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The St. Louis Rams and the Dallas Cowboys both rebounded from ugly losses in their season openers with wins last week, and each of them will be looking to avoid taking a step back by winning their second straight Sunday.
The Cowboys will be playing their second game in a row away from home though, and they have lost six of their last seven road matchups against NFC West opponents, going 0-5-1 against the spread (ATS) in the past six.
Point spread: The Cowboys opened as 1.5-point favorites, but the game was a pick'em at several sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark by Thursday; the total was 45.5 (Line updates and matchup report).
Odds Shark computer prediction: 23.1-20.8 Rams
Why the Cowboys can cover the spread
Dallas found out what happens when the offense commits to running the football in a 26-10 road victory against the Tennessee Titans last week. The Cowboys covered the spread as 3.5-point road underdogs with running back DeMarco Murray rushing for 167 yards and scoring the first touchdown of the game to help them build a 10-0 lead they would never relinquish.
Dallas quarterback Tony Romo threw the ball 29 times, completing 19 passes for 176 yards in an efficient performance that was a far cry from the season-opening loss to San Francisco in which he was 23-for-37 passing with one TD and three interceptions.
If Romo can handle the pressure of the St. Louis defense and Murray runs hard again, the Cowboys should be able to pull off another road win.
Why the Rams can cover the spread
The Rams gained some confidence last week in a 19-17 road victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as 4.5-point underdogs—especially young QB Austin Davis—who was making his first NFL start. The former Southern Miss signal-caller completed 22 of 29 passes for 235 yards and most importantly did not make a mistake.
Davis looked a lot more comfortable after relieving injured starter Shaun Hill in the season opener, which did not go well at all and resulted in a 34-6 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Whether it’s Davis again or Hill back under center against Dallas, St. Louis is 5-2 ATS in its last seven home games, and that includes the loss to the Vikings in Week 1.
There are over trends in play for totals bettors as well (Rams at home vs. NFC East, Rams before a bye week).
Smart Pick
The Cowboys have outscored the Rams 65-14 in the past two meetings over the last three years, including a 31-7 home victory in 2013. Romo (17-of-24 passing for 210 yards and three TDs) and Murray (26 carries for 175 yards and one TD) were both big factors in that win while St. Louis struggled mightily and did not even score until the end of the third quarter when the game was already out of reach.
The Rams are off after playing Dallas and have not performed well in this situation in the past, going 1-3 straight up and ATS in their past four home games before their bye week. While the Cowboys are not a great football team this year, they always give fans and bettors something to talk about.
And they will make believers out of many again with a win here, proving the computer wrong (it predicts a 23-21 win for the Rams).
Trends
Note: All spread and odds data powered by Odds Shark. Follow us on Twitter for injury updates and line-move updates.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
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The Cowboys will be playing their second game in a row away from home though, and they have lost six of their last seven road matchups against NFC West opponents, going 0-5-1 against the spread (ATS) in the past six.
Point spread: The Cowboys opened as 1.5-point favorites, but the game was a pick'em at several sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark by Thursday; the total was 45.5 (Line updates and matchup report).
Odds Shark computer prediction: 23.1-20.8 Rams
Why the Cowboys can cover the spread
Dallas found out what happens when the offense commits to running the football in a 26-10 road victory against the Tennessee Titans last week. The Cowboys covered the spread as 3.5-point road underdogs with running back DeMarco Murray rushing for 167 yards and scoring the first touchdown of the game to help them build a 10-0 lead they would never relinquish.
Dallas quarterback Tony Romo threw the ball 29 times, completing 19 passes for 176 yards in an efficient performance that was a far cry from the season-opening loss to San Francisco in which he was 23-for-37 passing with one TD and three interceptions.
If Romo can handle the pressure of the St. Louis defense and Murray runs hard again, the Cowboys should be able to pull off another road win.
Why the Rams can cover the spread
The Rams gained some confidence last week in a 19-17 road victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as 4.5-point underdogs—especially young QB Austin Davis—who was making his first NFL start. The former Southern Miss signal-caller completed 22 of 29 passes for 235 yards and most importantly did not make a mistake.
Davis looked a lot more comfortable after relieving injured starter Shaun Hill in the season opener, which did not go well at all and resulted in a 34-6 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Whether it’s Davis again or Hill back under center against Dallas, St. Louis is 5-2 ATS in its last seven home games, and that includes the loss to the Vikings in Week 1.
There are over trends in play for totals bettors as well (Rams at home vs. NFC East, Rams before a bye week).
Smart Pick
The Cowboys have outscored the Rams 65-14 in the past two meetings over the last three years, including a 31-7 home victory in 2013. Romo (17-of-24 passing for 210 yards and three TDs) and Murray (26 carries for 175 yards and one TD) were both big factors in that win while St. Louis struggled mightily and did not even score until the end of the third quarter when the game was already out of reach.
The Rams are off after playing Dallas and have not performed well in this situation in the past, going 1-3 straight up and ATS in their past four home games before their bye week. While the Cowboys are not a great football team this year, they always give fans and bettors something to talk about.
And they will make believers out of many again with a win here, proving the computer wrong (it predicts a 23-21 win for the Rams).
Trends
- The Cowboys are 0-5-1 ATS in their last six road games vs. NFC West.
- The OVER is 5-1-1 in St. Louis’ last seven home games vs. NFC East.
- The OVER is 11-3 in St. Louis’ last 14 games before a bye week.
Note: All spread and odds data powered by Odds Shark. Follow us on Twitter for injury updates and line-move updates.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...