Cowboys @ Giants: Three predictions for Week 9

The Dallas Cowboys come off a much needed bye week this Monday as they take on the New York Giants. The two teams faced off way back in Week 1, and Dallas dominated the game. Dak Prescott threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Cowboys to a 35-17 win.

Despite a blowout in the first matchup, and the Giants coming into this game with a 2-6 record, don’t look for that kind of game this Monday. The Giants are a much different team nine weeks into the season. Daniel Jones has taken over for Eli Manning at the quarterback spot. Cowboys nemesis Golden Tate has returned from his suspension to help give Jones another weapon, and despite a poor performance against Arizona two weeks ago, the New York offensive line has improved their play.

The key to this game will be how the Dallas defense contains New York running back Saquon Barkley. The former Penn State Nittany Lion is coming off an extremely impressive performance against the Detroit Lions in which he totaled 143 all purpose yards to go with a touchdown. The Dallas run defense was good against Philadelphia before the bye week, but a constant theme so far this season has been their inability to stop the run.

On the offensive side of the ball, Dallas should have no problem putting up points against the Giants defense. New York has allowed 26 plus points in four straight games, and allowed three of the last four quarterbacks they have faced to throw for at least 300 yards. The Giants are allowing 27.2 points per game and 386.8 yards a game through nine weeks, both in the bottom five of the entire league.

Before we get back into the swing of Dallas Cowboys football, check out our three predictions for this Monday night matchup.

1. Dallas forces two Daniel Jones fumbles, one courtesy of Michael Bennett

Daniel Jones has had a promising start to his NFL career. Despite a 2-4 record as a starter, Jones has put up some impressive numbers and shown signs of why he was the number six overall pick back in April.

In six starts Jones has thrown for 1,466 yards and 10 touchdowns, while posting an average QB rating of 84.4. Pretty solid numbers for a rookie quarterback. One thing Jones has really struggled with early in his career is taking care of the football. The former Duke Blue Devil has thrown seven interceptions and leads the league with eight fumbles, losing six of them.

13 turnovers in six games is not an ideal recipe for success, and it explains why, despite having decent games through the air, Jones has only won the Giants two games. Jones loves to hold onto the football, and this will play right into the Cowboys hand if they can get some pressure on the rookie.

In the Eagles game we finally saw the Cowboys come away with multiple turnovers in a single game, and that trend will continue on Monday. DeMarcus Lawrence loved playing against Eli Manning, but he is going to love playing against Jones even more. Lawrence is going to come away with two sacks and a forced fumble on the day, and the newest Cowboy Michael Bennett will force a fumble in his debut as well.

2. Amari Cooper records 100-plus receiving yards and two touchdowns

Let’s keep this one simple to start. There is not a single person in the Giants’ secondary who can contain Amari Cooper. Not a single one. DeAndre Baker is a talented young corner who clearly has some promise, but neither he, nor veteran Janoris Jenkins, will be able to keep Cooper contained on Monday.

The Pro-Bowl wideout is going to have a huge day against the Giants secondary, registering 100-plus receiving yards for the fourth time this season. The first time the Cowboys and Giants matched up this season, Cooper had a huge day, catching six passes for 106 yards and a touchdown.

The Giants have had a trend this season of giving up tons of yards to good wide receivers. New York has given up 113 to Julian Edelman, 123 to Kenny Golladay, 130 to Adam Thielen, 158 to Michael Gallup, and 190 to Mike Evans.

This trend will continue Monday night courtesy of Amari Cooper. I predict seven catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys’ star receiver.

3. Dallas controls the game all the way, winning their second in a row: 27-14

With Daniel Jones in the lineup the New York Giants are a better team than they were when the Cowboys faced them in Week 1. That being said, they are not going to be good enough to beat Dallas on Monday.

If the Cowboys want to be a serious playoff contender, this is a game they absolutely cannot lose, and they will not. Saquon Barkley will have a solid day on the ground, but Dallas will put enough pressure on Daniel Jones to force him into multiple turnovers.

Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper will connect on a consistent basis all night long, leading to 100 plus yards for Cooper and a 300 yard passing day for Prescott.

Dallas will control the game from the opening snap, leading to a 27-14 victory and a 5-3 record on the year.