Jerry Jones is ready to unveil his billion-dollar baby – the new Cowboys Stadium. He’ll do so Sunday night when an NFL-record crowd is expected when the Giants arrive for an NFC East slugfest.

Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Dallas (1-0 straight up, 1-0 against the spread) as a 3 ½-point favorite with a total of 43 ½. As of Saturday afternoon, most books had the Cowboys favored by three (at an even-money price) with the total in the 44-45 range. The G-Men are plus-130 on the money line (risk $100 to win $130).

The Cowboys were impressive in their opener, winning 34-21 at Tampa Bay as 4 ½-point favorites. Tony Romo was clearly more comfortable without worrying about forcing the ball to a ball-hungry wide receiver, throwing for 353 yards and three touchdowns without committing a turnover.

Romo spread the wealth around, finding Patrick Crayton four times for 135 yards, including an 80-yard scoring strike. Jason Witten had five receptions for 71 yards, while Marion Barber produced 79 rushing yards on 14 carries.

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Let’s leave the aforementioned “impressive” remark for Romo and the offense. The defense, on the other hand, was leaking like a sieve. The Bucs produced 450 yards of total offense, the most given up by the Cowboys in 36 games.

New York (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS) captured a 23-17 home win over Washington in its opener. However, the Giants let down their backers by giving up a late TD pass from Jason Campbell to Chris Cooley. The Campbell-Cooley connection gave the Redskins the backdoor cover as 6 ½-point road underdogs. The late score also caused the total (37) to go ‘over’ the number.

Eli Manning completed 20-of-29 passes for 256 yards and one touchdown, a 30-yard hook-up with Mario Manningham. Steve Smith had six catches for 80 yards, but first-round pick Hakeem Nicks suffered a sprained foot that’ll cause him to miss this week’s game.

Osi Umenyiora announced his return to the lineup after missing the 2008 season. With the Giants leading 10-0 in the second quarter, Umenyiora stripped Campbell of the ball, scooped it up and raced 37 yards to paydirt. Justin Tuck earned the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Week honors after sacking Campbell 1 ½ times.

Bettors who supported the Giants were hurt by Washington’s execution of a fake field goal late in the second quarter. Hunter Smith, the Redskins’ punter and holder, took the snap and beat the defense to the corner for an eight-yard touchdown run.

When these teams met at Dallas last season, the Cowboys won a 20-8 decision as three-point home favorites. When they played in the Meadowlands, the Giants thumped the ‘Boys by a 35-14 count as 8 ½-point ‘chalk.’

Tom Coughlin’s team has been incredible on the road for our purposes recently. In fact, the Giants are a lucrative 21-6 ATS in their last 27 road outings. Regardless of venue, the G-Men are 20-7 ATS in their last 27 games.

New York will most likely be missing three defensive players, as safety Kenny Phillips and DT Chris Canty are “out” and cornerback Aaron Ross is listed “doubtful” with various injuries.

As a home favorite in 2008, Dallas compiled a 6-2 SU record and a 4-4 ATS mark. Meanwhile, the Giants went 2-2 SU and 3-1 ATS as road underdogs last season.

Gamblers should ignore reports that Romo has a sprained ankle. He was not limited in any way at practice this week.

NBC will provide the telecast at 8:20 p.m. Eastern.

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

--The ‘under’ has cashed in 10 of the last 14 head-to-head meetings between these teams in Dallas.

--As of Saturday night, all indications were that Philadelphia QB Donovan McNabb was not going to play Sunday vs. New Orleans. On the flip side, KC’s Matt Cassel is expected to start vs. Oakland.

--I don’t do teasers very often. When I do, the only scenario in which I’ll pull the trigger is when I can get a pair of NFL home teams favored by 6-8 points, basically bumping them down to merely win outright or by just a field goal. I think the Titans and Falcons fit that mold perfectly this week. Translation: I like a Falcons-Titans teaser with both teams simply needing to win outright at home against the Panthers and Texans, respectively.

--When the ‘Skins host St. Louis, they will be looking to avenge a 19-17 home loss to the Rams from last year. The previously-winless Rams went into the nation’s capital and won outright as 13-point road underdogs in Jim Haslett’s debut as interim coach.

Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.

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