The Cowboys are three-point road dogs against their
division rival Philadelphia Eagles.
By: MaChez, TSZ Expert
With the betting not going so well this season I decided it
would be smart to start applying to graduate schools as a backup plan. Unfortunately that means I need to take the
GRE, and the studying is really cramping my writing schedule. In an attempt to kill two birds with one
stone, I’ve decided it would be smart to practice my analytical writing while
preparing this article. It’s a little
bit of a departure from our normal breakdown, but I think it will suffice. Here’s an example prompt straight from the
GRE website:
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which
you agree or disagree with the following claim:
The Philadelphia Eagles will beat the visiting Dallas Cowboys by
more than three points on Sunday in the Spread Zone Early Game of the Week.
Can the Philadelphia Eagles really win by more than three
points against the division rival Dallas Cowboys in Sunday‘s matchup for first
place in the NFC East? 21% of the public
believes they can, citing injuries to star Cowboys DeMarcus Ware and DeMarco
Murray along with quarterback Tony Romo’s tendencies to make mistakes in big
games. However, the rest of the betting
population, including us here at The Spread Zone believe the Cowboys will cover
as three-point underdogs because the Eagles’ are worse against talented teams,
DeMarco Murray’s absence isn’t that big of a deal, and Tony Romo is a more
experienced quarterback than Nick Foles.
Most people’s opinions of the Eagles have changed recently
after they’ve pulled together two straight wins against the Giants and
Buccaneers. Unfortunately those people
are very short-sited and forget how poorly Philadelphia was performing prior to
those two gimme games. If we look at the
Eagles’ games against top teams, or at least those that aren’t one of the worst
four teams in the league, they haven’t fared so well. Three-point loss to the Chargers at home,
thirteen-point loss to the Chiefs at home, thirty-two-point loss to the Broncos
on the road. Yes, the Cowboys have lost
to the same three teams, but their losses have been closer and mainly on the
road: Nine-point loss to the Chargers in San Diego (closer than the score
implies), one-point loss to the Chiefs at Arrowhead, and three-point loss to
the Broncos at home.
One thing keeping the Eagles in those games, or actually all
the games, is LeSean McCoy. He looks
absolutely untouchable on the field and is leading the league in rushing by
almost 100 yards. He will definitely win
the RB battle this week with Cowboy’s starter DeMarco Murray out, which many people
think will hamper the Cowboys. In
reality, in comparison to the passing game, the running game hasn‘t really been
winning the games for the Cowboys. Their
RBs have only averaged 85 yds per game, good for 8th worst in the
league, so not having Murray in there shouldn’t make much difference. Phillip Tanner and Joseph Randle should run
the ball adequately enough to allow Romo to score points.
Using that mention of Romo to segue in to a new paragraph
about quarterbacks, the subject of many a conversation these past few weeks is
the emergence of Nick Foles and how much better he‘s playing than Vick was
before getting injured. Last week he
actually won the NFC Offensive Player of the Week Award, which is well deserved
after throwing for 3 TDs, no picks, and a 71% completion rating. However, he has yet to start and win a game
against anyone other than the Bucs. Tony
Romo on the other hand is now playing in his 15th Eagles-Cowboys
matchup and is having his best season ever - 70% completion rating, 1700 yards,
14 touchdowns, and the third most points per game. He faces the 2nd worst
pass-defense (in yards) and should have no problem putting up 32+ points.
Although there are many people who see the Eagles winning
this game at home by three, we see the Cowboys not only covering the spread but
most likely winning straight up as well.
With two of the worst defenses in the league, expect this game to be a
shootout and hit the over.
PREDICTION: Dallas
Cowboys (+3) vs. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
OVER
56
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