Predictions Summary Projections by Position Projection Team Boxes

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Prediction: NYG 17, DAL 34 (Line: DAL by 5.5)

The 5-1 Cowboys are on a five game winning streak and are tied with the Eagles for the best record in the NFC. The 3-3 Giants just got smacked by the Eagles in a shutout that made all the previous gains vanish, not to mention Victor Cruz. These two teams always have high scoring meetings and it could go either way as a divisional match but the Giants on the road after a horrible shutout plus losing their best offensive player in Cruz will need more than a few days to sort it all out again.

The Cowboys won 36-31 when the Giants visited last year.

Injuries are decimating the Giants again this year and losing Cruz may not be recoverable since he was the heart of that offense. There is a bye after this week that the Giants need desperately to get back on track using what they have left but they immediately face the Colts, Seahawks, 49ers and Cowboys again. No rest for the weary.

QUARTERBACK : Eli Manning seemed to be over the hump of learning the new offense and threw for multiple scores in four straight games but then was held to only 151 yards and no scores by the Eagles who sacked him a season high six times. Manning will compensate for losing Cruz but it will take time and the best receiver on the roster now only has two games played in his career.

Manning passed for 450 yards and four touchdowns in Dallas last year.

RUNNING BACK : Rashad Jennings remains out again this week and should return after the bye in week nine. In his place, Andre Williams ran for 58 yards on 16 carries but caught no passes and the Giants were so far behind that the abandoned the running game. Peyton Hillis stepped up for relief carries but nothing else. This may be a tough venue but this will be the final week that Williams gets to shoulder the big load.

The Giants combined for only 42 yards on 12 carries in Dallas last season.

WIDE RECEIVER : Now that the receivers are entirely different from last year, the depth chart moves again. Cruz will be replaced by the rookie Odell Beckham who was the third wideout drafted last April and has #1 wideout talent. He missed much of the preseason and first four weeks with a hamstring injury but played in week five to gain 44 yards on four catches and one touchdown. He has much to learn and in no way is immediately 1:1 with Victor Cruz but down the road he could be even better. Rueben Randle stays in place as the split end and the slot duties will be split between Preston Parker and Julian Talley. This is a lot of change to absorb and it will take time. The shame is that the new offense was just starting to run well and now has to take a big step backwards.

All three wideouts had monster games in Dallas last year. Hakeem Nicks (5-114), Rueben Randle (5-101) and Victor Cruz (5-118, 3 TD) all started the 2013 season with a bang thanks to the Cowboys.

TIGHT END : Larry Donnell started the year with four touchdowns in the first four games but then had just one catch in the last two weeks as the offense shifted to the wide receivers. Donnell could see an uptick again as the wideouts get set without Cruz there but that is no lock to happen. Manning has already moved on in his passing and might not want to go back to ignoring the wideouts.

MATCH TO THE DEFENSE: The Cowboys are playing so well lately that fans are no longer wondering how it is happening and are just enjoying the ride. The rushing defense has been very good aside from Arian Foster but the Giants are relying on a second-string rookie for now. That doesn’t bode well for Andre Williams this week. In years past, this is when Manning, Cruz and Nicks would post crazy numbers but now it is Randle and Beckham facing a secondary that has only allowed two scores to wideouts this year. And no 100 yard games. There is potentially upside here if the Cowboys get a big lead and the Giants get trash time but even that doesn’t happen so much because the Cowboys run down the clock faster now with a rushing game. Donnell is a reasonable start this week since the Cowboys allowed six scored to the position and the Giants have to figure out the pecking order all over again.

The Cowboys are on a roll and it isn’t likely to end any time soon since the next three games are all at home and then only a trip to Jacksonville before the late week 10 bye. The win over the Seahawks was huge by many measures and stamps legitimacy to the apparent lightning-quick turnaround from last year. The Cowboys have yet to figure out how to stop driving DeMarco Murray like a rental car but so far it’s all good. The offensive line has been outstanding and from that all improvement in the offense stemmed. Unfortunately RT Doug Free will miss the next three to four weeks with a foot injury but that should not be a major factor for this easy stretch of the schedule for the next month.

QUARTERBACK : Tony Romo injured his ribs during a hit by the Seahawks and while it won’t likely keep him out, it may become an issue of him not wanting to expose himself to any more hits than needed. Romo is on a four game streak of multiple touchdowns but surprisingly only threw one game over 300 yards this season. His yardage is down sharply from the past thanks to the success of the running game. A benefit too is that he’s only thrown two interceptions in five weeks and was only sacked at most once in the last four games.

Romo passed for 263 yards and two touchdowns on the Giants last year.

RUNNING BACK : The promises to slow down DeMarco Murray have yet to materialize since he is on an insane pace of 424 carries on the season. But Murray has been nearly unstoppable and gained over 100 yards in all six games this year which ties Jim Brown’s record. He’s also scored in all but one. The way the Cowboys offense has been working let’s you squint your eyes when you watch and wonder if that guy with the ball is #22. It is that good. Murray even caught six passes in each of the last two games.

Unrelated but an issue, Joseph Randle was arrested for shoplifting underwear and cologne at a nearby mall in Frisco. But that is a misdemeanor and should have no bearing here other than he may be shy about taking off his helmet.

Murray ran 20 times for 86 yards and no score on the Giants last season.

WIDE RECEIVER : The offense has changed back to primarily using just two wide receivers and rarely throwing elsewhere. Dez Bryant finally ended his four game scoring streak but remains the most targeted Cowboy receiver. He’s still light on yardage with only one week topping 100 yards but again – the rushing game is taking control. Terrance Williams has a team high five touchdowns and is consistent around 70 yards even if he never goes much higher.

Bryant was held to only 22 yards on four catches and Williams only ended with 32 yards on two receptions when the Giants visited last year.

TIGHT END : Jason Witten is playing like an aging tight end in a decline but at least he scored last week for the first time this season. Witten is only reliable for around 50 yards in home games and less when away from home.

Witten scored twice in both meetings with the Giants last year. He ended with eight catches for 70 yards when the Giants visited last season.

MATCH TO THE DEFENSE: The Giants are weaker against running backs but much of that stems from backs catching the ball. They had been very tough on rushing until last week when LeSean McCoy gained 149 yards. It doesn’t matter really – the Cowboys are going to feed Murray until he breaks 100 and he should be a lock for a score as well. How much Romo does is more about how well the Giants score. Figure on a couple of scores and moderate yardage but anything more probably won’t be needed and he does need to make sure his ribs are not a factor.

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