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Cowboys vs. Giants Prediction: Week 1 Odds, Picks & Best Bet

Our Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants prediction for Week 1 includes our best bet, projected score, and the latest odds for Sunday’s matchup.

Gary Pearson

Last Updated: September 12, 2026 5:00 PM EDT • 2 minute read

Pictured: Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) celebrates as he is featured in our Cowboys vs. Giants prediction. Photo by Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

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While John Harbaugh, Jaxson Dart, and Cam Skattebo have G-Men fans believing in the future, I’m backing the visitors to snatch a tight, relatively high-scoring game in my Cowboys vs. Giants prediction.

The Cowboys are the 2.5-point road betting favorite for the Sunday Night Football opener, as they look to continue their dominance over the Giants. The NFC East clash starts at 8:20 p.m. ET from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. (NBC).

🏈 Cowboys vs. Giants picks & predictions

See all of our experts' NFL picks for Week 1 based on the latest NFL odds.

Pick	Bet size
Cowboys -2.5 (-124 via FanDuel)	1 unit
Over 48 (-108 via BetMGM)	1 unit

Total wagered: 2 units | Max profit: 1.74 units

💰 Cowboys vs. Giants prediction & best bet

Check out all of our NFL picks for more analysis across this week's slate.

Over 48 (-108 via FanDuel)

While I’m confident the Cowboys will eke out a 3-point victory on the opening Sunday Night Football of the season, I don’t love the idea of backing them as a road betting favorite.

I turned to the Over for various reasons, including the Cowboys’ dominant offense, particularly their two No. 1 receivers, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.

I like their chances of exploiting the Giants’ average cornerback room, which includes Deonte Banks, Greg Newsome II, and Paulson Adebo.

New-look Cowboys Defense Requires Time

The Giants, meanwhile, have a promising offense led by Dart, who passed for 230 yards and two TDS in Week 17 against the Cowboys last season.

The sophomore gunslinger faces the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator, Christian Parker, who will be calling plays for the first time in the regular season. He’ll need time to adjust, particularly as three of his seven starters on levels 1 and 2 are also new to the team.

Even if Malik Nabers doesn’t play, the Giants have enough talent - especially with the addition of Isaiah Likely - to do some damage.

📡 SBR EDGE

Five of the previous seven meetings had 48 points or more, and the Cowboys offense from 2025, which looks largely similar to the 2026 roster, scored 30 points or more in three of the final away games.

Score prediction: Cowboys 27, Giants 24

📊 Cowboys vs. Giants odds

See the latest NFL odds for every Week 1 matchup.

Cowboys vs. Giants opening odds

Moneyline: Cowboys -162 | Giants +136
Spread: Cowboys -2.5 (-124) | Giants +2.5 (+102)
Over/Under: Over 48.5 (-105) | Under 48.5 (-115)

📺 How to watch Cowboys vs. Giants: Week 1

Date: Sunday, Sept. 13
Kickoff: 8:20 p.m. ET
Location: MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, N.J.)
TV: NBC
Streaming: Peacock

Written by:
Gary Pearson

Gary Pearson has written professionally since 2010, focusing on sports betting since 2014. Gary, who consumes sports like a blue whale devours plankton, specializes in writing about the NFL, hockey, and soccer, focusing on player props, game predictions, and futures plays. Most often utilizing FanDuel and bet365, the latter of which usually provides better early odds, he looks for a perfect-storm combo of in-form players who fare historically well against the opponent in question. He has contributed to the Canadian Press, FanSided, The Hockey Writers, The Hockey News, The Calgary Herald, and other publications. He studied at various post-secondary institutions, including the University of Calgary, SAIT Polytechnic, and Griffith University, located in Brisbane, Australia. Gary has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Griffith University.