Welcome to the New York Giants betting angle, Week 1 edition! It’s good to be back. Each week, I’m giving you my three favorite wagers for that week’s New York Giants game. My one rule: I won’t ever give you wagers that are less than -120. No gimmes!
I finished last season a shade over .500, thanks in part to a perfect 3-0 in Week 18, when the Giants ended their season at home with a decisive win against the Cowboys. Guess what? It’s an immediate rematch! The Giants host the Cowboys this Sunday night
to open the 2026 season. That 2025 season-ender was a largely meaningless game for both teams. This time it matters, and it’s John Harbaugh’s long-awaited Big Blue coaching debut.
Week 1 is tricky. It’s a brand-new season, and the impact of offseason coaching and personnel changes is an unknown. Sharp bettors can flourish in Week 1, as the markets haven’t always caught up to new trends and realities. But let’s face facts: If this was easy, sports books wouldn’t exist.
Dallas and New York missed the playoffs last season, but both have reasons to be optimistic as a new campaign opens. Dallas was dead last in the NFL against the pass in 2025, while New York was second to last against the run. Both teams used the draft and free agency to try to plug those holes.
The teams split their games in 2025, with both games going over the total. Dallas won a 40-37 overtime thriller early in the season, and New York prevailed 34-17 in Week 18. Dallas pulled a lot of its starters early in that contest, including Dak Prescott. The trend heading into that final game was ugly for Big Blue – Nine straight losses to Dallas, and 16 of the last 17 in the series.
Dallas is favored by 3 points on Sunday, with a game total of 48.5.
Let’s get to the picks. All lines and odds are from Fanduel. I’ll be honest – I struggled to find three wagers I liked this week. Be careful out there!
- Game total UNDER 48.5 (-115). A lot of points were scored both times these teams met last season. But this is Week 1, where defense often has the upper hand while teams shake off the preseason rust. Unders usually do pretty well in Week 1 and are already 2-0 this week. Both defenses should be improved in 2026, and I think this game will be lower-scoring than expected.
- Cam Skattebo UNDER 69.5 rushing plus receiving yards (-114). This isn’t a high total, but I’m not convinced that Skattebo is going to have a workhorse role and especially right out of the gate. I’m expecting three of the four backs to be active on Sunday night, with all three playing a decent amount of snaps.
- Jaxson Dart OVER 28.5 rushing yards (-114). I know the coaching staff wants Dart to protect himself better than he did in 2025, and to be smarter about running. We might see fewer designed runs. That’s all well and good, but getting yards with his legs is a huge part of Dart’s game and is firmly in his DNA as a player. This is a reasonable total for the second-year quarterback, who averaged about 35 rushing yards per game in his rookie season. Questions abound with the Giants’ pass catchers and I can see Dart taking off often.
Those are the picks for Week 1. Good luck with your wagers! And if you play fantasy football, be sure to check out my Week 1 fantasy preview, with start/sit advice and more, right here.
