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Cardinals vs Cowboys Monday Night Football Odds, Lines, and Spread

David Golokhov

by David Golokhov in NFL Football

Updated Oct 18, 2020 · 2:00 PM PDT

Kyler Murray on the run
Can Kyler Murray lead the Arizona Cardinals to a win on Monday? (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire)
  • The Arizona Cardinals will visit the Dallas Cowboys for Monday Night Football in Week 6
  • The game will take place at AT&T Stadium on Monday, October 19th at 8:20pm ET
  • MNF Picks Record: 1-0 ATS; 2-2 O/U; +0.8 Units

The Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys will clash on Monday Night Football in a matchup of two former NFC East rivals. The Cowboys are in a world of hurt as injuries have ravaged their roster. They now find themselves as an underdog playing at home at AT&T Stadium. Can they cash in as a home dog or will the Cardinals cover on the road?

Cardinals vs Cowboys Odds

Team Moneyline Spread Total
Arizona Cardinals -112 -1.0 (-105) Over 55.5 (-100)
Dallas Cowboys -104 +1.0 (-115) Under 55.5 (-110)

All odds as of October 18 at FanDuel

Cowboys Move On Without Prescott

The Cowboys roster was already decimated by injuries before Dak Prescott was lost for the season last week. What’s the team going to look like now? The team is already without their two starting tackles – Tyron Smith and La’El Collins – and their star center from last season (retired in offseason). That’s taken a huge strength on the roster and flipped it into a weakness.

Tight end Blake Jarwin is also on injured reserve along with linebacker Sean Lee and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie. And now the team has to move on without Prescott, who was one of the bright spots on this roster. Even after leaving last week’s game, Prescott still leads the NFL in passing yards and has 267-yard lead over second-place Josh Allen.

It’s true the Cowboys were well-prepared for the worst-case scenario at quarterbac,k as Andy Dalton is a capable backup. The issue is that in other areas of the roster – the offensive line, the linebacking corps, the secondary – the team doesn’t have as much depth to work with.

Which Cardinals Will We See?

The Cardinals have been one of the most inconsistent teams this season, which makes them hard to handicap. They are 3-2 on the year with wins over San Francisco (who apparently isn’t that good), Washington and the New York Jets. The Cards also have losses to the Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers.

At the center of their problems is the inconsistent play of quarterback Kyler Murray. Case and point: his performance the last two weeks. In the 30-10 win over the Jets last week, Murray was incredible, with 380 passing yards and 31 rushing yards. In Week 5, during the team’s 31-21 loss to Carolina, Murray had just 133 passing yards on the day.

Oddly enough, Murray had three touchdown passes in the loss to Carolina and it was his only outing of the year where he hadn’t thrown an interception. The issue is that the team wasn’t able to move the chains, with just 21 first downs and three third-down conversions.

The other major inconsistency on this team has been the defense. In the team’s three wins, the Cardinals are allowing 15.0 points per game. In the two losses, the Cardinals are allowing nearly two touchdowns more 28.5. The task will get much harder going forward now that Chandler Jones – the NFL’s leader in sacks last season – is out.

What’s The Best Bet?

The Cowboys have been terrible to start the season but the Cardinals haven’t been much better. Arizona might come in with the better record at 3-2 but their three wins have come against teams who are a combined 3-12 so far. The Cowboys have at least faced a tougher schedule as three of their previous opponents would qualify for the playoffs if they started today.

A big key here will be the Cardinals’ run defense, which hasn’t been very good. They’re allowing 4.5 yards per carry, which ranks 20th in the NFL. Look for a big day from Ezekiel Elliott, which should steady the offense and lead to a win here.

Pick: Cowboys +1 (-115)

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