The Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys are hoping to learn quickly from their Week 1 losses. Matt Ryan and Dak Prescott will go head to head in an air-it-out battle. Both teams share the same team weakness; their secondaries. Both units have to improve drastically to have an impact on the game.
Last week, Ryan threw for 450 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He will look to continue that momentum in Dallas. Ryan had three wide receivers with over 100 yards in the air. Julio Jones had 157 yards, Calvin Ridley had 130 yards, and Russell Gage had 114 yards. Obviously the Falcons love to have control with the passing game. The Cowboys intensively struggled last week as Jared Goff picked their secondary apart on short passes. Ryan will look to stretch the Cowboys defense even further.
If the Falcons have a weakness on the offensive side of the ball, it’s with the running game. Even though they picked up Todd Gurley in the offseason, he only had 56 yards on 14 carries. Look for the Falcons to run a bit better this week as they try to be more than a one-dimensional football team.
Cowboy fans were looking for a completely different team from year’s past with the new coaching staff. They didn’t get it. The Cowboys looked like the same mediocre 8-8 team on both sides of the ball. Ezekiel Elliott had a great game scoring on a running and passing play. However, Prescott rarely looked deep downfield for any explosive plays. With Mike McCarthy’s promised analytics and fire to turn this team around quickly, the team never showed much of a sizzle. In fairness, the team looked like a team playing their first football game of the season. But, with all the talent on this team, excuses are not allowed for a team looking to get their sixth Super Bowl ring.
Cowboys lost a couple of key players to injuries already which makes the “bounce back” game even tougher to overcome. Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch broke his collar bone which required surgery and he will miss six to eight weeks. Tight end, Blake Jarwin tore his ACL which ends his promising year. The Cowboys never looked outside their own team for replacements, so those are deep holes to fill.
McCarthy and Kellen Moore need to jump-start this team offensively and loosen the reigns and let Prescott and company explode to their potential. The Cowboys need to get the fire lit under their belt and win games against good teams and they have the opportunity on Sunday.
Game Info
Date: Sunday, Sept 20, 2020
Start Time: 12:00 p.m. CT
Location: Arlington, Tx.
Stadium: AT&T Stadium
TV Info: Fox
Betting Odds Sponsored by Jazz Sportsbook
Point Spread: ATL +4 (-110) | DAL -4 (-110)
Moneyline: ATL +180 | DAL -225
Over/Under: O 53.5 (-110) | U 53.5 (-110)
The Cowboys are favored solely because they are playing at home. Play it safe and take Atlanta and four points this week. However, if you are looking for an upset, the Falcons could be at the top of your list. If you want to play this aggressively, take the Falcons Moneyline and bet big. The 53.5 over/under is a pretty close estimate but this game could be in the 50’s before the start of the fourth quarter.
Prediction
Until the Cowboys can prove that they are capable of beating a good team, then the predictions may change. The Falcons will control this game from the kickoff and exploit the Cowboys defense once again. The Cowboys will string together a couple of good drives but unless Moore calls a perfect game, the Cowboys will fall short again this week. The Falcons will try to close this one out early and kill time in the second half with their running game.
Final Atlanta Falcons 34, Dallas Cowboys 27
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