luckadjusted
NFL Week 3 · 2026

NFL · Week 17 2026 · Sunday, January 3

Giants vs Cowboys prediction and pick

Our New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys pick: Cowboys by 5.8, 67% to win. The forecast starts from what each team’s play has been worth once the luck is adjusted for, adds last season, who starts at quarterback and who is out hurt, and home field. No betting information goes in.

An early look, 14 weeks ahead: it sharpens as the game comes up. Updated every day until kickoff, then frozen and scored. After the game this page shows who deserved to win.

Why the curves are so wide: luck. Even with both teams’ strength known exactly, one game’s bounces, kicks, calls and sequencing move the final margin by about ±12.1 points (one standard deviation, measured from every play since 2019). These forecasts carry ±13.4, so about 81% of the width is that luck; the rest is what nobody knows yet about the teams. That is why a 7-point favorite still loses about 3 times in 10.

Giants at Cowboys

Sun, Jan 3, 1:00 pm ET · AT&T Stadium

Cowboys by 5.8 · 67% to win

Show as a table
OutcomeChance
Giants win33.1%
Cowboys win66.9%
Middle 50%: Giants by 3 to Cowboys by 1450%
Middle 90%: Giants by 17 to Cowboys by 2890%
Middle 95%: Giants by 21 to Cowboys by 3295%
Exactly Cowboys by 38.1%
Exactly Giants by 36.7%
Exactly Cowboys by 75.5%
Exactly Cowboys by 144.6%
Exactly Cowboys by 104.2%
P50
Half of games like this end between Giants by 3 and Cowboys by 14.
P90
9 in 10 between Giants by 17 and Cowboys by 28.
P95
19 in 20 between Giants by 21 and Cowboys by 32.
Where the forecast comes from
Home fieldCowboys+2.3
This season, adjusted for luckCowboys+1.6
QuarterbacksCowboys+1.4
Last seasonCowboys+0.4

The season so far

TeamRecordCoin-flip winsLuck in wins
Giants 2–1 1.2 +1.0
Cowboys 1–2 2.0 −0.9

Coin-flip wins: the wins each team’s games were worth with only the kicks, bounces, drops and calls re-rolled, the record adjusted for luck. Luck in wins: actual wins minus what the play was worth.

Giants vs Cowboys: questions and answers

Who will win Giants vs Cowboys?

Our forecast picks the Cowboys, with 67% to win; the Giants win 33% of the time.

What’s the spread for Giants vs Cowboys?

Our spread: Cowboys −5.8. The betting line isn’t out yet. Ours uses no betting information, so where the two differ is where our read of the teams differs from the market’s.

When is Giants vs Cowboys?

Sunday, January 3, 2026, at 1:00 pm ET, at AT&T Stadium.