The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 1 matchup between the Giants and Cowboys on Sunday night.

Find a breakdown of every Week 1 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.

DallasRank@NY GiantsRank
-3.5 Spread3.5
24.75 Implied Total21.75
26.84Points/Gm21.218
19.76Points All./Gm22.822
65.48Plays/Gm63.615
65.529Opp. Plays/Gm63.316
5.414Off. Yards/Play5.222
5.18Def. Yards/Play5.724
47.30%9Rush%47.15%11
52.70%24Pass%52.85%22
43.49%18Opp. Rush %43.97%19
56.51%15Opp. Pass %56.03%14

  • The Cowboys have won 10 consecutive games against the Giants when Dak Prescott has started.
  • New York was 11-3 against the spread as an underdog in 2022, the most ATS covers as an underdog.
  • The Giants turned the ball over on just 7.4% of their possessions in 2022, the lowest rate in the league.
  • The Cowboys forced a turnover on 15.7% of opponent possessions, the highest rate in the league.
  • In 2022, the Giants were dead last in plays of 20 or more yards on offense (2.9) and 30th in gains of 20 or more yards allowed per game (4.0) defensively.
  • Dallas had a +27 sack differential in 2022 (second in the league), which included a +8 differential (eight-to-zero) against the Giants.
  • The Cowboys (71.4%) and the Giants (64.8%) ranked first and fifth in red zone conversion rate in 2022.
  • The Giants led for just 25.9% of their offensive snaps in 2022. That was 22nd in the league and the lowest rate for any team to make the playoffs.
  • The Giants allowed a first down or touchdown on 29.9% of all first and second down plays, the highest rate in the league.
  • The Giants allowed a first down or touchdown on 30.3% of opponent rushing attempts, the highest rate in the league

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Quarterback

Dak Prescott: Coming off the worst fantasy season of his career, Prescott was the QB16 in points per game (16.6).

Prescott’s 7.3 yards per pass attempt and 238.3 passing yards per game were his lowest in a season since 2017.

Turning 30 over the summer, Prescott has had his rushing output fall off the map, which adds more dependence on having his passing efficiency rebound.

In his lone start against the Giants last season, Prescott was the QB18 (14.8 points), completing 21-of-30 passes for 261 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Prescott’s 8.7 yards per attempt in that game was the fourth-highest rate he had in a game last year while completing 70% of his passes. If he can protect the football better in the season opener then he is a strong back-end QB1 option.

The Giants were the most aggressive pass defense under Wink Martindale in 2022. Last season, the Giants blitzed on a league-high 45.1% of dropbacks. The league average was 26.2%. In the preseason, the Giants blitzed on a league-high 52.9% of passing plays.

When these teams played last Thanksgiving, the Giants blitzed Prescott on 58.1% of the passing plays, his highest rate of the season. On those dropbacks, Prescott was 12-of-17 (70.6%) for 150 yards (8.8 Y/A) with a touchdown.

The Giants played man coverage on 42.2% of passing snaps in 2022, which also led the league. The league average was 25.1%.

New York played man coverage on 50% of the passing plays against Prescott, his highest rate faced in a game a year ago.

Against man coverage in that game, Prescott was 12-of-16 (75.0%) for 163 yards (10.2 Y/A) with a touchdown.

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