Opening Spread Favors Cowboys by 7 in Week 2 vs Falcons

• The Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys are both searching for their first win in a Week 2 matchup in Arlington
• Atlanta is looking to get a better effort from their defense after falling 38-25 to the Seahawks
• See the opening odds for their Week 2 clash

Both the Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys are desperate to avoid falling to 0-2 after frustrating Week 1 losses highlighted by fourth down failures.

Now, these NFC playoff hopefuls will turn their attention to what should be a thrilling early afternoon shootout in Jerry World next Sunday, where the Cowboys opened as seven-point favorites. Check in with our matchup page to monitor the Falcons vs Cowboys odds movement throughout the week.

 Opening Lines for Falcons vs Cowboys

Odds taken Sept. 13th

The Cowboys took the last meeting between these two teams, 22-19 in 2018.

Dallas is 10-6-1 ATS at home over the last two years. The Cowboys have also won four of their last five home openers (but all five of those games were against the New York Giants).

Atlanta is 9-17 ATS on the road over the last three seasons.  The OVER has hit in four of the last five Falcons games.

New Gameplan in Dallas

Dallas would never have passed up a chance at a game-tying field goal early in the fourth quarter and went for it under Jason Garrett, but Mike McCarthy’s Cowboys are clearly a gutsier bunch.

In this case, it burned them.

The Cowboys go for it aaanndddd

STUFFED!

pic.twitter.com/uBtXpBVJnZ

— Pickswise (@Pickswise) September 14, 2020

Dallas never got back into field goal range and lost as 2-point favorites. The Cowboys offense was productive, racking up 380 yards, but they were unable to convert when it counted, going 3-for-12 on third down and 1-for-3 on fourth.

Defensively, the Cowboys allowed 422 yards and failed to get any sustained pressure on Jared Goff with their new look d-line.

Dallas went 1-6 in one-score games last season and now they open this year with another close loss.

Same Issues for Falcons

Dan Quinn was hired five years ago to help the Falcons get stops, but once again Atlanta’s defense looks to be an issue. And it was Quinn’s old team that exposed them.

Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks had a field day in Georgia, with the QB completing 31 of 35 passes for 324 yards and four TDs. Atlanta couldn’t get a key stop when they needed it.

Russell Wilson a DK Metcalf. 🚀😤🏈 pic.twitter.com/vjNGzgYJ9o

— Santiago 🎧 (@Mr_Cassette) September 13, 2020

Meanwhile the Falcons offense was 0-for-4 on fourth down, spoiling a day in which they racked up over 500 yards. Todd Gurley had 56 yards and a score on the ground in his Atlanta debut, but the Falcons had to put the run game away in the second half after falling behind 28-12.

Coming in as 1-point favorites, the Falcons lost their third straight season opener. The good news: each of the last two years they’ve bounced back with SU and ATS wins in Week 2.

Hurting Continues For Cowboys

Leighton Vander Esch left Sunday night’s game with what is being called a collarbone injury. The Cowboys linebacker missed seven games last year with a neck injury, so fans held their breath while he was getting checked out on the sideline.

Former #BoiseState LB Leighton Vander Esch was just seen going to the X-ray room.

They're looking at his collarbone, according to Michele Tafoya.

After a #Cowboys rookie record 140 tackles in 2018, Leighton was limited to nine games last fall due to a neck injury. pic.twitter.com/XCQa6mH4TZ

— Jay Tust (@KTVBSportsGuy) September 14, 2020

Tight end Blake Jarwin also left the game with what the team believes is a torn ACL. In his place, backup Dalton Schultz had one catch on four targets and his route running may have been the reason the Cowboys came up short on fourth down.

Cowboys ran mesh on fourth-and-3. Schultz (86) needs to run his route deep enough to let Lamb (88) run underneath it at the first-down mark. Instead, Schultz ran his route at the first-down mark, which forced Lamb short of the sticks. pic.twitter.com/G3uT5HIGvy

— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) September 14, 2020

The Falcons managed to escape Week 1 unscathed, with just defensive back Kendall Sheffield and defensive end Charles Harris being ruled out of the game prior.

How Will the Line Move?

Bettors came into the season with far higher expectations for the Cowboys, so it will be interesting to see whether these injuries or their setback in LA makes fading them seem more attractive.

If you do find Dallas -6 this week, know it’ll likely be the best Cowboys line you’ll find for this game. Homer bettors won’t let this line slide much further. But as mentioned, Dallas’ Week 1 performance will likely prevent the spread from moving much further in their favor, as well.