Keagan Smith takes you through his preview, prediction, and pick for Sunday\u2019s game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants in NFL Week 18.<\/p>\n
The final Sunday of the 2025-26 NFL regular season rolls around in Week 18. Yes, you heard that right\u2026 the playoffs lie just around the corner. In the meantime though, the teams who won\u2019t make the postseason bracket play their final games of the campaign with one more chance to show out on the field before hitting the offseason. In the early window of Sunday\u2019s slate, the Dallas Cowboys look to finish at the .500 mark with a win against a New York Giants squad looking to secure a top draft pick. Will this NFC East matchup play out predictably, or are we in line for a potential upset to close the regular season?<\/p>\n
Prepare for the day with a Cowboys vs. Giants prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for this Week 18 contest.<\/p>\n
Cowboys vs. Giants prediction, preview<\/p>\n
Dallas Cowboys<\/p>\n
The Cowboys enter the final week with a record of 7-8-1, so a win on Sunday means a .500 finish within the realm of possibility. They\u2019ll have the benefit of most of their starters being available after head coach Brian Schottenheimer talked about wanting to finish the campaign on a strong note, so watch for stars like Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens to at least play the first half. This offense scored at will throughout much of the season with 28.4 points (fourth-most) and an NFL-leading 398.6 yards per game. Dallas also comes in at eighth in third-down conversion rate, though the red-zone scoring rate lags behind at 18th in the league. Points shouldn\u2019t be hard to come by with the key cogs of the league\u2019s top passing offense still in place as the Cowboys throw for 274.0 yards per outing while also ranking fifth in completion percentage and yards per pass, so a big day from Prescott via the air seems likely. That could prove especially true with halfback Javonte Williams and backup Malik Davis both shut down on IR, leaving the run game in a less-than-ideal situation. However, the door is open for fifth and seventh-round rookies Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah (questionable; shoulder) to put quality film on tape against a weak rush defense.<\/p>\n
Speaking of defenses, Dallas\u2019 still sits among the worst in football. After giving up 23 points to the Josh Johnson-led Washington Commanders on Christmas Day, the Cowboys sit dead last with 29.8 points allowed per game along with 376.8 total yards (30th). The unit sits 30th in third-down conversion rate allowed and 31st in red-zone scoring rate allowed as well, particularly due to a very poor secondary. Former Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs was released this past week while Daron Bland ended up on IR prior to that, so it won\u2019t be shocking to see another poor performance as indicated by a league-worst 253.6 passing yards allowed per game. Dallas also ranks 24th in sack percentage and 30th in takeaways per game (0.7).<\/p>\n
New York Giants<\/p>\n