It's week one of the NFL and Brad Paine believes that with the Cowboys needing to prove they are a contender, what better way to prove it than the season opener against last season's Super Bowl winner, the Giants, in New York?

The Giants are the reigning NFL Super Bowl champs.

However, as informed sports bettors we're not going to let the glare of the Lombardi Trophy prevent us from analysing this season-opening match-up for what is an epic NFC divisional clash between two successful teams with two evenly-matched quarterbacks.

Statistically speaking, the QBs had very similar seasons last year: Tony Romo had 522 pass attempts, Eli Manning 589. Romo made 346 completions, Manning 359 and Romo had 31 touchdowns to Manning's 29.

It may surprise you to learn that only one win separated these two teams at the conclusion of the 2011 regular season. The Cowboys finished on eight wins and eight losses with no playoff berth, while the Giants finished on nine and seven, and managed a Super Bowl win from a wildcard playoff chance.

Many punters will be jumping on the Giants' bandwagon and overestimating the strength of last year's trophy winner.

For the Giants, this game is just a run-of-the-mill week-one match-up against an old rival, but the Cowboys will be ready to take this game by the horns. For them, facing last season's champions makes this game something special and will result in a higher performance level than usual.

The Cowboys will cover the 3.5 point spread @ Betfair odds of (1.99) and potentially win this game outright @(2.82)