets, Rutgers, SNF
By Ed Stein
New York Giants at Dallas
Matthew Travis
The Dallas Cowboys will beat the New York Giants 38-20 on Sunday to kick off their 2019 campaign. With Ezekiel Elliott and Jason Witten both back plus Amari Cooper, the Cowboys have weapons they haven’t had in several years, which will power them to a win over the Giants. On the Giants side of things, with Odell Beckham Jr. gone and new wide receiver Golden Tate suspended, it will be a rough game where we will see the Giants trying to find their footing.
Ed Easton Jr.
New York Giants will win the game with a heavy dose of Saquon Barkley either catching passes out of the backfield or rushing through the defensive line. Eli Manning will manage the game appropriately with plenty of smart third-down conversions and utilizing tight end Evan Engram. The Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott will struggle to try to work his way back into game shape throughout, with the final score of Giants 24, Cowboys 21.
Dan Schmelzer
This is a game with two teams going in completely opposite directions. The Cowboys are incredibly talented on both sides of the ball, while the New York Giants are in some version of an odd rebuild. Eli Manning has been washed up for years and I can not see him having any sort of success against this loaded Dallas defense.
In particular, the Giants offensive line will struggle to protect Manning against Demarcus Lawrence and company. Saquon Barkley will get his yards, but it won’t be enough. The Cowboys easily take care of business against their division rivals in Week 1.
Ed Stein
For all their posturing, Dallas is a bit of a mess right now. Zeke Elliott rejoined the team a few days ago. Quarterback Dak Prescott is angling for a blockbuster contract extension. Top receiver Amari Cooper is also looking for a new deal and has battled foot problems throughout training camp. Finally, star tight end Jason Whitten is back after a year in the television booth. Situations like that never work out.
The New York Giants come into this game with their share of questions as well, mostly at wide receiver. I think they pound the ball with Saqon Barkley and take advantage of the big mismatch tight end Evan Engram creates. Defensive coordinator James Betcher will have to open his bag of tricks to combat a very good Dallas offensive line. As much as I would like to will Big Blue to victory, in the end, the Cowboys pull out a close one.