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— Thursday, December 02nd Dallas Cowboys @ New Orleans Saints
Week 13 of the NFL season gets underway with two NFC teams playing on a Thursday for the second week in a row, this time looking for a win.
The 7-4 Dallas Cowboys still lead the NFC East by two games as they go on the road to face the 5-6 New Orleans Saints. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, and the game will air on FOX and NFL Network.
These teams didn’t play last season and last met in 2019 when the Saints won at home 12-10. All-time, the Cowboys lead the series 17-13, but they are 6-9 in Louisiana, where they haven’t won since 2009.
Dallas Defense Looking to Bounce Back
The Cowboys have dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak since their Thanksgiving Day home loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Head coach Mike McCarthy will not be on the sidelines Thursday night, handing the team over to former Falcons head coach Dan Quinn while Kellen Moore will call the plays.
Dallas is hoping to get a jolt on offense with the return of wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper. With both missing last Thursday’s game, Michael Gallup had a big game, and Dak Prescott targeted his tight ends to put up 33 points and 373 passing yards. The game against the Saints could be just the third time all season that Lamb, Cooper, and Gallup are all on the field.
The Cowboys didn’t run the ball much last week, and Zeke Elliott tallied just 25 yards on nine carries, and Tony Pollard ran for 36 yards. Elliott has eight touchdowns on the season to go with 720 total yards, but he hasn’t gone over 100 yards in a game since October 10.
Prescott has thrown for 2,932 yards on the season with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He’s gone over 300 yards three times in the last six games and has at least two touchdown passes in all but two games this season.
The defense has been good for most of the season, especially generating turnovers. But they were torched by the Raiders for 366 yards through the air. The good news is that the Saints lack the weapons to give a repeat performance, both at quarterback and receiver.
Saints Turn to Hill
Mired in their longest losing streak in six years at four games, the Saints are hoping for a miracle by starting Taysom Hill at quarterback. Trevor Siemian was ineffective in four starts with three interceptions and a 57 percent completion rate. He threw for 163 yards in last Thursday’s 31-6 loss against Buffalo and had an interception returned for a touchdown against the Eagles.
Hill has thrown just eight passes all season, completing seven for 56 yards and an interception. He has run the ball 20 times for 104 yards and last started a game on December 13, 2020. In four starts last season, he went over 230 yards three times and totaled four touchdowns with two interceptions.
Running back Alvin Kamara is questionable with a knee injury that has kept him out since November 7. He last ran for 100 yards on October 3 and has 530 yards on the season to go with 32 receptions and seven total touchdowns. Melvin Ingram also missed last week’s game leaving Tony Jones Jr. as the top rushed with 27 yards.
The Saints’ defense will likely still be without sack leader Marcus Davenport as they look to bounce back from allowing 31 points to Buffalo. The Saints have allowed 71 points in their last two games after not allowing more than 30 points in a game all season and leading the league in scoring defense.
Betting Analysis
- Dallas Cowboys -4.5 (-110). Money Line -220
- New Orleans Saints +4.5 (-110). Money Line +180
- Total Points 47.5 (Over -110. Under -110)
The way both defenses played last Thursday, this game could see fireworks, but that counts on the Saints getting Kamara back and Hill playing well.
Dallas can put up points with the best of the teams in the league, though they have struggled on the road with 20 points in Minnesota and nine in Kansas City. Thursday’s game is in a controlled environment, so look for the points to be plentiful.
Betting Pick: Over 47.5 (-110)
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