BANG THE BOOK
New Years Day Best NFL Bet
Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants (-3, 46.5)
After 16 weeks of action the division title in the NFC East comes down to one final game between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants on New Year’s Day at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Sunday night’s game is slated to get underway at 8:20 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally on NBC.
If you go back in time to the end of November, it appeared that Dallas was going to run away with the NFC East but another December swoon of three losses in four games has it at 8-7 straight-up on the year and a costly 5-9-1 against the spread. The total has stayed ‘under’ in nine of its 15 games this season.
The good news for Cowboys’ fans is that Tony Romo is listed as probable for Sunday night after getting knocked-out of last week’s game against Philadelphia with a bruised throwing hand. The team’s chances in this week’s game fall squarely on his shoulders as Romo has been one of the few players to consistently play well during the team’s December’s slide.
Just like Dallas, the Giants’ chances to win this game will depend heavily on the play of their quarterback, Eli Manning. During New York’s December free-fall, he threw has many interceptions as touchdowns (six) and completed less than 58 percent of this passes.
New York’s 29-14 win over its inter-city rival the Jets last Sunday as a three-point road underdog was just its second victory in its last seven games, but it may have been just what this streaky team needed to turn things around. It is now 8-7 SU and 7-7-1 ATS. The total has gone 8-6-1 in its 15 games this year.
The Cowboys are 1-5 ATS in their last six games overall and 0-5 ATS in their last five games against the NFC East. The total has stayed ‘under’ in four of their last five road games.
The Giants are 1-4-1 ATS in their last six games at home and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games against the division. The total has gone ‘over’ in four of their last five games following an ATS win.
Head-to-head, Dallas is 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings including a 37-34 loss as a 4.5-point home favorite earlier this season. The total has gone ‘over’ in all five of these games.
The past trends in this series hold true as New York punches its ticket back to the playoffs with a victory over the Cowboys that easily covers the three point spread.
PICK: New York Giants
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