The Cowboys haven’t had much success in the preseason lately, extending their losing skid in exhibition games to seven with two lackluster performances this year. Tony Romo is expected to play a half, which increases the possibility of Dallas handing Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer his first loss in seven preseason games.
ODDS
The line opened at Dallas -3 and the early money jumped on the Vikings. The spread moved to -2.5 with the total at 42.
QUARTERBACK ROTATION
Mike Zimmer said his starters will play the first half as the Vikings go for their eighth straight preseason win under the second-year head coach. Teddy Bridgewater has been sharp in three preseason games, going 22 for 28 for 219 yards and no turnovers. Shaun Hill has been solid in his backup role and will get some second half snaps while Taylor Heinicke and Mike Kafka battle for the No. 3 job.
Tony Romo has played a total of three snaps during the preseason and the Cowboys have looked awful in a pair of losses. That just shows us how important the All-Pro is to the Dallas offense. Romo is expected to get more reps when the Cowboys play their first home preseason game in the dress rehearsal. That’s good news for Dallas because his backups haven’t been good. Romo figures to get in a half of work, or close to it, with the first-teamers. The offensive line is getting back in playing health and that will make the decision easier. Brandon Weeden left last week’s game early after taking a blow to the helmet on a sack, and if he’s cleared will play the third quarter. Third-stringer Dustin Vaughan will play the fourth quarter, though undrafted rookie Jameill Showers may have done enough to earn a longer look.
COACHES' MOTIVATION
You can say it’s the preseason and the games are meaningless. You can also say it didn’t matter and wasn’t a good judge because so many starters were out. But Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett had enough, and was down right lived about his team’s dismal performance in the loss at San Francisco. “It wasn’t very good on offense, it wasn’t very good on defense, it wasn’t a very good kicking game,” Garrett said. “It wasn’t very good early, middle or late. It wasn’t a very good performance at all.” He refused to blame the offensive problems on the absence of three starters on the offensive line and receiver Dez Bryant. It didn’t help that Romo and tight end Jason Witten played just one series. Garrett hinted their might be changes to his roster. “We’re going to evaluate the guys who played in the game and from my vantage point, we didn’t play very well.”
QUOTE TO NOTE
“No excuses. When you’re out there you have a responsibility to play to a certain level. Period. The standard we set is high and we’re looking for guys to play to that standard. We didn’t get enough of that tonight.” – Cowboys coach Jason Garrett after losing 23-6 at San Francisco on Sunday night
POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH
The Vikings seem to be getting closer to picking a middle linebacker for the start of the season, and what they do against the Cowboys could help finalize their plan. The team rotated Eric Kendricks, Gerald Hodges and Audie Cole through its first-team defense in practice this week, but coach Zimmer said he knows who will start, in what figures to be a dress rehearsal for the regular season. All three linebackers figure to make the team, and the job could change hands past the end of the preseason. That’s how close the competition is.
INJURIES
Vikings center John Sullivan sat out last week’s game with a lower back problem and his status is uncertain. Defensive lineman Shemar Stephen is out after knee surgery and safety Antone Exum continues to nurse a hamstring problem.
The Cowboys have a long injury list but that should be shortening up this week. However they are likely to be without linebackers Rolando McClain, Anthony Hitchens and cornerbacks Byron Jones and Morris Claiborne. Weeden sustained a concussion last week and is doubtful, along with offensive linemen Ronald Leary and Tyvon Smith.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
After two lethargic preseason games, coach Garrett wasn’t pleased and ripped his team. With his starting group on the mend and playing at home, the Cowboys are poised to end Minnesota’s streak of seven straight preseason wins under Zimmer. Romo and the offense will get more than the three-and-out first series they had in Santa Clara last week, and Dallas will respond with a much better effort.
Dallas 23, Minnesota 12
BookMaker opened the spread for this Saturday game at -3 in favor of the Cowboys. The NFL odds total surfaced at 42. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
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