These two met on opening day last year with the Cowboys edging a close one 27-26, that set the tone for much of what happened to the Giants in 2015, with 8 of their 10 losses coming by less than a touchdown, five by a FG or less, 5 of their 6 wins were by at least a TD and they really struggled to win close games. That cost veteran ,long time and hugely successful head coach Tom Coughlin his job, it was a "joint" decision, but the truth is he wanted to stay and was dragged out kicking and screaming, at least when the television cameras were not rolling ! Ben McAdoo was the surprise choice to replace him, the rookie has been given every chance to succeed, with a $200m +upgrade of a terrible defense and some expensively retained coaches. Odell Beckham Jr, Sterling Shepard and Victor Cruz give veteran quarterback Eli Manning an array of receiving riches and if the Giants can just keep things honest with even a little more product on the ground, they could be in business !
 

They kind of know what they will face today, with no Tony Romo for the Cowboys who are also missing some of their better pass rushers, it will be all about the run for them, behind three Pro Bowl offensive linemen, they averaged almost 5 yards per carry in the two games with the Giants last season and more of the same will be the order of the day , but I doubt it will be that easy. They couldn't run win an "ugly" contest against the Jets last year when tackle Damon Harrison had 4 tackles and 4 assists and he was one of those big money additions. If he and his team mates can just slow up the run, that will put huge pressure on rookie Cowboy quarterback Dak Prescott. Giants to kick start what might be a good season.
 

They won that by a single point, then beat the Saints by 3, keeping Drew Brees and co to just 13 points and a single touchdown in a game where they were far more dominant than the scoreline indicates. The Giants then lost by two points to the Redskins, so the three games combined have been settled by less than a touchdown . They really should be 3-0 after leading the Skins by 12 and looking in control, it was a case of re-finding the gun they had been shooting themselves in the foot with last year and 118 yards of penalties and Eli Manning throwing two interceptions in the final quarter, one in the Skins end zone when they were at the 15 yard line, was tough to take and I suspect some harsh words were said afterwards. However, I think this is a good team who are going to get better and have not come close yet to realising their potential ,I can forgive them one blip and we can always take a chance at "big" odds.
 

Vikings are 3-0, but have lost their starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, left tackle Matt Kalil and all pro running back Adrian Peterson. Losses like that are very hard to handle, sometimes you can deal with them for a week or two, but they tend to catch up with you. Minnesota are also handling the move back indoors and to their new U.S. Bank Stadium, they saw off Green Bay here in their first game at the very noisy new arena, but emotions and adrenaline can pull you through on such an occasion and that game was close. Minnesota have been a touchdown + down early in all three wins and they cannot continue to do that and if they give the Giants a 7 point + start this evening, they will struggle to "go to the well" a fourth time.
 

NY worked on this gameand the trip to Dallas a LOT over the summer, targeting both as key early season games and preparing for the ultra noisy venues, replicating situations and practicing their "silent count", which Manning will operate tonight. Offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan spoke about this last week: “We worked very hard, starting in the offseason through the summer and in Dallas, working on things we need to do to handle the cadence and the crowd noise. "We have to have great communication and be on point, both verbal and visual communication, to make sure we're able to get off on the snap count against a dynamic pass rush.”