Giants vs Cowboys NFL Week 13 Thanksgiving picks

It’s Thanksgiving, and we hope you’re having a safe holiday! The NFL has a triple-header set for Thursday, with the middle game being the New York Giants traveling to AT&T Stadium to battle one of their most fierce rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. Of course, both teams are likely outsiders in the NFC Playoff race, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a good game. 

While an island game featuring Cooper Rush and either Tommy DeVito or Drew Lock doesn’t scream “excitement!” from the rooftops, it should at least be a competitive, close game. For Week 13, we’ve got Giants vs Cowboys NFL Week 13 Thanksgiving picks, so let’s dive in.

Giants vs Cowboys Predictions

Pick #1: New York Giants +4 over Dallas Cowboys (-110)

Pick #2: Over 37.5 Points (-108)

Pick #3: Rico Dowdle 100+ rushing+receiving Yards (+155)

Pick #1: Giants +4 over Cowboys (-110)

We’ll begin our Giants vs Cowboys picks by taking the Giants as a four-point underdog. The Cowboys are banged up on both sides of the ball, and while the Giants probably have a talent deficiency compared to Dallas, the biggest discrepancy between these two teams is in the Giants’ pass rush and the Cowboys’ offensive line. The Cowboys could be missing Zach Martin, Tyler Smith, and more offensive line depth, which could turn the game's tide.

While the Giants on offense haven’t been anything to write home about, the dynamic young pieces could be set for a while in New York with Malik Nabers, Tyrone Tracy, Wan’Dale Robinson and company highlighting the weapons on offense. Facing the league’s worst EPA per rush attempt in Week 13, Tracy could not only gash a struggling defensive line unit up front, but Devin Singletary could also factor in too. Add that rushing attack to a Giants’ passing attack that could turn up the aggression on the road, and that’s a recipe for the Giants’ players getting a sideline turkey at the end of the game. New York should be able to keep this one within a field goal.

Pick #2: Over 37.5 Points (-108)

The next pick in the Giants vs Cowboys game is taking Over 37.5 points to be scored. Look, we need to take some silver linings with this game as people are calling this matchup “the nap in between the Bears/Lions game and the Packers/Dolphins game.” I don’t think that’s fair, and the Giants and Cowboys should each score a good amount of points to hit the over. Both the Giants and Cowboys’ overall defensive EPA against the run and pass are in the bottom half, with both teams’ defensive EPA per rush attempt being the two worst units in the NFL.

Successful running by both teams seems like a given, but Cooper Rush has been fairly solid in his last two starts. No matter who the Giants’ quarterback is, after Malik Nabers sounded off on his frustrations with the team’s quarterback change and offense, he feels like one of the squeakiest wheels this week. It honestly feels like the line was set far too low for this game, so we’ll happily take the Over in this Thanksgiving matchup.

Pick #3: Rico Dowdle 100+ Rushing + Receiving Yards (+155)

Our final Giants vs Cowboys pick for Thanksgiving’s middle clash is Rico Dowdle to hit an alternate line of 100+ rushing and receiving yards. Dowdle has taken the lion’s share of the workload over the last handful of games as he’s notched at least 60% of the team’s rushing attempts in his last four contests. Before that, Dowdle had only posted 60% or better in two of his first six games before the Cowboys’ bye week.

With the uptick in opportunities for Dowdle, he’s been used more and more like a workhouse, as the team has essentially phased out veteran Ezekiel Elliott and only given Deuce Vaughn carries when the game is decided. Averaging over 17 opportunities (rush attempts plus targets) in his last four games, Dowdle should have a field day against this porous Giants defense against the run. While the line is set much lower, Dowdle has a good chance with some volume to that and get into triple digits in total yardage. Taking Dowdle 100+ rushing and receiving yards (+155) makes a lot of sense when looking at the opportunity he’s getting, plus the Giants being the second-worst team in defensive EPA per rush attempt.