Cowboys Open As 5.5-point Favorites Over Giants In 2017 Season Opener

The Dallas Cowboys won't kick off the 2017 NFL regular season against the Giants for another 141 days, but Vegas has already released the lines for NFL opening weekend. Following almost immediately upon the release of the schedule, Vegas has the Cowboys as 5.5-point favorites against the Giants on September 10 in Dallas.

After winning five straight games against the Giants, starting in 2013, the Cowboys have dropped their last three against the Giants, including both the season opener and the Week 14 game last year. They'll be looking to end that mini-skid in this year's season opener.

In other NFC East action, the Redskins are hosting the Eagles on opening weekend and are favored by 2.5 points at home.

It's important to keep in mind that the lines don't necessarily reflect the actual chances of either team winning the season opener. Sportsbooks usually set the line to make sure that the money being bet is spread 50/50 over both teams (the key to remaining a profitable bookmaker). So while these opening odds reflect the bookmakers' best guess as to where the action would remain even on both sides of the bet, once the action starts coming in on one particular side of the line, the bookmakers could easily adjust the line to reflect the betting public's betting pattern.

The over/under for the Cowboys home opener is set at 51 points, the second-highest total of Week 1.

In their early predictions for the 2017 Cowboys schedule, Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News and Todd Archer of ESPN both have the Cowboys winning the season opener.

Machota: The outcome of this game recently hasn't had a significant impact on the rest of the season. The Cowboys beat the Giants in the opener two years ago but only won three more times that season. Dallas lost to New York to open the season last year, and then ended up going 13-3. Record: 1-0

Archer: Dak Prescott lost both of his starts a year ago to the Giants and will be looking for some revenge. And he will get it, thanks to Ezekiel Elliott’s 128 yards rushing and two scores and a defense that picks off Eli Manning twice. Record: 1-0

Even Jordan Raanan, the Giants beat writer for ESPN, has the Giants losing the season opener in Dallas.

Giants at Cowboys in Week 1 never gets old. At least that's how the NFL feels. The teams open the season against each other in Dallas for the third straight year. This time, the Cowboys get revenge as they remember losing twice to the Giants last season. Record: 0-1

What are your expectations for the season opener?