Cowboys vs Giants SNF Preview: Odds, Prediction, Best Bet

Sunday Night Football kicks off Week 2 with one of the sport’s oldest rivalries, as the Dallas Cowboys travel to MetLife Stadium to face the New York Giants at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC. It’s the first real measuring-stick game of the season for both NFC East clubs, and it comes loaded with subplots: a new starting quarterback trying to find his footing, a receiver working his way back from a serious injury, and a familiar face returning to the scene of one of the most famous plays in NFL history.

Where the Odds Stand Heading Into Sunday Night

Dallas opened as roughly a 3-point favorite and the number has held in that range, with the Cowboys sitting at -3 (-108/-110) against the Giants’ +3. The moneyline reflects a similar gap, with Dallas priced around -158 to -160 and New York going off between +134 and +138. Bookmakers see this as a competitive game rather than a blowout, which tracks with how these division rivals have played each other in recent years regardless of record.

The total sits in the 48 to 48.5 range, a number that leans toward both offenses finding some success but not turning this into a track meet. Dak Prescott’s Cowboys have the personnel to push the total over on their own, while a healthy Giants passing attack could do the same if things click early. Bettors tracking the market throughout the week can check live NFL odds for the latest line movement before kickoff.

Jaxson Dart’s First Week 1 Start Meets Dak Prescott’s Experience

The quarterback storyline here is impossible to ignore. Jaxson Dart gets his first Week 1 start under center for the Giants, a big step up from being thrown into action mid-season as a rookie last year. On the other sideline is Dak Prescott, entering his 11th season and coming off a monster 2025 campaign in which he led the NFL with 404 completions, 4,552 passing yards, and 30 touchdown passes. That kind of experience gap usually matters most in the trenches and in the two-minute drill, areas where Prescott has years of primetime reps that Dart is just starting to accumulate.

The biggest variable for New York’s offense is whether Malik Nabers suits up. Nabers is working back from the torn ACL that ended his 2025 season in Week 4, and he’s listed as questionable after stringing together full practices throughout the week. If he plays, he gives Dart a legitimate No. 1 target and changes the entire complexion of the Giants’ passing game. If he’s limited or held out, New York’s attack gets considerably tougher to trust against a retooled Dallas defense.

There’s also a nostalgic angle to this one. Odell Beckham Jr. is back with the Giants, now wearing No. 13, twelve years after his iconic one-handed catch against these same Cowboys became one of the signature highlights in NFL history. It’s a fun full-circle moment for Giants fans, even if Beckham’s role at this stage of his career is more complementary than centerpiece.

The Trenches Could Decide This One

Dallas took a real hit up front just days before kickoff, losing All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith to thumb surgery and a trip to injured reserve. T.J. Bass steps into that spot, and he’ll be tested immediately by a Giants pass rush that looks like one of the more dangerous units in the league on paper: Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Abdul Carter, and rookie Arvell Reese give New York’s front four legitimate size, speed, and depth off the edge. If that group gets home consistently against a thinner Cowboys offensive line, it could rattle Prescott and shorten Dallas’s night.

Dallas isn’t without its own answers on defense. New coordinator Christian Parker has overhauled that side of the ball with the additions of Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark up front, plus rookie safety Caleb Downs in the back end. That group will lean on Javonte Williams, who ran for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2025, to control the clock and keep the Giants’ pass rush off the field as much as possible. If Dallas can establish Williams early, it takes pressure off both an inexperienced protection scheme and a Cowboys defense still finding its identity under a new play-caller.

Prediction and Best Bet

This has the feel of a game that’s closer than the final score suggests, but Dallas’s edge at quarterback and the uncertainty around Nabers tips things in the Cowboys’ favor. Expect Dak Prescott to make enough plays through the air, and Javonte Williams to grind out enough tough yards, for Dallas to escape MetLife Stadium with a road win in a game that stays interesting into the fourth quarter.

• Prediction: Dallas Cowboys 27, New York Giants 23
• Best Bet: Cowboys -3 on the spread

Dallas’s experience at quarterback and a defense that added real difference-makers this offseason should be enough to cover, especially if Nabers is limited or eased in slowly after a full year away from game action.