After a wild slate of Sunday games, the Arizona Cardinals take on the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night to close out Week 6. In what will be the second game of the night, the Cardinals will look to keep pace with the Seahawks and Rams in the NFC West while the Cowboys try and get a two-game lead on the rest of the NFC East.
Dallas Cowboys
Andy Dalton will get his first start as a Cowboy. After Dak Prescott went down with his injury last week, Dalton came in and went 9-of-11 for 111 yards last week in relief of Prescott. Dallas will likely rely on Ezekiel Elliott more this week behind an offensive line that won’t have Tyron Smith, who is out the rest of the season. The trio of Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb will look to get open against an Arizona defense that is fourth-best against the pass.
Dalton Schultz and Cedrick Wilson have been pleasant surprises in the last few weeks that will also help Dalton out. Three of the five starters in recent years for the Cowboys are out for this game as they are replaced by Brandon Knight and Terence Steele at the tackle spots. Tyler Biadasz has been solid in the middle of the offensive line, as many expected.
Defensively Dallas ranks 28th against the run, 20th against the pass, and 27th overall. Arizona’s offense is sixth in rushing yards, 16th in passing yards, and tenth overall. For Dallas to keep this a close game, they will have to get after Kyler Murray. Dallas is only averaging two sacks per game, so both Aldon Smith and DeMarcus Lawrence are going to have to get after Murray. With Chidobe Awuzie now on injured reserve, the starting cornerbacks for Dallas are Anthony Brown, Trevon Diggs, and Daryl Worley. Those three are in for a rude awakening against Deandre Hopkins and company.
Arizona Cardinals
Murray has been up-and-down to start his sophomore season. He has a great chance to exceed this week against the porous Cowboys defense. The duo of Kenyan Drake and Chase Edmonds should run all over Dallas, who lost Trysten Hill for the season last week. Along with Hopkins, the Cardinals also have gotten Christian Kirk and Andy Isabella going recently, which should help Murray carve up the Cowboys defense.
Arizona’s defense has been a pleasant surprise even without Isaiah Simmons succeeding. Jordan Hicks and De’Vondre Campbell have been a great duo on the second level. With Chandler Jones out for the season, Arizona will need a lot of pass rush help. Arizona is averaging 2.8 sacks per game and should be able to get after Dalton, who is without both of his starting tackles. The secondary is the main concern against the trio of stellar receivers Dallas has.
Game Info
Date: October 19, 2020
Start Time: 7:15 P.M. CST
Location: Arlington, Texas
Stadium: AT&T Stadium
TV Info: ESPN
Betting Odds Sponsored by Jazz Sportsbook
Point Spread: ARI -1 (-110) | DAL +1 (-110)
Moneyline: ARI -115 | DAL -115
Over/Under: O 55.5 (-110) | U 55.5 (-110)
The Cardinals are one-point road favorites against a Dallas team that has no defensive identity. With two high-powered offenses, the over is well in play for this game.
Prediction
With Dallas only having a week with Dalton to run with the starters, he could be in for a rude awakening with two backup tackles. Arizona’s offense should easily be able to score points against the Cowboys sorry excuse of a defense. This will be an offensive showcase and an explosive game that Arizona wins by a score.
Final Score: Arizona 31, Dallas 26
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