The Dallas Cowboys will hit the road to play their third game in fourteen days when they visit the New Orleans Saints for Thursday Night Football.
This Week 13 matchup will be their first game since a 12-10 Saints win in September 2019, and it will be a must-win matchup for both sides given their playoffs aspirations.
Cowboys have lost three out of their last four games and the Saints are looking to get back to .500 and as we've seen through NFL history, anything can happen on a short week.
The Cowboys currently sit at a 7-4 record and are in sole possession of the top of the NFC East.
Moreover, they still have to play against the Washington Football Team twice and once against the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles so they're in full control of their playoff hopes.
The Saints, on the other hand, aren't likely to make the playoffs with Jameis Winston out for the season, as they currently rank 3rd in the NFC South with a 5-6 record.
After the loss of her father and a less than shiny 2020-21 season, Mikaela Shiffrin is gearing up for a six-event Olympics this year.
For the first time in three games, the Cowboys are expected to have their receivers corps at full strength, as Amari Cooper will be activated from the COVID-19 list and CeeDee Lamb has cleared the league's concussion protocols.
That will give Dak Prescott's offense a huge boost and is terrible news for the Saints' porous pass defense.
All things considered, Cooper's return can be the key factor to lead the Cowboys to a much-needed win in their visit to the Big Easy.
Both teams are quite banged up ahead of this game.
For the Saints, Alvin Kamara is still questionable with a knee injury, while Mark Ingram and Taysom Hill have been upgraded to probable.
The Cowboys will likely get DeMarcus Lawrence back but Ezekiel Elliott will be limited with a knee injury.
Trends:
Per Covers, the Cowboys are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games after allowing more than 250 yards passing in their previous game and are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 vs. NFC.
The Saints are Saints are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 home games vs. a team with a winning road record and are just 2-5 ATS in their last 7 vs. NFC.
Key Stats:
The Cowboys have the third-ranked pass offense at 292.4 yards per game, while the Saints have the 5th-worst pass defense allowing 251.8 yards a game, Per NFL.com,
Oddsmakers favor the Cowboys by 4.5 points ahead of this game, with the total projected at 47.5 points.
As of now, nearly 67% of the public is backing the Cowboys to cover the spread, while 57% think this will go over the total.
The Saints will look to slow down the pace of this game to have a shot at an upset, as neither Trevor Siemian nor Taysom Hill will be able to keep up with the Cowboys' explosive offense.
We expect Dallas' revamped receiving corps to march down the field with ease on this game and the Saints to try and establish the run and trust their defense.
Lay the 4.5 points with the Cowboys or lean towards the under.
