Dallas at New York

The Cowboys face has changed behind center, as Tony Romo remains sidlined with a broken finger. Since his injury, under Brad Johnson the Cowboys have gone from unstoppable to mediocre in a hurry. Johnson took his first snaps from center this year vs. the Rams, and the rust was evident. But last week he did a great job managing the game, and the Cowboys finished with no turnovers, winning the game. These teams played wide open football during the regular season last year and it resulted in two Cowboys wins. The Giants went to school and played a different game in the playoffs throwing the ball just 18 times in their playoff win. The roles have reversed now, and Dallas will employ the same ball control tactics, and allow their defense to keep them close here. After a close opening week win vs. Washington, the Giants put up 41, 26 and 44 points in their next three games. But who did that come against? St. Louis, Cincinnati and Seattle! So, while the general public gives New York a ton of credit, I don't. Their next game came against the lowly Cleveland Browns and New York lost outright as a 7.5 point favorite. They have gone on to win two straight but again one of those wins came against another bad team in San Fancisco. While the New York's 6-1 record looks impressive, the fact remains that it has come against one of the easiest schedules in the entire NFL. The Giants are very good, but in my opinion, somewhat overrated. Their offense that was cranking earlier, has seen a huge dropoff, producing just 21.3 ppg the last three games. This is a lot of points for a division rivalry game, especially when Dallas needs this one in a big way. And, Dallas should be more motivated here. They are getting very little respect right now and would love nothing more than to make a statement here before their bye, that they can win a big game without Romo. And this Dallas team was destined for the Super Bowl last year, only to have New York come into their house and knock them out. You can bet the 'Boys want this one bad, and they need it more than does New York. In recent weeks, the Dallas bandwagon has been abondoned as everyone jumped ship to New York's. What I see is a divisional underdog of nearly double-digits, with motivation, facing a team that has cruised over patsies so far. I expect the Cowboys to find a way to stay close here.