Who’s ready for some Week 5 action? In what should be an intriguing matchup, the Dallas Cowboys will make a trip to the west coast to take on the Los Angeles Rams to highlight an exciting NFL Sunday. Join us for our NFL odds series, where our Cowboys-Rams prediction and pick will be revealed.

Not many could’ve predicted the exceptional play of QB Cooper Rush and the fact that America’s team currently sits at 3-1 record, but here we are. In fact, Dallas really makes some noise with a road win against the defending Super Bowl champs and officially put stirs up a quarterback controversy whenever Dak Prescott is healthy enough to suit up and return to play. Fresh off of an impressive 25-10 victory over their division rival Washington Commanders, are the Cowboys clear contenders or acting out as pretenders?

Possibly experiencing a slight Super Bowl hangover from a year ago, the Rams definitely disappointed in a big way when we last saw them on the gridiron as the offense mustered up a measly nine points and struggled to get anything going on at all in the 24-9 loss against the 49ers in the Bay Area. With only six days of preparation coming on a short week after playing on Monday Night Football, can the Rams quickly turn it around and silence the haters?

Here are the Cowboys-Rams NFL odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NFL Odds: Cowboys-Rams Odds

Dallas Cowboys: +5.5 (-110)

Los Angeles Rams: -5.5 (-110)

Over: 42.5 (-105)

Under: 42.5 (-115)

Why The Cowboys Could Cover The Spread

Boy oh boy, how the tables have turned! Just over a month ago, the Cowboys were put under a microscope on primetime football due to their poor play and franchise QB Dak Prescott going down with an injury that proved to be costly enough to keep him out for at least several weeks. What happened next few could predict, as Dallas would end up reeling off three-consecutive wins under backup Cooper Rush and could officially put the rest of the league on notice with another solid showing by this team as a whole.

The most favorable matchup in this one for the Cowboys faithful is definitely this sudden dominant Dallas defense in opposition to an LA offensive line that is fresh off of allowing seven sacks last week. Thus far, this swarming defense has shown off their speed and prowess by holding teams to under 20 points in each of the squad’s first four games. Not to mention, quarterbacks that have faced off with this Dallas unit have also struggled to move the ball as they have not given up more than 225 yards passing through the air. Simply put, this defense possesses a certain nastiness about them.

With that being said, maybe Cooper Rush has been slightly overhyped with this defensive unit being as good as it is, but not so fast my friend. In fact, Rush has remarkably yet to throw an interception in his 102 total passing attempts and has also dotted up opposing defenses for four touchdowns. Dallas hasn’t quite gotten the running game going so far, but they do have a capable two-headed-monster with Ezekiel Elliot and Tony Pollard receiving the bulk of the carries.

Why The Rams Could Cover The Spread

Despite all of the negativity surrounding a franchise that has aspirations to be the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champs since the Patriots back in 2005, there have been numerous amount of overreactions throughout the league. Plus, there are still a whopping 13 games on the schedule for Los Angeles to right their wrongs.

For starters, the good news is that LA has bested Dallas the last two previous times at home dating back to 2018, and has typically had the Cowboys number over the recent years. Without a doubt, the time is now for the Rams to get back on track, as this usual high-flying offense from 2021 is currently ranked as the 28th overall offense in the league including a passing attack that is averaging only 260 passing yards.

With that being said, the biggest matchup that QB Matthew Stafford should look to exploit if he is wanting to have success and cover the spread is his go-to guy in Cooper Kupp going up against Cowboys cover corner Trevon Diggs. While few cornerbacks have been able to keep up with Kupp’s elite route running, Diggs is a Pro-Bowl type player whose 11 picks from a year ago were the most in more than 40 years of the NFL. However, Stafford and the company need to show that they are not scared of Dallas’ key secondary member by throwing at him early to keep him honest.

If anything, this defense should be able to impose their will against the run, as it will be vital to force Cooper Rush to some third and longs as the Rams have struggled at times to defend the pass.

Final Cowboys-Rams Prediction & Pick

With so much on the line in this one, don’t be surprised if coach Sean McVay puts together a stupendous game plan schematically to overwhelm a Cowboys team that hasn’t strongly been tested over the past few weeks.

Final Cowboys-Rams Prediction & Pick: Rams -5.5 (-110)