N.Y. Giants or Dallas Cowboys: Whose Super Bowl chances are better?

The Dallas Cowboys go on the road and hand the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants a loss, thus starting the 2012 NFL season Wednesday night.

With just one game in the books and three whole days before the action picks up again, we fanatics don’t have much to go on in looking ahead to the rest of the 2012 season. But that’s never stopped us before, so here we go.

Which of the two teams we’ve seen so far has a better chance of making it to the Super Bowl?

Obviously, the Cowboys were the better team in the opener. They shook off a pair of devastating losses to the Giants in a three-week span at the end of last season to claim an impressive 24-17 victory at MetLife Stadium. Quarterback Tony Romo threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns, DeMarco Murray rushed for 131 yards on 20 carries and Kevin Ogletree caught eight passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the Giants earned the distinction of becoming the first defending champion to lose in the kickoff opener since the league started the midweek tradition in 2004 -- even those pathetic Steelers teams that failed to make the playoffs the year after winning the Super Bowl managed to win on opening night.

Not that the defending champs looked horrible, but they certainly didn’t resemble world beaters either. Eli Manning threw for 213 yards and rallied the team with a late touchdown pass to former Cowboy Martellus Bennett, but what happened to the Victor Cruz that we saw last year? The 2012 version -- at least in the one game we have to go on -- dropped a third of the passes that came his way.

But let’s not forget which teams we’re talking about. The Giants were 7-7 last season before going on their remarkable run to become the first 9-7 team ever to win the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, the Cowboys started 7-4 but collapsed down the stretch to finish 8-8 and out of the playoffs.

In other words, there’s a long way to go. But let us know what you think so far. Vote in the poll, then leave a comment explaining why you voted the way you did.

ALSO:

Cowboys are the stars of opening night

Cowboys are the most valuable NFL team, according to Forbes

Who’s the better quarterback, Eli Manning or Tony Romo? [Poll]