Cowboys and Cardinals Set for a Monday Night Football Shootout
The Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals play on Monday Night Football in Arlington, Texas. Dallas returns home and looks to use their home crowd to their advantage. They hope to bounce back from their unfortunate blowout loss to the Denver Broncos a week ago. In contrast, the Cardinals will be all rested and ready to go after their bye week a week ago. They look to get QB Kyler Murray back in his starting role. Both teams enter this matchup with something to prove, not to themselves, but to the league as a whole.
Despite the loss to Denver, where they only scored 22 points, the Dallas offense has been firing on all cylinders this entire season. They hope to get back to their old ways, leaning on the pass game between Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens. The Cardinals' defense ranks as the third-worst in pressure rate, so expect Prescott to hold his pocket and push the ball deep to his dynamic duo of wide receivers. Arizona also ranks 25th in passing yards given up, so Prescott should have no problem air-raiding the ball. Dallas’ route to victory would be establishing the run early, so it can set up the passing game. If Javonte Williams can get the ground game going early, then it will force the Cardinals' defense to respect the run game. This will give Lamb and Pickens one-on-one matchups that the Cowboys can exploit. Look for some of the vintage Prescott play-action throws, where he has been on fire this season.
The Arizona Cardinals have been without Kyler Murray for the past two games. Coming off a bye week a week ago, there are hopes that their franchise quarterback will be ready for action Monday. His presence is truly noted as they went 0-2 in his absence. Murray's ability to extend plays will be crucial if they want to beat the Cowboys. Dallas’s defense ranks as one of the worst defenses overall in the NFL. Despite the Cardinals' depleted running back room, their route to victory will be getting Zonovan Knight going early, and Murray will have to use his legs. This will establish the line of scrimmage and control the clock. It will also force Dallas to bring more guys to the line of scrimmage, allowing Murray to get outside the pocket, extend the plays, and find his receivers down the field. Securing a win here would be huge for their playoff implications.
This Monday Night Football game is played in a dome at AT&T Stadium. Playing inside in perfect playing conditions favors the Cowboys because of their explosive offense. While struggling on the road this season, Dallas has played well at home with a 2-0-1 record. They have scored at least 40 points in all of their home outings this year. Vegas has Dallas favored by a field goal and the over/under at 54. They think Dallas will win in a shootout by three points. Due to their horrible defense and Arizona getting Murray back, mixed with having an extra week to prepare, the boys are going to probably need to hit 40 points again to get the win. Buckle up and get ready for a back-and-forth Monday Night Football game!
