NFL Week 5 schedule: 3 teams on upset alert this Sunday

The Dallas Cowboys should be on upset alert against the New York Giants

The state of Texas is home to a pair of underachieving NFL teams as the Mike McCarthy era isn’t off to a smooth start in Dallas. An epic collapse by the Atlanta Falcons is the only thing separating the Cowboys from an 0-4 start and the biggest issue has been an abysmal defensive performance.

The unit has certainly had its fair share of injuries but Dallas has been downright inept in all aspects. The Cowboys give up 36.5 points per game, which is the worst in the league, the third-most yards per game (430.5) and the second-most rushing yards per game (172.5), all signs of a terrible defense.

An explosive offense has kept the Cowboys in every game and explains why they are 9.5 point favorites at home against the winless New York Giants. There is no doubt that the Giants are a bad football team but they have been competitive in most games, including a nice bounce-back effort against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, where they were trailing 10-9 in the fourth quarter before a broken play allowed Cooper Kupp to score the game-breaking touchdown.

Dallas’ bad defense should allow the Giants to stay in this game, which is dangerous since New York does have its fair share of offensive weapons like Darius Slayton and Evan Engram. The odds are that Dallas will still win the game but the Cowboys still have plenty to clean up if they want to avoid getting upset in their first NFC East matchup of the season.