NFL Football
2010-09-12 - Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins
A Sports Betting Pick by Goober
Football: United States: NFL 2010/2011
Sunday, September 12th - Kickoff 8:20 PM ET
One of the NFL's best and oldest rivalries is the first Sunday night game of the new season.
Dallas is the popular pick to win the NFC East and perhaps reach the Super Bowl. Last season they won their first playoff game since 1996, but were eliminated in the second round by Minnesota.
There are not a lot of changes to the Dallas team for this year. One addition will be the new WR Dez Bryant, who will give Tony Romo even more options to throw to. He is capable of making an instant difference with his ability.
The main weakness for Dallas this year will be the offensive line. If the starters are all healthy and available, the line could be very good. But for this game, 2 of the 5 starters are out. Marc Columbo and Kyle Kosier will both miss the game with injuries.
The defense is very good and there aren't a lot of big changes but a few tweaks to a few positions.
On the other hand, Washington is a vastly different from last year's team that went just 4-12.
Most, if not all, of last year's coaching staff has been replaced from last year. Bringing in Mike Shanahan has to be a positive for the Redskins over the long-haul. It's only a question of how quickly he can have impact.
Donovan McNabb was brought in to be the new QB, replacing Jason Campbell. Even thought McNabb's best days are likely behind him, this is again a big upgrade for the Skins. Although he won't have the quality receivers in Washington that he did in Philadelphia.
They will be running new offensive and defensive schemes. It's hard to know how quickly everything will come together for this team, but they are facing a tough early test for sure.
Dallas won both meetings last year, winning 7-6 in Dallas and 17-0 in Washington. The teams have split the last 10 meetings, but Washington is 7-3 ATS in those games. It should also be noted that the underdog is 19-7 ATS in the last 26 meetings between the two teams.
I feel like Dallas will probably have enough to win this game, in what may be a low-scoring game. With a healthy offensive line I would probably take Dallas and give the points. With the injury problems, it is hard to take them and give points on the road to a decent team. So I will pick a narrow Dallas win, but just by a field goal.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Dallas 20, Washington 17
