Free Picks: Dallas Cowboys vs Arizona Cardinals

This week on Monday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys begin life without Dak Prescott, as they face off against an underwhelming Arizona Cardinals team that is looking pedestrian under Kliff Kingsbury. 888sport has Arizona as the favourite by -2.5.

Look, I’ll be the first one to admit that I don’t like the Dallas Cowboys. Their fans are probably the most obnoxious in all sports, but I have a pragmatic approach to these previews and I give credit where credit is due.

The truth is both of these teams are underachieving, and neither looks anything like the contenders that experts were hailing them as before the season started, but I’m not entirely sure why oddsmakers are favouring the Arizona Cardinals. I suppose it can be attributed to Dak Prescott’s season-ending injury, but the Cardinals look awful on offense. Even with backup quarterback Andy Dalton, I still think they’re better than the Cardinals.

For the offensive talent that Arizona has, they leave a lot to be desired. They rank 16th overall in points per game, and Kliff Kingsbury looks like he doesn’t know how to make his offense run smoothly. They’re middle-of-the-pack in just about every offensive statistical category, except rushing somehow, which makes no sense considering the identity crisis that has formed in their backfield.

They do have a competent defense, which ranks fifth in points allowed per game at 20.4 and is top ten in yards allowed per game at 346.6. But I’m still not comfortable riding with them here against the Cowboys (pun intended).

I would bet that most oddsmakers are expecting a decline now that Andy Dalton’s taking over, but the Cowboys weren’t that great before Dak Prescott went down either. Dalton will continue to sling the ball all over the place, and as long as he avoids turning it over and Ezekiel Elliott does his thing, the offense should still click. Meanwhile, the Cardinals haven’t shown us much in terms of offense and have lost to some questionable teams this season.

I don’t like this game all that much, but I can get behind the value 888sport is offering with the Moneyline for Dallas to win straight up at 2.08.

FREE PICK: MONEYLINE DALLAS COWBOYS TO WIN 2.08

• Arizona is 4-1 ATS in their last five games against Dallas
• The UNDER has cashed in 4 of Arizona’s last 5 games
• The OVER has cashed in 5 of Dallas’ last 6 games
• Dallas is 5-5 in their last 10 games against Arizona