Monday Night Football comes to you tonight from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas as the 2-0 Washington Redskins come in as +3.5 underdogs against the host Dallas Cowboys. Betting action from the public has their Monday Night Football pick leaning toward the Redskins by a 54% margin according the data pulled from Sportsbook Spy. The oddsmakers opened this line up at Dallas -4.5 and 46.0 while Cantor Gaming in Las Vegas had a preseason line in June on this game of the Cowboys -6.0. With various injuries on the Cowboys side and the Redskins starting off 2-0, the number has dropped down to the current number of -3.0 and the total getting bet on the under has dropped a full point off the opener.
Dallas rebounded after the loss to the New York Jets to get a win over the San Francisco 49ers 27-24 last week in overtime, but it cost them a host of injuries which included QB Tony Romo, WR Miles Austin, WR Dez Bryant and RB Felix Jones. With everyone except Miles Austin looking to play tonight, the star players will be anything but 100% for the home opener. Recent history does not favor the Cowboys as they have failed to cover five of their last six home games. They key to a Dallas victory will be their secondary not having a repeat of the 332 yards and four touchdowns the last time they faced Washington QB Rex Grossman a year ago. Grossman has the ability to put up big numbers, so the defense will need to try and focus on getting the Rex to appear who is also known to put up big interceptions.
Rex Grossman has been on fire for the Washington Redskins throwing for 400+ yards in three of his last five starts. Monday Night Football has been kind to Grossman as in his two starts on Monday (both with the Chicago Bears) Rex has a 114.4 passer rating and went on to win both games. Washington has been a tough game for the Cowboys as the Redskins have covered in Dallas the last five visits. Revenge will also be on the mind of the Redskins considering they rallied from a twenty-point deficit to only lose in the final minute of the game last year to a field goal 33-30.
When breaking down this game from a betting angle, you have to factor in whether there is an over reaction to the Redskins 2-0 start and the Cowboys roster having the "probable" or "OUT" label on the star players. As mentioned, Cantor Gaming in June felt the game would be at -6.0 for the Cowboys in a perfect situation. Even with the Cowboys being anything but 100% and track record of the Redskins playing them tough we are still going with a small lean on Dallas minus the points.
Betting Strategies - NFL Totals
Host Marco D'Angelo and Pregame Pro Stephen Nover discuss how to make bets on the overs and unders in the 2011 NFL season.