Arizona Cardinals (3-2 3-2 ATS) at Dallas Cowboys (2-3 0-5 ATS)
It is Andy Dalton time for America’s Team wherein the Big D on Monday night they will host the Cardinals, who snapped their two-game skid in their last game. The Cardinals are the 2-point road favorite in this NFC matchup with the total sitting at 55.
The public has poured the money on the Cardinals, as they opened as a 3-point dog, and as of Thursday are a 2-point favorite.
Obviously, the big news for the Cowboys is the loss of Dak Prescott for the season and that is a huge blow. However, Dalton came in and played pretty well in the last game where the Cowboys beat the woeful New York Giants 37-34 to move to 2-3 and take over first place in the weak NFC East.
The Cardinals are coming off a win over the other woeful team from New York in the Jets beating them 30-10. Arizona has only played one team on the season that currently has a winning record and they lost that game. They need a win to keep pace with the 5-0 Seahawks and 4-1 Rams in the tough NFC West.
These teams have not met since the 2017 season.
Back on Track
After giving up 57 points in two losses the Arizona defense came together in the last game in a 30-10 win over the New York Jets. The offense was legit as well in the blowout win racking up nearly 500 total yards.
Kyler Murray passed for 380 yards with a TD and an INT in the win over the Jets. He has been up and down on the season and ranks 14th in the league in QBR. It helps he has star WR DeAndre Hopkins, who leads the NFL in receiving yards and had 131 of them in the win over the Jets.
The Cardinals rank fourth in the league in rushing yards per game. Kenyon Drake led the way with 60 rushing yards in the New York win but only averaged 3.3 yards per carry.
Dallas’ defense has been terrible this season and they have the third-worst run defense in the league. They gave up 34 points in their last game against a Giants’ team that ranks second to last in ppg.
It’s Dalton’s Time
The Cowboys picked up Andy Dalton as an insurance policy if Prescott was injured and that is exactly what has happened. In coming in for Prescott in the Giants game he led the team on a late drive to kick the game-winning field goal and was 9 for 11 for 111 yards.
Dallas has no lack of weapons on offense with the likes of Ezekiel Elliot and a great WR trio in CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper, and Michael Gallup. Rookie Lamb had 124 receiving yards in the win over the Giants and Elliot rushed for 91 yards and two TD averaging a solid 4.8 yards per carry.
Arizona’s pass defense has been good this season, but the weakness of the D is the run defense. Look for Elliot to get a big workload in this Monday night game.
Prediction
The Cardinals are 8-2-2 ATS in their last 12 road games while the Cowboys have failed to cover in all five games this season.
I hate to say it as a Washington fan, but I think Dalton will play well in his first start for the Cowboys and Elliot will have a big game. This game will be a high scoring one but the Cowboys will find a way to win in their house and move to 3-3 on the season.
PICK: Cowboys pk