The Dallas Cowboys will face the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football. It's time to continue our NFL odds series and make a Cowboys-Saints prediction and pick.
Both of these teams come into this game in interesting positions. The Cowboys just suffered an embarrassing loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Thanksgiving Day, and now things don't look so great in Dallas. Two straight losses is never a good thing, and now injuries are mounting for the Cowboys. Beating a solid Saints team would be a nice morale booster, but New Orleans certainly won't roll over and let it happen. The Saints desperately need a victory here to maintain their playoff hopes, as four consecutive losses have put a big dent in those hopes. Another loss here would pretty much sink New Orleans, so everything is on the line here.
For more insight on the Cowboys-Saints matchup in Week 13, listen below:
Here are the Cowboys-Saints odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NFL Odds: Cowboys-Saints Odds
Dallas Cowboys: -4.5 (-110)
New Orleans Saints: +4.5 (-110)
Over: 47.5 (-105)
Under: 47.5 (-115)
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Why Cowboys Could Cover the Spread
The Cowboys have relied on their fantastic offense to win games, and this matchup won't be any different. Dallas faced the Raiders without star wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper and they still managed to score a whopping 33 points. Lamb will play in this game, and Cooper has a chance to make his return. Whoever takes the field will be facing a bottom-ten pass defense in the league, as the Saints have struggled to slow down opposing quarterbacks. New Orleans allows 251 passing yards per game and 7.3 yards per pass attempt. Both of those numbers are among the worst in the league, so quarterback Dak Prescott should lead Dallas to an efficient passing day.
Ever since the injury to starting quarterback Jameis Winston, the Saints have looked shaky at best on offense. Backup signal-caller Trevor Siemian performed admirably in relief, but it looks like Taysom Hill will take over at quarterback in this one. Hill hasn't shown himself to be a capable passer at any point in his career, so this switch should be looked at as a positive thing for the Cowboys. Dallas has been great against the run this season, which should help stop this New Orleans offense that will inevitably lean on the ground game here.
Why Saints Could Cover the Spread
While it's true that the Saints have had trouble against the pass, the same can't be said about the run game. New Orleans has been one of the best teams in the league at defending against the run, as they allow less than 100 ground yards per game to their opponents. Even more impressive is the fact that the Saints are holding opposing running backs to 3.4 yards per carry. New Orleans should be able to turn the Cowboys into a one-dimensional offense here.
Despite their quarterback change, there's a good chance the Saints play well offensively here. Dallas doesn't allow a lot of rushing yardage, but they do allow opposing ballcarriers to put up 4.4 yards per carry. The Cowboys have also been absolutely torched by opposing quarterbacks this season, as they allow an insane 262 passing yards per game. This is a good matchup for any offense, and Taysom Hill and the Saints are no exception.
Final Cowboys-Saints Prediction & Pick
This is an easy pick. The Cowboys should be favored by far more than four and a half here, so it's time to lock in the Cowboys on Thursday night.
Final Cowboys-Saints Pick: Dallas Cowboys: -4.5 (-110)
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