NFL FOOTBALL BETTING PREDICTION - BALTIMORE RAVENS @ DALLAS COWBOYS

NFL Football

2008-12-20 - Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys

A Sports Betting Pick by Bodog

Baltimore Ravens @ Dallas Cowboys
Texas Stadium, Irving, TX
Saturday, December 20th 2008 - Kickoff 8:15 PM ET

---

Baltimore Ravens (9-5 SU, 4-3 Road, 10-4 ATS)

The Ravens are clinging to the sixth and final playoff seed in the AFC.

There are three other teams knocking on the door; Miami and New England are also 9-5, while San Diego is still alive at 6-8. A win against the Cowboys will not be enough to clinch a Wild Card spot for Baltimore.

Baltimore is #27 in offence but the Ravens have the #3 defense in the league at 4.5 yards allowed per play;

Baltimore is 4-3 SU and 5-2 ATS on the road.

Dallas Cowboys (9-5 SU, 6-1 Home, 7-7 ATS)

Dallas has the fifth seed in the NFC at the moment, plus three potential clinching scenarios that start with a victory on Saturday night. But there are four teams with a chance to move up into a Wild Card spot: the 9-5 Falcons, the 8-5-1 Eagles, the 8-6 Bears and the 7-7 Redskins.

The Cowboys have the more difficult path to the playoffs.

They play at Philadelphia in Week 17, while the Ravens have a date at home with 5-9 Jacksonville.

So the onus is on Dallas to win at Texas Stadium where the ‘Boys are 6-1 SU and 4-3 ATS at home thus far, including a 13-9 win over Tampa Bay (+1) with Brad Johnson at QB.

Even with Johnson (50.5 passer rating) making three appearances in relief of Tony Romo (98.3), the Cowboys are sixth in the NFL in offense at 5.8 yards per play.

Total Point Statistics

The total for Saturday night’s game is 39.5 points.

The over is 12-4-1 in Baltimore’s last 17 games as the underdog while the over is also 12-5-3 in the Cowboys’ last 20 after allowing fewer than 15 points in their previous contest.

But the under got paid in the last three Cowboys games and the last two Baltimore games.

THE VERDICT

Even with all their problems the Cowboys are always tough to beat at home, and should have enough to edge the Ravens here.

The Pick :