CRACKING DAK
Big Blue D can rattle Cowboys QB
EZEKIEL Elliott will play for the Cowboys as his six-game domestic-violence suspension is delayed, if not ultimately altered or overturned. And all signs point to Odell Beckham Jr. being on the field for the Giants after his preseason injury scare. So though we’ve seen this matchup before on the first Sunday night of the season, we gladly will watch it again.
Dallas has lost its past three to the Giants, including by the microscopic margins of 20-19 and 10-7 last season. Again, the Giants defense will have enough answers for Elliott and Dak Prescott to keep this final score within the spread, and possibly send Big Blue to DFW with yet another W.
This season, look for Eli Manning to cut down on his 16 interceptions, and for Prescott to throw more than just four, as Dallas coach Jason Garrett gets more ambitious with him for the quarterback’s sophomore year. That dynamic could end up being the difference here, as the spreadsealing interception ends up in the hands of a Janoris Jenkins, Eli Apple or Landon Collins. The pick: Giants +4. BILLS (-81/2) over Jets: The Jets have the right idea with their tear-it-down-to-the-studs rebuild. The question now is, can the Jets be good enough at being bad to nab a top pick? New starting QB Josh McCown is 2-20 the past three seasons, and he plays behind a suspect (to be kind) offensive line. The defense has promise but there still is no edge rusher, the unit is thin at linebacker and young in the secondary.
Sean McDermott likely will do better with Rex Ryan’s players in his first year as Bills coach than Ryan did in his last. It’ll be a big day for LeSean McCoy and the Bills D will shut down what’s left of the Jets offense.
Falcons (- 6) over BEARS: Atlanta will not be able to erase memories of its 28-3 Super Bowl choke against the Patriots all in one week. But the Falcons still are loaded, and they’ll be trying to break the scoreboard.
TEXANS (- 6) over Jaguars: Texans made the playoffs (and won a game there) with one of the ugliest offenses ever last season. If Tom Savage can be even competent, this team will be heard from. Blake Bortles is not the guy you want going up against J.J. Watt and a fired-up Houston crowd after Hurricane Harvey.
REDSKINS (+1) over Eagles: Kirk Cousins threw one fewer pass than Carson Wentz last season and amassed 1,135 more yards. Cousins is 4-1 against the Eagles with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions, and imports Terrelle Pryor to make up for the departure of DeSean Jackson.
Cardinals (-2) over LIONS: Tough task for Matthew $tafford in his first start as the $135 Million Man. Cardinals had the No. 1 defense in the NFC and most sacks in the NFL last season.
Raiders (+ 21/2 ) over TITANS: Had some good wins with the Titans here, backing them perhaps a season too early. This is a tough, solid team. But the Raiders were 6-1 on the road with Derek Carr last season, and coach Jack Del Rio will have his team ready.
BENGALS (-3) over Ravens: Marvin Lewis has no playoff wins but he is 17-11 in his career against the Ravens. Interested to find out how good Joe Mixon will be, and it is nice to see an injury report without A.J. Green’s name on it.
Steelers (-9) over BROWNS: Ben Roethlisberger is 10-2 in Cleveland, which ties him with one-time Brown Derek Anderson for the most wins by any quarterback in that town since 1999. If holdout Le’Veon Bell isn’t ready to go all day, rookie James Conner will have his chance to become an instant star.
Colt s (+ 4) over RAMS: Willing to t ake t he po ints here even w i th Scott Tolzien in for Andrew Luck. Is he that much worse than Jared Goff? And how will Sean McVay, the NFL’s youngest head coach at 31, perform in his Rams debut?
Seahawks (+3) over PACKERS: Hard to go against Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau Field at this price, but you’ve got to have faith in your Super Bowl championship pick. Russell Wilson is healthy, Eddie Lacy is a Hawk now, and the defense could be back to Legion of Boom strength.
Panthers (-51/2) over 49ERS: Christian McCaffrey bursts onto the NFL scene playing in his old NoCal neighborhood. Cam Newton had a miserable 2016 but this is a good locale for a fresh start.
MONDAY Saints (+3) over VIKINGS: Adrian Peterson says, “Of course I want to stick it to them” in his first game against the Vikings. He doesn’t quite fit the mold of a Saints running back, but it’s worth a shot with the points to see how he works with Drew Brees. Chargers (+31/2) over BRONCOS: Chargers had the worst luck in the NFL last season, and the symbol of all the bad times, ex-coach Mike McCoy, is now the Broncos’ offensive coordinator. Pick comes down to Philip Rivers with points over Trevor Siemien. BEST BETS: Bengals, Bills, Steelers. LOCK OF THE WEEK: Bengals (Locks finished 9-11 in 2016). THURSDAY NIGHT: Patriots (L).