1st place Dallas gets set to see if their prolific offense can continue to move the football heading into the Cardinals at Cowboys betting matchup. With Dak Prescott injured, Andy Dalton takes over at quarterback when Arizona visits on Monday Night Football.
Dalton did well last week in emergency duty (9/11, 111 yards) but he’ll have a week to both prepare and be prepared for by the Cardinals. Arizona comes in having dropped two of their last three, and their win last week was against the Jets which doesn’t get much value. The Cowboys opened as -3 point favorites, but are down to -1, and the betting total is 55 with two superb offenses in action.
Big Primetime Showing for Murray
The Cardinals traditionally don’t get too many showings on the national stage, but that is starting to change behind dynamic 2nd year QB Kyler Murray. It will be an extra-special night for Murray, who won three state titles at AT&T Stadium after going to Allen High, which is about 30 minutes away from Dallas.
It’s a perfect spotlight for Murray, coming off a career best 380 yards passing last week and going up against the Cowboys’ #32 ranked scoring defense. Most of Dallas’ struggles come against the run, but they did hold the Giants to 89 yards on 27 carries last week. That was a big change from the week before when Cleveland compiled 307 yards on the ground. Arizona is somewhat surprisingly 5th in the NFL in rushing, powered by Kenyan Drake (314 yards) and Murray (296).
Oddsmakers are expecting a shootout in Cardinals at Cowboys betting, and Arizona takes a huge blow on defense with Chandler Jones going to the I-R with an injured bicep. The Cardinals defense looked good against the Jets (obviously), but allowed Teddy Bridgewater to complete 70% of his passes and the Panthers to run for 168 the week before. Matthew Stafford was 22/31 (71%) three weeks ago.
No Changes For Dallas?
Prescott had been leading the NFL in passing before getting injured last week, but Dalton stepped in nicely to complete 81.8% of his passes with 10.0 yards/attempt. QBs have proven to be very accurate vs. the Arizona defense recently, and there’s no reason Dalton shouldn’t have a solid outing after taking 1st team reps all week. This is especially true with Arizona’s top pass-rusher Jones out.
Dalton is surrounded by arguably the greatest set of weapons he’s ever played with, starting with RB Ezekiel Elliott who is up against Arizona’s #20 ranked rush defense. It’s been the Cardinals secondary that has struggled lately though, and Dallas has three WRs with over 340 yards receiving in Michael Gallup, Amari Cooper, and CeeDee Lamb.
Offense shouldn’t be a concern on Monday, but the same cannot be said about the Cowboys defense. Dallas has allowed at least 34+ points in four straight games, including last week against the Giants who are 31st in the NFL in points/game. Dallas has their issues against the ground game, but also allow nearly 250 yards/game to opponent’s passing attack. If Dalton has weapons, the same can be said for Murray after Deandre Hopkins went for 131 yards receiving last week, his second 130+ game in the last three weeks.
Cardinals at Cowboys Betting Free Pick
The side is a tough call here with Dallas being at home in primetime, but also with one of the ugliest defenses in the league. Arizona looked good last week, but everybody does against the Jets, and the Cardinals had lost to the Panthers and Detroit before that.
Ultimately, Dalton should have an accurate night and the Cardinals will be able to move the ball efficiently through the air and ground in their own rights.
Cowboys 38 – Cardinals 35
Free Pick: Over 55
