It’s been an awful year for the Dallas Cowboys, and it’s likely to get worse on Sunday night. The Cowboys are almost double-digit underdogs to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football. The NFC East is ripe for the plucking but neither Dallas nor Philadelphia has been able to capitalize due to both injury and incompetence. Still, one of these two teams is likely to make it into the postseason and host a Wild Card game, and the Eagles currently hold a half-game lead over the Cowboys with a 2-4-1 record.
NFL Odds at Bookmaker.eu
Dallas Cowboys +9
Philadelphia Eagles -9
Total 43.5
Andy Dalton left last week’s game against Washington with a concussion, and he is still in the league’s concussion protocol as of Thursday. It’s unlikely that the long-time Cincinnati quarterback will start against Philadelphia, leaving seventh-round draft pick Ben DiNucci the likely starter for the Cowboys this week.
DiNucci threw three passes and was sacked three times against Washington in his NFL debut. The rookie was seen as a late-round project pick after transferring from Pittsburgh to James Madison and spending two years in the FCS, but now he has been thrust into the spotlight. He wasn’t asked to throw much at powerhouse James Madison, so it’s hard to be optimistic about his chances this weekend. The Cowboys have three great receivers in Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb though, so the weapons are there.
Head coach Mike McCarthy will want to run the ball to alleviate the pressure on the rookie, but Dallas hasn’t had much luck in this area in 2020. The Cowboys’ offensive line was the envy of the NFL two years ago, yet this is one of the worst units in the league now as Tyron Smith and La’el Collins are both on injured reserve and Zack Martin is questionable to play. Ezekiel Elliott hasn’t looked too sharp and is dealing with a fumbling issue too, meaning Dallas’ offense could be in for a long night of ineffective play.
Philadelphia has a very talented defensive line. Brandon Graham is having a Pro Bowl season, while Derek Barnett and Fletcher Cox are playing well too. The back seven hasn’t been great aside from Darius Slay though. The linebacking corps has been a real issue, so Dallas could take advantage by targeting tight end Dalton Schultz.
The Eagles continue to deal with a myriad of injuries to their skill position players. DeSean Jackson is back on injured reserve, and Alshon Jeffery has yet to play a game this season. Miles Sanders is questionable to play after missing last week’s game against the Giants, so Carson Wentz might have to make do with lesser talents once again.
Wentz is having the worst year of his career. He has completed just 58.6 percent of his passes for 6.3 YPA with 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions coming into Sunday night. It feels like some of the mistakes have been Wentz trying to force throws, but he has also dealt with accuracy issues. That’s not a good combination, even if Dallas might not be able to punish him.
The Cowboys have one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Dallas currently ranks 30th in DVOA, and the run defense has been ghastly. They are allowing 5.2 YPC and 178.3 YPG on the ground, making this one of the worst front sevens in the NFL. Jerry Jones’ strategy of signing big names without focusing on their recent production has cost this unit once more, and the Cowboys just released Dontari Poe after his struggles.
Prediction
This is a big number for the Eagles to cover, but Philadelphia will cover the spread if DiNucci starts. Anyone that saw DiNucci at Pitt or James Madison knows he needs a lot of work, and he might have a Nathan Peterman type game.
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