Dallas Cowboys Favored By As Much As 3 On Road At New York Giants

NFL News - December 1st, 2009 - Written by John

In one of the tightest spreads this week, the Dallas Cowboys have two goals when traveling to the Meadowlands: a) Deliver a payback blow to the New York Giants to all but knock them out of the playoff picture and b) maintain their lead in the NFC East over the Philadelphia Eagles with five games left to play.

Although recent history suggests it will be a breeze to accomplish both, with the New York Giants floundering five of their last six games, Las Vegas oddsmakers still considers this to be somewhat of a toss-up. The Cowboys are favored by 3 points, according to DSI Sportsbook, with a total of 45. And despite Dallas performing at a far-better clip this year, this one may be closer than paper would indicate.

Dallas has struggled in December over the last few years, as catalogued by almost every news outlet, and this will be the first December game of the year. It seems less like a payback game for Tony Romo after being beaten by the Giants, 33-31, in Week Two, and more like a statement game that the Dallas Cowboys can roll into the playoffs without a hitch. Last year, Romo was 8-4 after winning three-straight heading into the final month, only to lost three of the last four.

Similarly, Dallas is on a roll, winning six of it's last seven and Romo threw for over 300 yards last week for the fifth time this year. He has 2,933 yards and 17 touchdowns on the season and finally has a stable backfield behind him. Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice are all healthy and lit up the Oakland Raiders last week for 195 yards. They have driven the Cowboys to the sixth-most yards in the league, and are gaining 5.3 yards per carry.

But it wasn't long ago that the Giants packed a potent offense, too, starting the year 5-0. But when Eli Manning injured his foot, and running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw began to limp around, New York became similarly hobbled. They haven't covered the spread in any game since Week Five, and are currently 6-5. It's most recent gaff was on Thanksgiving in which Kyle Orton and Knowshon Moreno poured on a 26-6 loss in Denver.

Manning insists that his sore foot isn't to blame, but the numbers just aren't there. He has only 2,684 yards and 18 touchdowns, and has been picked off 10 times. That matches his total for the entire '08 season.

But, as mentioned, it looks like this one could be as close as the spread. Dallas is 3-10 ATS in their last 13 division games, and have only covered in three of their last 11 road games.

Conversely, the Giants are 7-3 ATS in their last 13 December games according to NFL Betting Trends. The teams have hit the over in five of their last eight meetings, and six times in their last eight at the Meadowlands.