Dallas Cowboys: What to expect week one against the Giants

The Dallas Cowboys are just days away from kicking off their season against the New York Giants. Here’s what to expect, it may surprise you:

Now that the rosters are somewhat settled (there will still be some churning), the Dallas Cowboys are headed into a week one matchup with the New York Giants. This season has a lot of excitement as Dak Prescott heads into his second season and his offense looks like it could possibly be the best in the NFL.

But as we all know, it’s not all good news with Dallas this week. For instance, the Cowboys do not match up well against the Giants, however, this game could still surprise a few people. Let’s get right to it:

I am not going to assume that Ezekiel Elliott will be playing, and to be honest, I don’t think it will matter as much in this game as some might think. The Giants, however, could be without Odell Beckham Jr, and even if he does go, he hasn’t practiced in weeks and may not be as explosive as he has been. This game will come down to the Dallas Cowboys offense versus the New York Giants defense.

The Giants

Last season Eli Manning had a fairly poor season. It doesn’t help that the Giants offensive line is poor and their run game could be even worse. This means the Giants rely on their pass offense to score points, more than anything else.

Sure, they have Brandon Marshall now and a new shiny tight end, but their offense is not going to be blowing anyone out this season (well maybe the 49ers). Even with a slew of injuries, suspensions, and rookies playing for the Cowboys, Dallas should be fine against a mediocre Giants offense. The real task will be whether the Giants defense can hold the Cowboys offense to under 28 points.

Even without Elliott, the Cowboys should be able to move the ball and score at will. It is the first week of the season and predicting a week one game is fairly hard to do, since there’s so much yet to learn.

The Giants secondary is pretty stout and their line is good against the run. Bob McAdoo feels pretty good about his defense against the Cowboys vaunted offense, with or without Elliott. This week he said:

"“All backs run the same when there is nowhere to run,” McAdoo said. “So, our goal is to do our job and be prepared to stop the run and if he’s playing, great; if he’s not, then that’s great.”"

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The Cowboys

The only problem for the Giants is the Dallas Cowboys have added some weapons on their offense, have a second year quarterback in Dak Prescott who has looked fantastic, and finally have a healthy Dez Bryant.

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I can see the Giants giving the Cowboys some fits early, but I think Dallas will wear them down in the long run.

The Giants will be forced to remain one dimensional and this will actually help the Cowboys this game.

If Elliott plays, I think he will want to take out some anger and prove last season wasn’t a fluke and he’s even better in year two.

He started slow last season, but he was a totally different player as the year went on. If he plays, he will be the deciding factor in the game.

Next: Season predictions for the Dallas Cowboys: Super Bowl or Bust?

If Elliott can’t go, watch for Cole Beasley to play a larger role and a surprise or two from Rod Smith. Dez will have a fairly good game, but it will be the underneath and running back play that will decide the game.

Prediction: Dallas Cowboys 30 – New York Giants 20

Stay tuned to Sport DFW because on Saturday we will release the rest of our staff predictions…

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