Warner, Cards Look to Outscore Visiting Cowboys
Two weeks ago, the Dallas Cowboys, (4-1 SU, 2-3 ATS, 3-2 O/U), had to deal with Terrell Owens’ selfish whining after losing to the Redskins 26-24.
Last week, following Dallas’ 31-22 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Owens went on some sort of religious rave that had me and everyone else who saw his idiotic comments, think he’d literally lost his mind.
Now, the Cowboys, who haven’t looked particularly good in either contest, have to face the high-scoring Arizona Cardinals, (3-2 SU, 3-2 ATS, 3-2 O/U), while dealing with, not only Owens’ nonsense, but the team’s other ‘head case’ Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones.
Jones got into some sort of scuffles with his own security personnel on Wednesday and is walking a thin line of being kicked out of the NFL altogether.
The Cowboys had lofty Super Bowl expectations entering the regular season – and are my pick to reach the ‘Big Dance’ but I’m going on record right now to say that, I am starting to have some serious doubts about their ability to ‘get it together’ in time to win their own division let alone the NFC Championship.
The Cowboys defeated Cincinnati but failed to cover as 16-point home favorites. Quarterback Tony Romo completed just 14 of 23 passes for 176 yards, but added three touchdown passes while young running back Felix Jones rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.
“You don’t get crowned champions for being the best-looking team right now,” quarterback Tony Romo said.
The Cardinals are coming off a spectacular and surprising 41-17 home win over the Buffalo Bills to cover as 2.5-point home favorites.
Arizona is fifth in total offense, third in passing and fifth in scoring, averaging 29.4 points per game. Defensively, Arizona is allowing 24.0 points per game, (20th) and look like they are going to make my preseason prediction of them reaching the postseason come true.
The Cardinals rebounded from a dismal 56-35 defeat at the hands of the New York Jets and Brett Favre, turning the ball over a whopping seven times.
Against the Bills, the Cardinals didn’t commit any turnovers while recording their highest point total of the young season.
“We’re a tough team to beat when we don’t turn the ball over,” said coach Ken Whisenhunt, whose team has nine turnovers in its losses and none in its wins.
Here is a look at the key trends for each team, followed by my in-depth analysis and NFL Free Picks:
Cowboys
Dallas is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games
Dallas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Dallas’s last 9 games
Dallas is 8-4 ATS in its last 12 games on the road
Dallas is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 14 of Dallas’s last 21 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas’s last 5 games on the road
Dallas is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Arizona
Cardinals
Arizona is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
Arizona is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Arizona’s last 9 games
Arizona is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Arizona is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Arizona’s last 7 games at home
Arizona is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Dallas
Arizona is 6-19 SU in its last 25 games when playing Dallas
NFL Odds
Dallas Cowboys -5 -110
Arizona Cardinals +5 -110
Over 50 -110
Under 50 -110
Analysis: Call me crazy, but I’m thinking the Cowboys are ripe for the picking right about now! I like the Cardinals to win this contest narrowly – or cover the spread in the case that they don’t. Either way, the Cardinals are the right pick in this contest! BetUS NFL bettors should also take the Over in this matchup.
