Here are this week’s NFL Week 2 picks from the Big Blue View staff, along with explanations for our New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys selections.
Tony DelGenio
BBV readers know I’m an optimist. After the Giant offense’s wretched performance last week, though, I’ve entered “show me” mode. The Cowboys are a team in transition. The old days of dominating OLs Zack Martin, Tyron Smith, and Travis Frederick are gone. Now they have three first-round Tylers (Smith, Guyton, Booker) who are OK but not dominant. The old days of dominating edge rushers Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence are gone. Now they have Dante Fowler Jr. and Sam Williams, who are good but not dominant. In an alternate universe where the Giants’ defense dominates and their offense is competent, they’d win these battles on both sides of the ball. In the real universe, though, the Giants’ best hope is for a draw, and in the interior, now Dallas’ strength with Osa Odighizuwa and Kenny Clark, a draw against the Giants’ Swiss cheese IOL would be a gift. Russell Wilson is 5-1 vs. the Cowboys but hasn’t seen them since 2020, and passing under pressure wasn’t his strong suit last week. Meanwhile, Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens match up well with the Giants’ non-ball-hawking defensive backs. I’ll make two predictions. First, Dallas will use the first-round picks they got for Parsons to draft two more offensive linemen named Tyler. Second, the winner of the game will be…
Pick: Cowboys
Chris Pflum
As I said prior to Week 1, I won’t be picking the Giants to win until they show that they actually can win. Not just have the most points when the final whistle blows, but actually play competent football and beat their opponent. The Giants will need their pass rush to continue to show up against the Cowboys’ offense and help take the pressure off of their secondary against CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
The big concern is on the offensive side of the ball. The Giants absolutely need their offensive line to step up and even just play to the level they did this time a year ago. There were breakdowns across the unit, some of them absolutely glaring for what’s supposed to be a veteran unit. At the same time, the skill position players need to execute better and make themselves available for Russell Wilson.
Once again, I think this is a game that the Giants can win. I’m not picking them to win, and right now I’m not even sure I can pick them to play competitive football until they show they can.
Pick: Cowboys
James Hickey
“Week one is a liar. Always has been.” — Kyle Brandt.
That is where the hope lies this week. You look at last week’s game and it is hard to fathom that the offensive line is a mess again. No matter the resources that are allocated to fixing the problem, this issues exist to a point where the offense becomes non-functional not matter who is at quarterback, wide receiver or running back. The blame must go to the players first and nothing will change until Jon Runyan, John Michael Schmitz and Greg Van Roten do their jobs.
But play calling can help as well— move the quarter back out of the pocket, where was the screen gam that was so effective in the preseason, or get others involved on the passing game not named Malik Nabers.
On the defensive side of the ball, I think if you hold the Washington offense to three scores, you did your job. But, again, allowing a team to get a first down when it is 2 and 19 late in the game washed that all away. Yes, they must use Abdul Carter more and yes, the inability to stop the running game on first and second down negates their biggest strength. But the Giants are in the situation they are in because of a lack of production on offense, not defense.
Dallas is not a great team, but a good one. They played well against Philadelphia. To that end, I think this is a bit of trap game for them with a new coach and their home opener. The Giants offense will show that Week 1 was a lie and have success throwing the ball against a Cowboy secondary missing a key piece in CB DaRon Bland. It will be some nail biting in the end, but the Giants come away with a win.
Pick: Giants 24, Dallas 20
Valentine’s View
I thought I would be picking the Giants to win this game. I wanted to, in fact, I still want to. After the way the Giants played on Sunday against the Washington Commanders, and with 15 losses in 16 game to the Cowboys, I just can’t.
The Giants were atrocious on offense and not nearly as good as they need to be on defense in Week 1. The NFL is a week-to-week league and things can change quickly, but I am going to have to see the Giants put together a much better performance before I pick them to win a game.
Pick: Cowboys
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