It is Week 16 and somehow the five-win Dallas Cowboys are not yet eliminated from the playoffs. That’s a reflection of the division in which they play as well as the strange lady the NFL often is, a statement that has never been truer than it has been in 2020. The Cowboys do not hold the keys to the playoffs, but for them to earn an unlikely berth, they will need to win their final two games.
First up is Sunday’s’ game against the Philadelphia Eagles, a team with odds twice as high to make the playoffs according to Football Outsiders. They head to Dallas as three-point favorites according to BETMGM. Both teams have been atrocious against the spread, covering a combined nine games on the year.
The Eagles have turned to Jalen Hurts, the second-round pick out of Oklahoma, for the past two and a half weeks. While his passing numbers have left something to be desired, there’s no doubt he has provided a spark to a team that sorely needed it. What he lacks there he’s able to make up for in the run game where he’s racked up 169 yards in his two starts.
The Cowboys defense has had its share of issues against mobile quarterbacks, specifically Kyler Murray and Lamar Jackson, and while Hurts doesn’t have the same kind of top end speed, that could loom large on a Sunday afternoon when Andy Dalton continues to steer the Cowboys ship.
The bottom line is this: both of these teams are not good. Why the line has settled at three points for the visiting Eagles is anybody’s guess, but there’s not that much separating these two teams.
The Verdict: The Cowboys cover the three points and the under (49.5) comes through.
On the year: 5-8 against the spread, 9-4 over/under
[vertical-gallery id=661021][lawrence-newsletter]