50% up to $1,000 »
Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants
Written by: Daniel Collins
Last Updated:
Read Time: 5 minutes
The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants have one of the strangest rivalries in all of professional sports, but it is also one of the best. Most rivalries are created geographically, but Dallas and New York City are more than 1,500 miles apart.
This rivalry was born out of great competition and the fact that these are two of the most popular teams in the NFL. The Cowboys and Giants have been featured on Sunday Night or Monday Night Football a combined 23 times, and the Cowboys have dominated the Giants in these meetings. Both the Giants and Cowboys have intense rivalries with the rest of the teams in the NFC East, but this is the rivalry that is the most talked about. New York has had the most recent playoff success, but the Giants have been looking up at the Cowboys in the standings for the last few seasons.
History of Cowboys vs. Giants Rivalry
The first meeting between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants took place in 1960 and ended in a 31-31 tie. New York took control of the rivalry in the early years, but that run ended in 1964. Dallas won 17 out of 20 games in this rivalry from the late 1960s to early 1980s, and they have been in control ever since.
In the 113 regular season meeting between the Cowboys and Giants, Dallas has a commanding 66-45-2 lead in the all-time series. New York did win the only playoff meeting between the rivals, winning by a score of 21-17 in a game played in 2008. The only decade that the Giants have posted a better record than the Cowboys in this rivalry is the 2000s, when New York won 13 of the 21 games played during those seasons. Neither the Cowboys or Giants will be popular preseason picks to win the Super Bowl in 2019, but you can expect another great season between these rivals.
“America’s Team,” the Dallas Cowboys, entered the NFL in 1960 as an expansion team in the Western Conference. They were bumped to the Eastern Conference in 1961 and moved into the NFC East Division in 1970, along with the New York Giants. Dallas has consistently been one of the winningest teams in NFL history, and they posted an NFL-record 20 straight winning seasons from 1966-85. They have made eight Super Bowl appearances and have won the title five times, though not since 1995. Hall of fame quarterback Troy Aikman led the team to three Super Bowl titles from 1992-1995, along with Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin. The Cowboys have sold out 190 straight games (home or away) dating back to the 2002 regular season. Dallas has gone through a few rough stretches as an NFL franchise, but they are consistently one of the most popular picks to win the NFC East and Super Bowl.
The New York Giants are a much older franchise than the Dallas Cowboys, beginning play all the way back in 1925. New York won their first-ever NFL title in 1927 after finishing the regular season with a record of 11-1-1. The Giants won four NFL Championships by the year 1956, which was still four years before the Cowboys were even founded. New York struggled to maintain their dominance as the league continued to expand, but they returned to greatness about the time Bill Parcells was promoted to head coach in 1983. The Giants won a Super Bowl in 1986 and 1990 and then went through another dry spell. Modern day NFL fans will likely remember the 2007 and 2011 Super Bowl Champion Giants teams who beat the odds and knocked off the New England Patriots.
Head to Head Analysis of Cowboys vs. Giants
The last 20 games in this terrific rivalry have gone about the same way as the all-time series has gone. They have been extremely exciting and competitive matchups, but Dallas has been the winner more often than not. Looking at the last 20 games in this rivalry takes us back to the 2009 NFL season. Dallas has gone 11-9 against the Giants in their last 20 games, but things haven’t been easy for them at Cowboys Stadium.
The Cowboys and Giants have split the ten games in Dallas, but the difference has been in games played in New York. Dallas has won six of the ten games played at the home of the Giants, to take control of this rivalry. This rivalry has been extremely up and down, and it is usually hard to pick the winner. Dallas has won nine of the last 12 games against the Giants, but there is a three-game winning streak for New York squeezed in the middle of that run.
Looking at the outright winner is one way to breakdown a rivalry, but there is so much more to it than that. In order to get a better view of the last 20 games between the Cowboys and Giants, we need to look at the results in relation to the point spread and betting line. Sportsbooks also set odds for total points scored in each game, and that can help us make predictions for the type of scores we will see moving forward. In the last 20 games, the Cowboys and Giants have combined to go “over” the point total 13 times, while staying “under” the point total in the other seven.
However, five of the last six matchups in this rivalry have gone “under,” so it looks like that might be the pick moving forward. The Cowboys have been the favorite in terms of the point spread in 13 of the last 20 games, but those predictions haven’t always come true. Dallas is just 5-8 against the spread as the betting favorite. In the seven games that the Giants have been the favorites in terms of point spread, they have won just three of those games. Predictions are never easy to make, but it looks like the “under” and the underdog are the picks moving forward in this rivalry.
A Glance at Postseason Success in Cowboys vs. Giants Rivalry
The Dallas Cowboys might be known as America’s team, but the Giants have actually been more successful. New York has won eight NFL Championships, while the Cowboys have won just five. Dallas does lead the Giants in Super Bowl victories with a slim lead of five to four. Both the Giants and Cowboys were moved to the NFC East Division in 1970, and the two teams have combined to win 28 division championships since that time, but Dallas has done most of the heavy lifting.
The Cowboys have racked up 20 NFC East Division titles, and the Giants have done it just eight times. Odds are that even the casual NFL fan can name some Hall of Fame players from each team, as there have been a ton of them. The Giants have had 27 former players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, while Dallas has had just 20 players achieve that honor.
While neither team looks like they’ll be winning Super Bowls any time soon, you never know. Regardless, you can count on thrilling matchups when the Cowboys and Giants cross paths in the NFL. This rivalry is always a fun one to watch!
Free Betting Picks