For those planning on betting on Sunday NFC's Divisional Round playoff game between the Giants and Cowboys, with host Dallas a 7-point favorite (46 over/under) on WagerWeb.com, know this first and foremost: Jessica Simpson won't be in attendance.
For some reason, the media has been making a big deal of Tony Romo's relationship with the starlet. The two took a Mexico vacation during Dallas' bye week, and it's well known that Romo played horribly against the Eagles when Jessica attended. So, let's get that out of the way: Jessica won't be at Texas Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Now on to factors that actually matter.
During the regular season, the Cowboys beat the Giants, 45-35 and 31-20. In Dallas' first victory in September, Romo had seven completions of 20 yards or more, including touchdowns of 47 yards to Terrell Owens and 51 yards to Sam Hurd. New York allowed only three 20-plus pass plays in a 31-20 loss on Nov. 11, but all went for touchdowns.
"Every team in the league thrives off big plays," cornerback R.W. McQuarters said. "They have a lot of weapons, and Romo does a good job moving in the pocket. We just have to minimize the big plays, not allow a long run after a catch and tackle well."
The Giants led the league with 53 sacks, but they sacked Romo only two times in the two games.
Yet New York is the chic pick to pull the upset of the four road teams this weekend after the G-Men played the Patriots nearly even in Week 17 and pretty much dominated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the final three quarters in the wild-card round last week in Tampa.
The big part of that has been QB Eli Manning, who seems to have been transformed. In consecutive games against two of the top pass defenses in the league, he's had his highest ratings (118.6, 117.1) since Nov. 20, 2005. Manning threw for four touchdowns and one interception in Dallas on Sept. 9, but was picked off twice while throwing just one TD pass in the rematch in November.And the Giants appear to have found a new weapon in one-time fourth-string tailback Ahmad Bradshaw, who had 66 yards rushing last week against the Bucs.
But Dallas' defense is a well-balanced unit that is adept at both stopping the run (sixth in the NFL at 94.6 yards per game) and rushing the passer (46 sacks, third most in the league).
Meanwhile, the biggest non-Jessica question surrounding the Cowboys has been the health of star receiver Owens, who hurt his ankle in Week 16. Owens, who leads the NFC with 15 receiving touchdowns and ranks second with 90.3 receiving yards per game, practiced fully on Friday, even removing the protective tape he'd been wearing.
"I'm good,' Owens said later, at his locker."See you Sunday.'
The team's official report listed his participation in practice as limited and his game status as questionable. Coach Wade Phillips was more hopeful about having Owens in the lineup Sunday, adding that if Owens can play, he'll start.
"Terrell said he's going to play and I believe him. I think he will attempt to play and we will let him,' Phillips said. "To what degree, at what level, remains to be seen in the game. Unless something unforeseen happens, I think he probably will [play].'
The Cowboys have struggled lately on offense, failing to exceed their scoring average since Nov. 29 and falling short of 250 total yards in two of their last three games. And Romo has just one TD pass in his last three games with five interceptions.
Incidentally, Dallas has never completed a three-game season sweep of a team, but had a chance once, losing 20-7 to Arizona in a 1998 wild-card game in the most recent postseason game at Texas Stadium.
However, the 17 teams who have had the chance to beat a team three times in one season since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger have gone 11-6.
Giants center Shaun O'Hara (left knee) and cornerback Sam Madison (stomach) were inactive last week after getting injured in New York's season-ending loss to New England, and coach Tom Coughlin is unsure whether they can play against the Cowboys.
Prediction: That season-opening loss in Dallas was the Giants' only road loss of the season. The Giants can keep this close - and can win, although you know Romo will want to quiet all the Jessica bashers and have a big game. The smart move here is buying up to 7.5 to be safe and taking New York. Dallas 31, N.Y. Giants 27.
Betting Trends.
The Giants are 7-8 ATS.
The Giants are 4-3 ATS away.
The Giants are 5-3 ATS as the underdog.
The Giants are 4-2 ATS as an away underdog.
The Cowboys are 8-6 ATS.
The Cowboys are 4-3 ATS at home.
The Cowboys are 6-4 ATS as the favorite.
The Cowboys are 3-3 ATS as a home favorite.
More NFL Trends.
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