The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants will kick off their 2026 seasons under the lights at MetLife Stadium, and the early consensus is pretty clear: most experts like Dallas in Week 1.
This Sunday Night Football matchup comes with both teams trying to reset after ugly 2025 campaigns. Dallas missed the playoffs for a second straight year and finished 7-9-1, with the offense doing its job while the defense let the season slip away. The Cowboys have since overhauled that side of the ball, and there’s real optimism that the changes will matter right away.
New York is also entering a new chapter after a brutal 4-13 season that led to the firing of its head coach during the year and extended the franchise’s postseason drought to three straight seasons. Now the Giants turn to John Harbaugh, who takes over with the goal of lifting the team back toward better days.
The pick landscape reflects that balance of hope and skepticism. The Cowboys are the popular choice among the experts, with everyone at ESPN and Sports Illustrated’s MMQB siding with Dallas. At CBS Sports and NFL.com, only one expert each is bucking the trend and taking the Giants.
On paper, Dallas has the cleaner offensive setup. The Cowboys are bringing back the same unit that ranked seventh in points in 2025, which gives them a strong foundation as they open the year.
The Giants, though, are not short on intriguing pieces. Jaxson Dart gives them a promising young quarterback, Malik Nabers is back after flashing superstar potential before his torn ACL, and the defense has talent in the front seven with edge rushers Brian Burns and Abdul Carter, along with linebacker Arvell Reese.
Dallas also has reason for confidence on defense after a full reset. Christian Parker’s group is coming off a season in which the Cowboys had the worst defense in the NFL, so the bar for improvement is obvious and the expectation is that the unit will be much better.
The feeling here is that the Giants should be improved in Harbaugh’s first season, but that growth may take time. For now, the edge still belongs to Dallas, which has continued to control this matchup.
In Other News...
Cowboys Suddenly Have A Joe Milton Problem They Cant Ignore
Sam Darnolds early exit in Seattles opener instantly turned a backup situation into a storyline worth watching, but it also put a familiar name back into circulation around the league. Joe Milton III, who is on the Cowboys practice squad, has already made himself interesting enough this summer to draw outside attention, thanks to the way he flashed in preseason action and reminded teams around the NFL that a high-upside quarterback can quickly become a talking point.
For Dallas, that is where the discomfort begins. The Seahawks are expected to stay the course with their current quarterbacks, and Darnolds hip injury is not expected to send him to injured reserve, but any quarterback injury in September tends to sharpen the market for depth. If another team decides it needs a live arm, the Cowboys could suddenly find themselves in the position every front office tries to avoid: protecting a developmental quarterback who has become more visible than they probably wanted. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Fans Should Be Watching What The Raiders Just Did
The Raiders have quietly created a little more room to maneuver by restructuring the contracts of Quay Walker and Jalen Nailor, opening up $8.2 million in cap space and pushing their total cushion to just over $11 million. For Dallas, that kind of financial flexibility is worth watching because it gives Las Vegas the ability to absorb salary in a trade, which is exactly the sort of move that can change the conversation around a roster in a hurry.
For the Cowboys, the name that hangs over this is Maxx Crosby, a player whose future has long drawn attention whenever the Raiders gain cap breathing room. Las Vegas could still decide to use the space elsewhere, whether on free agents or by rolling it into next season, but the restructure does at least keep the door open for something bigger, and that is the part Dallas fans will want to monitor closely. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Suddenly Have A New Running Back Depth Concern
The Cowboys left practice with a fresh concern in the backfield after Malik Davis had to be carted off the field during the teams final workout of the week. Dallas has been able to lean on its running back depth throughout camp, but any injury at this point of the week gets attention fast, especially for a player whose role can shift quickly depending on health and game plan.
The team has other backs on the roster and practice squad who could be asked to handle the load if Davis is not available, but the bigger issue now is simply waiting to learn what happened. His status for the upcoming game is unclear, and until the Cowboys get more information, they will have one more spot in the offense to monitor closely. [Read more 🡒]