Monday Night
Preview
By Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
The second week of the NFL once again has two games on Monday night; the Ravens and Texans (rescheduled), and the always popular and over-hyped matchup between the Cowboys (-7) and Eagles. I'll be focusing on the latter.
Both teams won big in their openers, but the 'Boys will be looking to win their final home opener at Texas Stadium (moving into their new $1 billion dollar facility next season), and will be looking to avoid a third consecutive home loss to the Eagles.
TO and Romo, however, have been held in check in Philadelphia's last two visits to Dallas. Romo had a 32.6 QB rating in those games and Owens accounted for just four catches.
Dallas was held to a total of 136 rushing yards in those two losses, but ran for 167 last week against Cleveland. Marion Barber rushed for 80 yards and two TD's on 16 attempts despite leaving in the third quarter with bruised ribs, though he is expected to play this week.
Keep in mind though that the Eagles run defense looked very good last week as it held three-time 1,000-yard rusher Steven Jackson to 40 yards on 14 attempts. Philadelphia was seventh in the league against the run last season, allowing an average of 95.8 yards per game, while Dallas ranked sixth at 94.6.
Coming off a season in which he was recovering from knee surgery and didn't appear to hit his stride until late in the year, Donovan McNabb looked very healthy to open this season as he threw for 361 yards and three TD's.
A few interesting ATS trends to keep in mind this Monday Night:
Over the last three seasons the Cowboys are 0-3 ATS on Monday Nights and 4-8 ATS vs. division opponents over the same time frame.
The Eagles have historically had a leg up on Dallas in ATS stats:
Over the last three years Philly is 4-0 ATS as an underdog of 3.5 to 9.5 points, they are also a perfect 3-0 ATS as an underdog of 3.5 to 7 points and an amazing 10-2 ATS the last three seasons as an underdog!
So it comes as no surprise to learn that 61% of the public's money, according to a popular online consensus site, is currently on the Eagles from Philadelphia.
Put all the subplots on the back-burner; whoever comes out on top of this one is sure to leave their stamp as the favorite to win the NFC East. Good luck this weekend.
Nick followed up his Monday Night winner on the Packers by starting the week with an easy winner on North Carolina outright over Rutgers. Don't miss any of his guaranteed winners this weekend!