Cowboys, Giants have chance to make early statement

On Sunday night, the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys will meet at cavernous AT&T Stadium. These two teams met in the same building to start the campaign last year, with the Giants earning a narrow one-point victory.

The Cowboys would go on to win every other meaningful regular-season contest in 2016, save for their rematch with the Giants in MetLife Stadium.

Going into 2017, New York and Dallas are the favorites to win the NFC East. The Cowboys earned the crown last year, notching a 13-3 record, best in the NFC. The Giants were the top wild card team at 11-5, but neither could win a playoff game, with the Green Bay Packers ending the season of both.

Needless to say, the loser of this year’s opener is by no means in trouble. The winner is far from in the clear, with 15 games to go and a litany of hurdles ahead. Still, earning a key head-to-head win would be huge, especially for the visiting crew.

New York has an opportunity to get in Dallas’ head with another win, a third such outcome in as many tries against Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. The Giants are almost build perfectly to shut down the Cowboys with a trio of corners in Eli Apple, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Janoris Jenkins. In addition, Big Blue has arguably the league’s best defensive line with Damon Harrison, Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon.

However, Dallas has the horses to fight back. The Cowboys present a unique challenge with the best offensive line going, anchored by left tackle Tyron Smith, guard Zack Martin and center Travis Frederick. Behind them is Elliott, a man who led the league in rushing yardage as a rookie. On the outside, Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley can all win one-on-one matchups.

In other words, it’s a fight of strength against strength across the board.

The upcoming schedule is not kind to either team. The Giants have a very winnable game against the Detroit Lions at home in Week 2, but then face a slew of contenders until after their Week 8 bye. Dallas hits the road for a pair of tough games against the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals before coming home to see the Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers. An opening night defeat for the Cowboys could mean a 1-4 start if they aren’t quick to recover.

New York and Dallas are both contenders, each with designs on getting to Super Bowl LII. Winning on Sunday night isn’t a prerequisite to reach that goal, but it certainly helps in a tough division and in a tough conference.