News: Sports NFL against the spread picks: It suddenly seems like an important game for the Cowboys

[CCBoy]

Sports
NFL against the spread picks: It suddenly seems like an important game for the Cowboys
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/n...important-game-for-the-cowboys-211124554.html



The Dallas Cowboys are 11-2, and lead every other NFC team by at least two games with three to go.

So why does Sunday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers feel pretty big?

Calls for the Cowboys to bench quarterback Dak Prescott for Tony Romo after one loss, following an 11-game winning streak, were premature, though we all knew that was going to happen. Prescott hasn’t played as well lately (Greg Cosell of NFL Films broke down the Xs and Os of that in this piece), but there’s no need to panic yet.

But what happens if the Cowboys lose again, this time as a seven-point favorite at home, and what if Prescott has another quiet game? Then you’d have a team worried it’s not playing its best ball when it counts most, with the NFC East race perhaps tightening, a rookie quarterback in a slump and a louder quarterback controversy.

The Cowboys don’t want any part of that. They don’t want to deal with the drama of a December losing streak or a quarterback controversy. The way to avoid it all is to handle their business against a Buccaneers team that has played well lately. I think Dallas will win Sunday night and cover (and I’m picking them in the SuperContest as a 6.5-point favorite there). The Bucs defense is very good against the pass but not so much against the run, and the Cowboys should be able to control the game on the ground. And Tampa Bay is facing a Dallas team that should be refocused after a loss at the New York Giants.

And if the Cowboys look bad in a loss? It’s going to be a long week in Dallas...

 

[dragon_mikal]

Nothing I disagree with.

They need to win this week and Dak needs to play well while they do so. If they lose another game with Dak and the offense again looking lost it will be a very long week. Especially if the Giants win again.

 

[cowboyblue22]

if dak and the offense plays poorly and they lose the noise will be really loud this week really loud

 

[Nova]

Actually it depends on the Lions-Giants game.

If the Lions beat the Giants, all we would need is to beat the lions to clinch the 1 seed and HFA.


But regardless the magic number is still 2 more wins, with a possibility of less.

 

[Coy]

Gerg Cosell really knows X's and O's, it's clear that Dak is not playing as good as he was earlier in the season, it could be because teams now know what he can and cannot do, that he has played better defenses or simply because he has regressed a bit.
Anyway, he has to play better or we are not winning in the playoffs.

 

[DandyDon52]

detroit plays at ny, and stafford has a bad finger on throwing hand.
he is trying out a fingerless glove this week.
So odds of detroit winning is not very high.

 

[Bleu Star]

It's an important game for our Cowboys. Hmmm. Was there some epiphany here?

 

[Deep_South]

I see this game as a huge step towards getting to a Super Bowl for the first time in over two decades. I don't think the Cowboys' brass has any idea what the blowback is going to be if this team crashes and burns with Tony Romo never getting on the field during the month of December, a period when he historically plays his best, especially with his rookie replacement being pretty wobbly at times the last few games. Depending on how Tony does down the road, it could end up being ranked as one of the great coaching blunders in history.

The preparation for this game was with the full knowledge the Giants could very well beat the Lions tomorrow afternoon, and us losing to the Bucs would place the Gnats one game from knocking us out of the NFCE lead because we were unable to neutralize their tie-breaker last week and they picked up a game on us instead. That means it's a huge game, and it also means they must think Dak is a better quarterback than Tony, because the "hot hand" has cooled off. It's probably time for them to come out and say it, or at least say something generic like, "We think Dak gives us the best chance of winning".

The weather forecast says it's going to be 0 degees when Green Bay plays Chicago, and after the New York debacle, I don't think we want any part of playing in that kind of weather if we don't have to. We need home field advantage throughout the playoffs, and we need to win the NFC East. We need to play our best players tomorrow night, and I really hope that is what we are doing.

 

[mahoneybill]

Actually it depends on the Lions-Giants game.

If the Lions beat the Giants, all we would need is to beat the lions to clinch the 1 seed and HFA.


But regardless the magic number is still 2 more wins, with a possibility of less.

Thanks for that comment re Lions game. Let's go win both of the next 2 and give Tony some playing time in the finale to shake off the rust and hopefully not get hurt

 

[Bullflop]

No panic -- this game is important and rightly so. We'll simply have to face the prospects of losing, just like we'll find it acceptable if we win. Let's also be aware that the Giants and their fans will be equally as disappointed if they lose. It's not like we're the only team that has to face the dangers of losing, that's for sure. The panic that we've been seeing here this week is without justifiable cause. I'm looking at Sunday's game with optimism.

