Remember when the Giants and Cowboys met to start the season?
The Cowboys were on a mission to prove that they could bury teams under an avalanche of touchdowns and win despite trading their best defensive player. The Giants, for a brief moment, thought they were seeing the late stage revival of a once great quarterback unfolding before their eyes.
It was a much more hopeful time for both teams, but reality swiftly brought them both back to earth. There were brief moments throughout the rest of the season where both sides convinced themselves there was a chance for something more.
Yet here we are entering the final week of the NFL season and neither team has much of anything to play for except pride.
The Giants close out their campaign at home as 3.5-point underdogs to the visiting Cowboys and face the prospect of ending the season with the same record as last season’s team. With a loss, the Cowboys would have the same number of wins as they did in the previous season.
The word incentive becomes very buzzy every year during Week 18 of the season, but mostly around players looking to hit their contract bonuses.
But I think there are some on-field incentives at play this weekend as well and Jaxson Dart is a prime example of a player who can benefit from this otherwise meaningless game.
Dart’s success was not linear and while it’s clear he has the physical abilities to be a good quarterback in the NFL, that didn’t lead to enough wins for the Giants avoid being in the same spot they were last season.
Playing well against the Cowboys’ lowly defense in the final week of the season won’t prove or disprove anything about his growth. Still, it would give the young quarterback something positive to reflect on as the offseason begins, with so many other questions around the team still unanswered.
Betting on the NFL?
I think we’ll see a motivated Dart looking to close out the season with an impressive performance and I’m eyeing his passing prop in Sunday’s matchup. His passing yards prop is listed at 206.5 yards, a number the Cowboys defense has allowed in 12 of 16 games this season.
I expect Dart to roll Sunday and enter the offseason as the one silver lining for Big Blue.
The Pick: Jaxson Dart Over 206.5 passing yards (-110, bet365)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Malik Smith has been immersed in the sports betting industry since 2017. He’s a data nerd with a particular focus on the NBA and combat sports. He spends his weeknights in the winter looking for edges on plus-money NBA player props.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
