The New York Giants host the Dallas Cowboys in an NFC East showdown in NFL Week 1 under the bright lights on Sunday Night Football. The Cowboys have beaten the Giants in 11 of the last 12 meetings. Both teams made the playoffs last season. Kickoff at MetLife Stadium is set for 8:20 p.m. ET. Dallas is a 3.5-point favorite in the latest Cowboys vs. Giants odds on the SportsLine consensus, and the over/under for total points scored is 45.

Before you make your Giants vs. Cowboys picks or NFL bets, make sure you check out the Sunday Night Football predictions from SportsLine NFL expert Larry Hartstein.

A former lead writer for Covers and The Linemakers, Hartstein combines a vast network of Vegas sources with an analytical approach he honed working for Pro Football Focus. Larry tied for 52nd place (out of 1,598 entries) in the 2022 Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest, going 53-34-3 ATS. Those selections formed the basis of his SportsLine NFL best bets article, which finished 37-29-1.

In addition, Hartstein has a keen sense of what to expect from the Cowboys and is 16-4 on his last 20 picks involving Dallas, returning a whopping $1,150! Anybody who has been following him is WAY UP.

Hartstein knows Dallas has won four straight against New York and won both games by at least seven points last year. Cooper Rush started at quarterback in the 23-16 road victory in 2022, and Dak Prescott threw for 261 yards in a 28-20 victory on Thanksgiving. With Prescott, receiver CeeDee Lamb (1,359 yards in 2022) and running back Tony Pollard (1,007), the Cowboys' offense ranked fourth in the NFL in scoring (26.8 points per game).

The expert also is aware that the Giants were a playoff team in 2022 despite their struggles in the division. Coach Brian Daboll got a lot out of Daniel Jones, who threw for 3,205 yards, with 15 TD passes and five interceptions. The quarterback also rushed for 708 in his fourth season. Running back Saquon Barkley started 16 games and rushed for 1,312 yards and 10 TDs.

Now, Hartstein has locked in another confident against-the-spread pick for Giants vs. Cowboys. We can tell you he's leaning over the point total, but he knows a crucial X-factor makes one side of the spread a MUST-BACK! You ABSOLUTELY need to see what it is before locking in any picks of your own.

Who wins Giants vs. Cowboys on Sunday Night Football in Week 1? And what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? ... Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the Cowboys vs. Giants spread to jump on Sunday, all from the expert on a 16-4 roll on picks involving Dallas!