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A look at what a collection of national experts are predicting for the game.
Over the last three games, the Cowboys scored 40, 33, and 28 points. The Falcons meanwhile have scored more than 17 points just once in their last five games.
One could reasonably assume that the Cowboys will continue their high-scoring ways against the Falcons, but our panel of experts gathered below disagrees. Only one of the eight panelists sees the Cowboys scoring 30 points.
Do you think the Cowboys will be able to put up 30+ points on Sunday, even without Ezekiel Elliott?
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Dulac): Cowboys 30, Falcons 20
The Cowboys have won three in a row and are averaging nearly 34 points in those victories. The Falcons were the highest scoring team in the league last season, but they haven’t scored more than 17 points in four of their past five games, all losses.
The Falcons have been a major disappointment, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier. The Cowboys will be a tough matchup for them.
The Falcons couldn’t handle Carolina, and the Cowboys are more physical and explosive than the Panthers. The Falcons are a far cry from who they were last season.
Going to stick with the Cowboys, even with the news that Ezekiel Elliott is not playing. The concern, though, is that Dez Bryant and Terrance Williams came out of last week's game limping. Bryant's knee has been bothering him this week. Add to that a desperate Falcons team, at least in the sense that Atlanta hasn't played well since that Week 2 Sunday nighter against Green Bay. Thus, this game will be quite close. Matt Ryan must be on-point, because Devonta Freeman will face a Cowboys front seven with Sean Lee healthy. That's made all the difference for Rod Marinelli's defense, and it will more so if Alfred Morris and the RB company can help the Cowboys sustain long drives. DeMarcus Lawrence has 10.5 sacks, most in the NFC, while David Irving has tacked on six in four games.
If the Cowboys have Ezekiel Elliott, they’ll build a lead and hold it. If the Cowboys don’t have Ezekiel Elliott, the Falcons will build a lead and blow it.
Atlanta’s season can be summed up in one play from last week: Matt Ryan throwing a perfect 40-yard pass to a wide-open Julio Jones in the end zone, and Jones simply dropping the ball. It was such a painful and shocking turn of events — the play came on fourth down with the Falcons (4-4) trailing by 10 points — that Kurt Coleman, a defensive back for the Panthers, walked over to console Jones. Such is life for Atlanta a year after a magical run to the Super Bowl ended with a brutal collapse. There is some intrigue in this game still, as neither team knows if Ezekiel Elliott will be allowed to play, but with the recent improvement the Cowboys (5-3) have shown on both sides of the ball, Dallas should be in line for a road win regardless of what happens in Thursday’s court hearing. Pick: Cowboys
Falcons have lost four of past five while Cowboys have won three in a row, but that only makes the home team more desperate here, which should serve Atlanta well. Dallas also approached the weekend still unsure whether RB Ezekiel Eliiott would play or begin serving his oft-delayed 6-game league suspension.
Nothing in the NFL can be believed after Julio Jones dropped that pass in the end zone against the Panthers last week. On the other hand, nothing happens with the Cowboys each week without involving a judge's ruling, and that’s the case again with Ezekiel Elliott’s appeal. The Falcons are playing in their new stadium for only the fourth time, and they lost their last two before going on their three-game road trip.
The Falcons might be playing for their playoff lives here. They are 4-4 and home for the first time in a month after three on the road. The Cowboys have righted things with three straight victories, but they might be without Ezekiel Elliott, pending his appeal of his suspension. I think the desperate Falcons find a way to win it.
Mercurial Falcons (4-4) play complete game, handle 'Boys (5-3). WR Julio Jones redeems himself for end-zone drop in Week 9 loss at Carolina.
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