New York Giants: What you need to know for Dallas 9/8

It’s opening week for the New York Giants as the Big Blue Wrecking Crew heads to Dallas. Empire Writes Back has all you need to know.

Empire Writes Back presents, what you need to know in order to enjoy New York Giants football Sunday afternoon. The G-Men head to Dallas this week, to take on their NFC East Division rivals. Whether you are taking a road trip to see the game live, or staying at home and watching on television, we have you covered.

Who: New York Giants (0-0) at Dallas Cowboys (0-0).

Where: ATT Stadium – Dallas, Texas.

When: Sunday, September 8, 2019, 4:25 p.m. EDT.

TV: Fox – Announcers Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Erin Andrews.**

Line: Giants +7. Over/Under 45.5 (Odds Shark).

Interesting Trends: What a mixed bag. The good news is that the New York Giants are 4-2 against the spread in their last six games and have beat the spread in seven straight road games. Their points total has also gone over in four of the last five. Now for the bad news. They are 2-7 in their last nine September contests. They have also failed to cover in five of their previous six trips to Big D.

On the other side. Dallas has won five straight and eight of ten at home. They have also covered the spread in eight of their last nine NFC East games.

Injury Report: Giants: Out – TE Garrett Dickerson (quadriceps), WR Darius Slayton (hamstring), CB Sam Beal (hamstring), TE Scott Simonson (Ankle), RB Rod Smith (hip), WR Golden Tate (suspended). Probable – LB Alec Ogletree (calf), T Mike Remmers (back), WR Sterling Shepard (thumb). Dallas: DE Robert Quinn (suspended), S Darian Thompson (ankle), S Donovan Wilson (ankle), LB Luke Gifford (ankle). Probable – Amari Cooper (foot), RB Ezekiel Elliott (contract dispute).

Last Year

Dallas took advantage of injury-riddled Philadelphia to take the NFC East at 10-6, after winning seven of their final eight regular-season games. They were led by running back Ezekiel Elliott and his 2001 total yards from scrimmage. Quarterback Dak Prescott had a rough go of it early due to a mediocre, Whitten/ Dez-less receiving corps.

A mid-season trade with Oakland for receiver Amari Cooper did wonders for the Dallas aerial attack. Their defense was very stingy also, as boys from Dallas allowed the sixth-fewest points per game (20.3) in the league. The linebacking duo of Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith combined for 161 tackles.

Depending on your point of view the New York Giants 5-11, 2018 season record was either miserable or showed signs of hope. Optimistically, they weren’t that far from a playoff contender, dropping five games by a field goal or less, and another pair by a touchdown or less. On the other hand, Bill Parcells famous quote of “you are what your record says you are,” means they deserved to be the fifth-worst team in the NFL. Aside from the Offensive Rookie of the Year, running back Saquon Barkley, there wasn’t much to be happy about.

This Week

2018 is in the books as is a tumultuous offseason for both clubs. Dallas has been steadily getting their house in order throughout training camp with some notable contract extensions. Most importantly, they ended Elliott’s holdout, mid-week, with a record-breaking deal. Now that everyone is back in the fold, Dallas is healthy, good, and deep.

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The G-Men are desperately trying to put the pieces of a solid football club together. The offense is without all-everything receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who was traded to Cleveland before the draft. His replacement Golden Tate is suspended for the first four games of 2019 due to a violation of the league’s substance-abuse policy.

What they have going for them on offense is Barkley, a revamped offensive line, tight end Evan Engram, who is a matchup nightmare for any opposing defense. On the other side of the ball, safety and defensive leader Landon Collins was allowed to leave in free agency. Big Blue received up-and-coming safety Jabrill Peppers in the OBJ trade to fill Collins’ role. Lots of new faces are on coordinator James Betcher’s defense, most notably first-round picks DT Dexter Lawrence and CB DeAndre Baker.

Big Blue should look better than they did when they played at ATT Stadium last September. Unfortunately for them, so will Dallas.

Next. Giants roundtable, predicting Big Blue’s 2019 win total. dark

** For today’s game, if you’re unable to watch on television, please check out a free 7-day trial by Fubo.TV since they’ll have this game on air and ready to stream live for your viewing pleasure. Keep in mind that Fubo also works on all portable devices from cell phones, tablets, laptops, and even on your personal computers at work or home.

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