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NFL Betting: Cowboys at Redskins

Written by Steve Janus on November 15, 2008

The Dallas Cowboys are hoping to get back on the winning track this week on the road against the Washington Redskins. Dallas’s starting quarterback, Tony Romo, is expected to play this week and the Cowboys need him to be productive in order to put their season back on track. Dallas has lost 3 of their last four games and 4 of their last 6, including a loss to Washington in week 4. The Redskins won two games in a row before losing to the Steelers two weeks ago. They were on a bye week last week, so they’ve had plenty of time to rest and prepare for the Cowboys. With Romo at the helm, the Cowboys are 1.5 favorites over the Redskins this week and the total is set at 43.

With Romo in the lineup during the first six games of the season, nobody had better offensive numbers than the Cowboys. Provided Romo is totally healthy, the Cowboys can look forward to the 401 yards to total offense, including 274 passing yards per game that he helped them gain early on. Brad Johnson couldn’t do much with this group, but Romo should have no problem spreading the ball around to Jason Witten, Terrell Owens, and Roy Williams, all of which are serious threats on every down. Having their starting QB back should help open up the Dallas running game as well. Marion Barber is a workhorse at the running back position, but Dallas will mix in Felix Jones, who is an explosive playmaker and the Washington defense will need to be aware of him whenever he’s on the field.

This Dallas defense hans’t really lived up to their expectations this year. They are the 18th ranked rush defense in the league and will face a running back in Clinton Portis that is leading all NFL backs with 995 yards already this year. This is a defense that will give up their fair share of points. The Cowboys are allowing 24 points per game (25 per game on the road), but, again, their team had been successful on offense for the first 6 weeks, so there was no reason for concern. Having the offense be less productive proved just how much this Dallas team needs to improve on the defensive side of the ball. The one bright spot for the Dallas defense is their pass defense, which isn’t great, but has been solid in allowing only 213 passing yards per contest. The Cowboys are 1.5 point favorites this week.

On offense, Washington will try to grind it out on the ground as much as they can with Clinton Portis. Portis was held in check their last time out against Pittsburgh and Washington couldn’t move the ball at all. The Washington running back shouldn’t have much trouble this week, however, against a Dallas defense that gives up 4.8 yards per carry. When the running game is going, Redskins’ QB, Jason Campbell can sit back and do his thing. Campbell’s thing is being efficient and mistake-free, and as long as the running game backs him up, he’ll have no problem doing that this week.

Washington’s defense has been solid all around this year. They are allowing just 273 yards of total offense per game, including just 81 yards per game against the run. The Redskin’s added DeAngelo Hall to the secondary, and he should help, especially this week against a Dallas team that’s likely to be pass-happy this week. The Washington run defense should be able to make the Cowboys one-dimensional this week, but if Romo is on his game, that could be a bad thing. The Redskins are a 1.5 point underdog Sunday.

The Redskins don’t score a ton of points, so they will need their defense to step up against a Dallas team offense that really excelled before Romo when on the self. In a league like the NFL, however, a few weeks off can be very detrimental to timing and confidence in the pocket, both things Romo will need to beat the Washington defense. There’s no doubt that the Cowboys are a better team with Romo in the lineup, but, even with Romo, the Redskins beat the Cowboys in Dallas, so they will need more than just the help of a healthy starting QB.

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