Lions Cowboys Line


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One of the biggest games in week 4 of the NFL is  the unbeaten Detroit Lions going on the road to take on the Dallas Cowboys. Detroit improved to 3-0 with an amazing comeback over the Vikings last week. The Lions were down 20-0 at half, but the offense came alive and the Lions were able to pull out a 26-23 overtime win. The Cowboys rallied from seven down to beat the Redskins 19-16 on Monday Night Football. It was the second come-from-behind win for the Cowboys, who are now 2-1 after blowing a a lead late in the opener against the Jets.

Taking a look at the week 4 NFL lines, oddsmakers currently have Dallas favored by just 1-point over Detroit with the total set at 46.5 points.

Detroit Lions:

Believe it or not the Lions have the longest active winning streak at seven games. They looked like the Lions of old in the first half against the Vikings last week. Detroit had just 40 yards of total offense through the first two quarters and were having a terrible time stopping Adrian Peterson. For whatever reason the Vikings stopped giving the ball to Peterson in the second half (5 carries), which allowed Detroit to fight back and win this game.

Matthew Stafford looked lost against the Vikings defense early on, but he would end up catching fire in the second half and finish the game with 378 yards and two huge touchdown passes to wide Calvin Johnson. Stafford has now thrown for 977 yards with nine touchdowns to just two interceptions.

Johnson’s two touchdown grabs were nothing new to the 2011 season. He became the first receiver in the NFL to open a season with three straight games with at least two touchdowns.  Detroit also got a big game out of tight end Brandon Pettigrew,who had 11 catches for 112 yards.

The Lions rushing attack was no where to be found against Minnesota, as Jahvid Best had just 14 yards on 12 attempts and Detroit as a team finished with just 20 yards.

Detroit will face another stingy defense this Sunday, as the Cowboys come in allowing just 226.7 passing yards (12th) and 61.3 rushing yards (2nd). Last year the Lions were blown out 19-35 at Dallas, but both Stafford and Dallas starting quarterback Tony Romo were out with injuries.

Dallas Cowboys:

For whatever reason the Cowboys like to play close games. With their 18-16 win over Washington they set an NFL-record with nine straight games decided by three points or fewer.

Dallas had a difficult time finishing offensively last week, as rookie place kicked Dan Bailey had six field goals, including what proved to be the game winner with 1:47 to play.

Romo will continue to play with a rib injury that definitely has him playing at less than 100%. However, he continues to make big plays when the offense needs them late in games. He didn’t have his best game against the Redskins, completing just 22 of 36 for 255 yards with an interception. A lot of that had to do with the Cowboys playing without starting wide out Miles Austin, who is doubtful to return to action against the Lions.

The only real threats the Cowboys have on the outside are tight end Jason Witten and wide out Dez Bryant. If I was the Lions I would focus all my attention on stopping these two players and forcing someone else to show they can step up and make a play.

With Romo and the passing game struggling, running back Felix Jones rushed for a career-high 115 yards on just 14 attempts. Dallas really needs Jones to be a factor in this game. If they don’t keep the Lions honest, Detroit will have a field day coming after Romo with Ndamukong Suh and company.  The Lions pass rush is a big reason why they have the 12th ranked pass defense, allowing just 226.7 yards per game.

Betting Trends:

Detroit is 15-5-2 ATS in their last 22 games overall.

Dallas is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a home favorite of 0.5-3.0.

If you are looking for some expert advice on who to take this week. Be sure to stop back and check out what Steve Janus has to offer in week 4 of the NFL.

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