Who is playing on Sunday Night Football for Week 1 of the 2017 NFL season?
A classic rivalry in which both games were decided by a combined four points last season is renewed where it all started in 2016 when the Dallas Cowboys host the New York Giants in a game that will be played on NBC in front of a national televised audience.
The Giants won both meetings between the two teams in 2016, beginning with the season opener at AT&T Stadium where they defeated the Cowboys, 20-19. And later in the season at MetLife Stadium, the Giants won again, 10-7.
Even with the Giants handing the Cowboys two of their three losses during the regular season, the Cowboys still managed to have the best regular-season record in the NFC, gaining the East championship for the first time since 2014, plus a first-round bye.
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Though the Cowboys lost to the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, they enter this season with high expectations, though they most likely are beginning the 2017 season without running back Ezekiel Elliott due to a six-game suspension.
One player to watch for the Cowboys is Dak Prescott and how he’ll handle being the starter for the second straight year, but if the preseason was any indication of that, then the Cowboys will be fine with their quarterback. Prescott will have the help of wide receiver Dez Bryant and tight end Jason Witten on the offense, plus the Cowboys have three All-Pros on their offensive line, so that is to their advantage, too.
That trio of Prescott, Bryant and Witten will have to battle one of the potentially best secondaries in all of the NFL with the Giants having cornerbacks Eli Apple, Janoris Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. There are also safeties Landon Collins and Darian Thompson, whom the Cowboys will have to figure out a way to overcome as well.
Next: NFL Power Rankings 2017: Week 1
On the contrary, the Giants have two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning back for his 14th season, and by his side he’ll have Odell Beckham Jr. (if healthy), Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepard at wide receiver. Those three receivers are sure to test the new defensive backfield of the Cowboys and will be the matchup to watch Sunday night.