Cowboys Cardinals Line

Written by Steve Janus

The Dallas Cowboys will look to win their five straight game for the first time in nearly four years when they go on the road to face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Dallas needed a last second field goal to beat the Dolphins 20-19 on Thanksgiving, but the win coupled with a Giants loss to New Orleans has Dallas sitting all alone on top the NFC East at 7-4. The Cardinals knocked off the Rams 23-20 for their third win in four games, but are pretty much out of the playoff picture at 4-7. Arizona has won five of the last six at home against the Cowboys, including a 27-26 win on Christmas Day last season.

Taking a look at the week 13 NFL spreads. oddsmakers currently have the Cowboys favored by 4.5-points over the Cardinals with the total set at 45.5 points.

Dallas Cowboys:

After starting the season just 3-4, the big question in Dallas was whether or not they would be able to take advantage of a soft stretch of games. So far they have answered the call with four straight wins. Getting another over Arizona could go a long way in ensuring they end up on top the division. After their game against the Cardinals, Dallas will face the Giants twice, go on the road to take on Tampa Bay, and host the Eagles.

The Cowboys last two wins haven’t been easy. They needed overtime to beat a Washington team that had lost five straight and a 28-yard field goal from Dan Bailey as time expired to avoid a setback against the Dolphins.

Despite not having star wide out Miles Austin, Tony Romo and the Cowboy’s passing attack hasn’t missed a beat. Romo threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Miami,giving him four straight games with at least 225 yards and two scores. The loss of Austin hasn’t been an issue thanks the emerging play of wide out Laurent Robinson, who had seven catches for 79 yards and two scores last week. Robinson has seven touchdowns in his last five games.

One player the Cowboys would like to see get back on track is rooking running back DeMarco Murray. After rushing for 274 yards in two easy wins over the Seahawks and Bills, Murray has totaled just 160 yards in his last two games combined. There’s a good chance Murray could have a big game against the Cardinals this Sunday. Arizona is 20th in the NFL against the run, allowing 123.5 ypg.

Arizona Cardinals:

We will find out just how much better Arizona is playing when they host the Cowboys. While the Cardinals have won three of their last four, two of those wins came against the struggling Rams and the other against an Eagles team that was playing with an injured Michael Vick. Before this stretch of recent success, Arizona had lost six straight games. They are also 0-4 in games against teams who have a winning record.

There are some positives that the Cardinals can take from their recent surge. They have done it all without starting quarterback Kevin Kolb, who is expected to return to the starting lineup this week. Backup John Skelton was decent in his first two games against St Louis and Philadelphia, but was just 18 of 42 for 213 yards with no touchdowns and five picks over his last two games.

The other positive is the play of running back Beanie Wells, who rushed for a franchise-record 228 yards last week against the Rams. Wells is still bothered by a nagging knee injury, but it doesn’t appear serious enough to keep him out of this game.

When the Cardinals have needed a big play, rookie corner Patrick Peterson seems to answer. Peterson returned his fourth punt for a touchdown last week, and needs just one more to break the NFL record for punt return touchdowns in a single season.

Arizona will likely need a big play from Peterson if they are going to upset the Cowboys, as the offense could find it hard to move the ball against an improving Dallas defense. The Cowboys are allowing just under 16 ppg during their four game winning streak, and are 14th against the pass(230.7 ypg) and 10th against the run (100.3 ypg) on the season.

Betting Trends:

Dallas is 2-10 ATS in their last 12 games as a favorite of 3.5-10.0.

Arizona is 15-5-1 ATS in their last 21 games as a home underdog of 3.5-10.0.

Be sure to stop back and check out who Steve Janus has picked to win this week in the NFL.

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