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Cowboys Jets Spread

The first Sunday Night Football game of the year is a good one. NBC hosts a match-up between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey at 8:20 EST Sunday night. It’s strength on strength as the Cowboys potent offense goes up against one of the toughest defenses in the league.

Taking a look at the Week 1 NFL lines, I find the Jets listed as a 5-point home favorite and a total set of 40.5 points.

New York

Head coach Rex Ryan has led the Jets to back-to-back AFC Championship games, only to come up short. He is ready to get the new season started in what will be a ruckus atmosphere on the night of the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Rex will be squaring off against his brother, Rob Ryan, who is the new defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys. That just adds even more fuel to the fire Sunday night.

The Jets won a 26-20 overtime thriller last year the last time Rex went up against Rob, who was the DC of the Cleveland Browns. The Jets defense is quickly becoming known as one of the top stop units in the league, but it’s the offense that is getting more of the hype this offseason. Mark Sanchez enters his third season as a starter and he’s coming off a solid 2010 campaign. Sanchez threw for 3,291 yards and 17 touchdowns to 13 interceptions a year ago.

New York has added another weapon for Sanchez in Plaxico Burress, who will be playing in his first NFL game since November 23, 2008. Burress spent 20 months in prison after shooting himself in the leg at a nightclub. He will be taking the place of Braylon Edwards, who has the team’s leading receiver last year and has moved on to the San Francisco 49ers. Santonio Holmes was the teams’ most productive wideout in 2010 after missing the first four games with a suspension. Holmes returns as Sanchez’s top target after catching 52 balls for 746 yards and six touchdowns.

Dallas

After a 1-7 start last year, head coach Wade Phillips was fired. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett took over as interim coach, and led the Cowboys to a 5-3 mark the rest of the way. This team simply responded to Garrett, and now he gets the head coaching job heading into 2011. Quarterback Tony Romo suffered a broken left clavicle in the sixth game of the season in 2010, and was out the rest of the year. With a healthy Romo back, the sky is the limit for this Cowboy offense this season.

Of course, Dallas is going to have to find some more reliable blockers for Romo to keep him upright. Their biggest concern heading into 2011 is an offensive line that features three new starters. If they can give Romo time, he’ll have the luxury of spreading the ball around to one of the most talented receiving corps in the league. Pro Bowlers Jason Witten (94 receptions, 1,002 yards, nine TD) and Miles Austin (69 receptions, 1,042 yards, seven TD) return, and second-year WR Dez Bryant figures to take on an even bigger role.

Dallas features an excellent front seven on defense, including NFL sack leader DeMarcus Ware. Their questions come from a secondary that was one of the worst in the league last year. Not helping matters is the injury problems they have suffered in the preseason. Starting CB Terence Newman missed practice on Wednesday and is doubtful Sunday with a groin injury. Fellow starting CB Mike Jenkins also left practice with a knee injury, leaving his status up in the air. Along the offensive line, RT Tyron Smith left Wednesday’s practice with a knee injury as well.

Betting Trends

This will be the first meeting between these teams since 2007. The Cowboys won at home 34-3, but this is clearly a completely different Jets team.

The Cowboys enter this game riding a perfect 5-0 ATS run in the role of the underdog, and they went 6-2 ATS in their final eight games last season under Garrett.

The Jets have been on a 6-1 ATS run in their last seven games in September, starting the previous two seasons fast. They are, however, just 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games as a home favorite of 3.0-10.0 points.

If you are looking for winning NFL advice from a professional handicapper, then Jack Jones is your man. He has a huge Sunday card lined up full of winners as he tests his 70-48 NFL sides run.