Tonight’s Monday Night Football game features the Dallas Cowboys facing the New York Giants in the second contest of the season between the two.  The last time, the Cowboys walked all over the Giants, 35-17 and there are doubts about whether or not they’ll do it again.

The Giants may have a poor record at just 2-6, but the Cowboys haven’t always been as strong in the past several games, with one exception against the Philadelphia Eagles.  Still, if they put on a good show and don’t make mistakes, the Texas crew should be able to capture another victory.

In the previous five contests between the two teams, the Cowboys have an undefeated record.  They’re also 3-0 in the NFC East this year.  However, they’re 1-3 in the rest of this season’s games.  Week 7 this year was particularly important for the team, as it saw its largest divisional win since it took on the Washington Redskins in Week 17 back in 2014.

In the last game for the Cowboys, they faced the Eagles and the highlight was definitely Ezekiel Elliott.  In snapping a three-game losing streak, he rushed for 111 yards, scoring one touchdown in the process.  That gives him one rushing touchdown in six of the last seven games this season and he’ll be ready to turn on the heat tonight.

The Dallas squad is also good at converting on third downs and is third in the league with 51.9%.  This indicates an offense that knows how to dig in when needed and Dak Prescott under center is proving to be a valuable play-caller that can step up when needed.

On the other side of the ball, the Giants have had a rough go of things lately.  They have now racked up four straight losses, the most recent coming at the hands of the Detroit Lions last week.  A fumble that was picked up for a defensive touchdown didn’t help and the team now has 14 straight games with at least one turnover.  That ties for the longest active turnover streak in the NFL, right up there with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The power of Daniel Jones under center will continue to be beneficial.  He went 28 of 41 against the Detroit Lions, giving him a passer rating of 124.2.  Prior to that, his passer rating had been just 64.8, thanks to seven interceptions and an average of just 197.8 yards per game.  Despite his performance, though, he still wasn’t able to lead his team to victory against the Lions and they fell 31-26.

The bad news for the Eagles is that the Cowboys are coming off a bye week – they’ve had extra time to rest up.  This is going to give the team an edge and has helped it have more time to prepare.  However, the Giants are going to come in ready to put up a good fight and will force the Cowboys to work hard for the win.

In the end, expect the Cowboys to win, but not easily.  The moneyline puts Dallas at -320 and the spread is at -6.5.  By the end of the night, though, it could be a much closer game.  If the Giants can stay together and stay focused, they might even be able to squeak by with a win, but it isn’t likely.