NFL Picks And Predictions: Cowboys Vs. Giants

With the 2012 NFL season set to open from MetLife Stadium on Wednesday, the most knowledgeable minds in the sport are fully confident the New York Giants will be able to open the year with a win over the visiting Dallas Cowboys.

Among a group of eight CBSSports.com panelists, every last one selected the defending Super Bowl champion Giants to win in a straight-up game. Even with the 3.5-point spread tossed into the mix to entice, only two of the analysts changed their selection to choose Jason Garrett's Cowboys to cover.

Things are hardly any different over at ESPN.com's Dallas and New York affiliates heading into the game, as 14 of the 17 writers polled from both sites also selected the Giants to pull out a victory. Former Cowboys offensive lineman Nate Newton was one of the three to pick the Cowboys, as expected, but he mentioned that he doesn't "know the Cowboys' identity yet."

Ben Rogers and Jeff Wade, the two others to select the Cowboys, each predict Romo to lead the offense to 31 points in a surprise victory.

Furthering the trend, all three of Yahoo! Sports' experts selected the Giants in Week 1 as well. Clearly unsatisfied with the play of Dallas' defensive backs against Eli Manning's stable of wide receivers last season, the group of Mike Silver, Jason Cole and Les Carpenter does not expect Tom Coughlin's team to open its 2012 campaign with a loss.

Head over to Blogging The Boys for more Cowboys coverage, and be sure to check out Big Blue View for more on the Giants. Also visit SB Nation's NFL hub for even more news and analysis from around the league.