The Dallas Cowboys bring the best record in the league at 10-1 when they invade U.S. Bank Stadium to rumble with a struggling Minnesota Vikings team that is 6-5 on the year. Dallas enters off a 31-26 home win over Washington, while the Vikes are off a 16-13 road loss at Detroit. Start time is 8:25 pm EST.
Vegas odds have the Cowboys listed as 3.5 point favorites, while the total has been set at 43.5. This contest will be televised on NBC with a start time of 8:25 pm EST.
Breaking Down The Dallas Cowboys
This has been a banner year for the Cowboys as they come in at 10-1 and have won their last 10 games in a row. They have been led by a very strong ground attack and an underrated defense. Ezekiel Elliott has been a very strong draft pick for the Cowboys and he now leads the league in rushing with 1199 yards so far, plus he is also 3rd in the league in total combined TDs with 12. He is not the only rookie having a strong year on this team as QB Dak Prescott has had a very nice start to his career. He was thrust into the starter’s role when Tony Romo went down and now that Romo is back he has held onto the job. He has a 108.6 QBR on the year, which is 4th in the league. The Cowboys enter this game ranked 4th in the league in total yards. 16th in passing, 2nd in rushing and 3rd in scoring, putting up 28.7 ppg so far. The defense has been very solid as well for this team, but they can struggle vs the pass as they are 31st in that department so far. Well, they will not be taking on a good passing team in this one. In fact they will be taking on the worst offense in the league overall. The Cowboys are 21st in total yards allowed, 3rd vs the run and 6th in points allowed, giving up just 19.4 ppg.
Trends: The Cowboys have gone 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games following a straight up win and 20-7 ATS in their last 27 games after allowing more than 350 total yards in their previous game, but just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games in Week 13 and 1-6 ATS in their last 7 Thursday games. The Over is 5-1 in their last 6 Thursday games, while the Under is 10-3 in their last 13 games following an ATS loss.
Breaking Down The Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings had a great start to their year as they were 5-0 and looked as if they were going to run away with the division, but since then they have won just 1 of their last five games and are in 2nd place in the NFC North, a game behind the Detroit Tigers, who they just lost to for the 2nd time this year. The Vikings started out strong thanks to their defense, but the inconsistency of the offense, may be starting to take its toll on that defense and it may be wearing down some. The offense has been poor and one has to wonder where they would be if Teddy Bridgewater or Adrian Peterson had not been lost for the season this year early one. This team would be far better on offense, that’s for sure. It’s a shame they have no passing game as that is the best way to move the ball on this Cowboys defense. The Vikings come in ranked 32nd in total offense, 24th in passing, 32nd in rushing and 25th in scoring, putting up just 19.8 ppg. They Vikes averaged 23.8 ppg in their first five games, but just 16.5 ppg in their last 6 games. They really need their defense to step up here and it has been a good one this year as they come in ranked 3rd in the league in yards allowed, 4th vs the pass, 14th vs the run and 2nd in points allowed, giving up just 17.4 ppg.
Trends: The Vikings have gone 12-3 ATS in their last 15 games after accumulating less than 90 yards rushing in their previous game and 19-7 ATS in their last 26 games on fieldturf, but just 1-5 ATS in their last 6 vs. the NFC, while the Dog is 1-9 ATS the last 10 in this series. The Over is 7-3 in their last 10 games in Week 13, while the Under is 14-2 in their last 16 vs. a team with a winning record.
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