Cowboys vs Ravens NFL Football Spread/Handicapping
Things aren’t going as planned in Big D (do they ever). After an important win against New York to start the season the Cowboys have been pretty lifeless losing ugly against Seattle and Chicago and beating only Tampa Bay.
Dallas Cowboys (2-2) vs Baltimore Ravens (4-1)
Sunday October 14
M&T Bank Stadium – Baltimore, MD
1:00PM
Moneyline: Baltimore -190, Dallas +165 from TopBet.eu
Spread: Baltimore -3.5
O/U: 44
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Dallas
After a week off they now have the fun task of travelling to Baltimore, hardly a place they are expected to win, but perhaps a game they can’t afford to lose…or else there might be some serious shakeups coming.
Dallas has really struggled to put points on the board this year. Their running game is one of the worst in the league with DeMarco Murray failing to live up to expectations from last year. That puts a lot of pressure on QB Tony Romo, who hasn’t responded well when pressed.
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The only QBs with more interceptions than Romo are Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassel, not exactly an impressive group (and to be fair they have each played one more game).
The week off is normally a good thing but that is only if you are really beat up with injuries or have the kind of coach who can really take advantage of the extra prep time. Sure Dallas is dinged up a bit but who isn’t a quarter of the way into the season. I just don’t see this team coming out and beating a focused and talented Baltimore team.
Baltimore
Last week wasn’t pretty beating the Chiefs by just 3 points…but the Ravens did what good teams are supposed to do – beat bad teams. They just didn’t cover the number ruining a whole bunch of tickets out there. In fact the Ravens haven’t covered in any of their last three – all victories. Baltimore seems to be shifting to a new style of overall play less dependant on defense. I am not sure that is having any real effect though as they still don’t give up a lot of points – 17ppg (7th). [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Ravens one loss this year was by a point on the road at Philadelphia. They haven’t been crushing teams but they are definitely looking like Super Bowl contender. It definitely looks like the shackles are off QB Joe Flacco but equally important may be the development of receiver Torrey Smith. He leads the team in yards and has become a reliable big play threat, balancing a nice rushing game and the dependability of Anquan Boldin.
Even with that extra half point hanging there I like the Ravens at this number. They have to be disappointed with their play from last week and unlike Dallas I like them to respond to their coach when the team underperforms. Throw in a home date and a name opponent and you know Ray Lewis and the gang will be up for this one.
Spread Pick: Baltimore -3.5
O/U Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Baltimore 34 – Dallas 24