In fact, the Giants need a win even more desperately than we do, so no cause to lament our chances beforehand. I do believe playing the game is the sole reason why the games exist in the first place . . . to decide who deserves to progress further on and who doesn't. Let's not be phobic. This team is highly capable of beating TB and I'm betting we will. We're not 11-2 for nothing. It's cause for optimism, certainly not dread. We'll be fine.

 

[Redball Express]

Nothing I disagree with.

They need to win this week and Dak needs to play well while they do so. If they lose another game with Dak and the offense again looking lost it will be a very long week. Especially if the Giants win again.

Frankly..

this is the biggest game of the year for us.

Selling it as less than that is uninformed.

Win and the dominos fall for us.

Lose and the season gets much more tense for Dallas.

Here is where we know how bad the team wants it and if they are as hungry as they say they are.

We've been fooled before about this team.

Its show time.

 

[TheHerd]

Play this the other way. Big game for the Giants. If they los

detroit plays at ny, and stafford has a bad finger on throwing hand.
he is trying out a fingerless glove this week.
So odds of detroit winning is not very high.

His finger isn't gonna heal in 8 days, so the odds of them beating the Cowboys is also not very high?

 

[DandyDon1722]

I agree with everybody here in that I think we'll be okay and beat Tampa Bay but I also think it's important to look good and beat Tampa Bay.

Winning a close game with the offense struggling will still be "disconcerting."

 

[1972COWBOY]

Well, if we want the NFC, then we must win now. We cant say OK if we lose Sunday, we just win next week. With 3 games remaining and winning the NFC gives us an advantage, this game is important. A Philly win isn't a given, it can be cold again and they would love to run our noses in the turf.

 

[DandyDon52]

Play this the other way. Big game for the Giants. If they los


His finger isn't gonna heal in 8 days, so the odds of them beating the Cowboys is also not very high?

Well he will have another week, but chances are it still will be bothering him.
And yeah that makes the game easier for cowboys, if stafford cant throw good.

The giant game will be outdoors in the cold, which will affect a hurt finger.
Dallas game will be inside a dome.

 

[DandyDon52]

Frankly..

this is the biggest game of the year for us.

Selling it as less than that is uninformed.

Win and the dominos fall for us.

Lose and the season gets much more tense for Dallas.

Here is where we know how bad the team wants it and if they are as hungry as they say they are.

We've been fooled before about this team.

Its show time.

what do you think the tampa team is thinking ??
They are tied for first with a team that has the tiebreaker on them, they are playing to get in the playoffs as wc or win the div.
This game is actually more important to them than Dallas.
They arent coming here to lose, and have won 5 in a row, and are 5-1 on the road.
Also Dallas has hit a slump, while TB is riding a high.

So this is kinda like a playoff game, 2 teams that need to win.
this isnt a case of Dallas plays decent they win, they will have to fight hard to win it.

 

[CCBoy]

It's as simple as this...show up in black 'n blue December, or just stay home.

 

[ksadler1]

Frankly..

this is the biggest game of the year for us.

Selling it as less than that is uninformed.

Win and the dominos fall for us.

Lose and the season gets much more tense for Dallas.

Here is where we know how bad the team wants it and if they are as hungry as they say they are.

We've been fooled before about this team.

Its show time.

Yup, and quite honestly I'm sick and tired of reading that book. It's time for a new book with a different ending.....

 

[mahoneybill]

Frankly..

this is the biggest game of the year for us.

Selling it as less than that is uninformed.

Win and the dominos fall for us.

Lose and the season gets much more tense for Dallas.

Here is where we know how bad the team wants it and if they are as hungry as they say they are.

We've been fooled before about this team.

Its show time.

One game at a time.... Today becomes an important one.... then next week, and the week after etc...... Go Cowboys... It's not like the Giants blew us out, we lost by 3 and had a 55 harder bounce off the crossbars....

 

[mahoneybill]

if dak and the offense plays poorly and they lose the noise will be really loud this week really loud

Who thought that we would be 11-2 at this point and worried about the next 3 games, and more than that the D would not be the main topic of discussion.

Go Cowboys... we are on the road to Greatness, hopefully this year but if not I for one feel a lot better than the 8-9 - 4-12 versions of this team.