NFL Week 3 Monday Night Football Player Props Picks & Predictions (Cowboys vs. Giants)

Monday Night Football in Week 3 features a battle in the NFC East. The Giants look to keep their unbeaten record alive against the Cooper Rush-led Cowboys.

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Saquon Barkley OVER 77.5 rushing yards (-110 odds via FanDuel)

Allowing 120.5 rushing yards per game to their opponents, the Cowboys land toward the bottom of the league table, 22nd in run defense. That could be a challenge for Dallas on Monday as the Giants look to establish it with a rejuvenated Saquon Barkley on the ground.

Barkley looks back to his peak physical health so far in 2022, rushing for 236 yards on 39 carries through two games. Though Saquon fell a few yards short of this rushing total in last week’s win over Carolina, the consistency of his workload on the ground should give him ample opportunity to clear it against a Dallas defense allowing 4.2 yards per rush attempt.

With the Giants favored by a point on Monday, I expect Barkley to tote the rock another 19-22 times to clear this rushing benchmark at home. DraftKings posts the Barkley rushing line at 76.5 (-125). We prefer FanDuel’s offering, the extra yard to 77.5 to shave the odds down to -113.

Tony Pollard OVER 59.5 Rushing+Receiving Yards (-114 odds via FanDuel)

If the Dallas Cowboys know what’s good for them, they’ll get the ball into the hands of the explosive Tony Pollard with frequency in Week 3. The team’s primary rusher, Ezekiel Elliott, has totaled 105 rushing yards through his first two outings. On two receptions, Zeke has gone backward seven yards, lacking anything resembling big-play ability in the backfield.

Pollard is an entirely different story. The 25-year-old out of Memphis has juice. He got a chance to show it last week in the Cowboy’s win over the Bengals. Pollard ran for 43 yards on nine carries and showed burst in the passing game by creating a 46-yard gain on a dump-off near the line of scrimmage. For the game, Pollard totaled 98 yards combined between the air and the ground. He proved himself one of Dallas’s more effective home run-hitters in a limited offense.

The Cowboys should go back to the well with Pollard on Monday. Last season, Pollard cleared the combined rushing and receiving line of 59.5 yards 10 times. He’s positioned to do it for the second time in 2022 against New York on Monday.

DraftKings offers the prop at -115 odds, so FanDuel provides a slightly superior value at -114.

Sterling Shepard OVER 44.5 Rushing Yards (-110 odds via FanDuel)

Sterling Shepard could be the last man standing in a depleted Giants passing game on Monday. Kenny Golladay has been a complete bust, with the disgruntled 72-million-dollar man barely seeing the field this season. Rookie Wan’Dale Robinson is out again with a knee injury. Kadarius Toney is doubtful with a hamstring. Richie James, uh, exists? But other than that, the pickings are slim.

Poor Daniel Jones.

But on the bright side, good for Sterling Shepard. The veteran receiver in his seventh season with the Giants has defied the odds in his impressive recovery from a torn Achilles. Through two games, he has returned as a productive member of the New York offense. Shepard looked good in a small sample in the season-opener, hauling in a 65-yard reception to show the world he’s still got it.

In Week 2, he was more necessary to the offense as the injuries began the mount for New York. Shepard saw 10 targets last week, catching six balls for 34 yards. Though the explosive play won’t always be a featured element of Shepard’s game, he’s a known commodity for QB Daniel Jones. That should be good enough to get Shepard plenty of looks on Monday, given the carnage all around him in this offense.

Shopping for the best odds, DraftKings (-115) once again falls short of FanDuel (-110) with this prop offering.

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