Week 9 Monday Night Football Props (Titans vs Cowboys)
- The Tennessee Titans visit the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football for Week 9
- Could Cowboys’ RB Ezekiel Elliott be in line for a big day on the ground?
- Will new addition Amari Cooper make an instant impact in the Cowboys’ passing game?
Week 9’s Monday Night Football matchup features the 3-4 Tennessee Titans and the 3-4 Dallas Cowboys. We dig into the prop cards to find the three best bets for MNF.
Best Week 9 Monday Night Football Props
Prop #1: Ezekiel Elliott Will Have More Rushing Yards Than Derrick Henry & Score At Least 1 Rushing TD
| Ezekiel Elliott Props | Odds |
|---|---|
| Elliott More Rushing Yards Than Henry | -476 |
| Elliott At Least 1 Rushing TD | -143 |
| Parlay | -104 |
*For more options please follow the link in the table. All odds taken on 11/04/18.
The Cowboys, behind the rushing of Ezekiel Elliott, rank fourth in rushing YPG and Elliott’s 619 yards on the ground are the second-most in the league. By comparison, Derrick Henry comes in 38th in total rushing yards with 273.
Ezekiel Elliott thinks Amari Cooper will open things up for everyone https://t.co/KoYxhJsr8c
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 2, 2018
In the past five weeks only once would Henry have finished with more yards between the two, and Weeks 1-2 would have seen Elliott win the matchup as well.
Elliott also holds the advantage of having no internal competition for touches, while Henry will split carries with Dion Lewis.
Elliott vs Henry Rushing Yards
| 33 | Week 7 | 33 |
| 106 | Week 6 | 21 |
| 54 | Week 5 | 56 |
| 152 | Week 4 | 24 |
| 127 | Week 3 | 57 |
Zeke has seen limited success in finding the endzone so far with just three rushing TDs. The Titans’ strong pass defense should translate to a heavy dose of Elliott, though, giving him plenty of opportunities for a rushing TD.
Pick: Ezekiel Elliott Will Have More Rushing Yards Than Derrick Henry & Score At Least 1 Rushing TD
Prop #2: Amari Cooper To Have 4+ Receptions
| Amari Cooper Receptions | Odds |
|---|---|
| 3+ | -208 |
| 4+ | -122 |
| 5+ | +106 |
| 6+ | +174 |
| 7+ | +316 |
Dallas has desperately been searching for a number one receiver and in newly acquired Amari Cooper they believe they have their man.
Considering the Cowboys used a 2019 first-round pick to acquire the former 2015 first-rounder, they’ll likely want to make immediate use of their new addition.
That seems to be the approach Dallas OC Scott Linehan is taking by saying they don’t plan to “ease him in”.
While Cooper has only caught more than two passes twice this season (8 and 10), he brings the potential with him to open up the Cowboys’ passing game. He also won’t have a ton of competition for targets, as Cole Beasley leads the team with only 33 catches, good for 39th overall in the league.
Tuck this away: #Cowboys teammates, on O and D, are absolutely RAVING about Amari Cooper's do-it-all work in practice. It's been a fast learning curve, and a physically impressive start. pic.twitter.com/QsC1YVy8RK
— mike fisher ✭? (@fishsports) November 2, 2018
Pick: Amari Cooper To Have At Least 4+ Receptions
Prop #3: Total Combined Punts OVER 9.5
| Total Punts | Odds |
|---|---|
| Over 9.5 | +125 |
| Under 9.5 | -145 |
Only one game on this week’s card features a lower posted total than this matchup.
The Cowboys rank 28th in total points scored with an average of 20 PPG. The Cowboys are an offensive juggernaut, though, compared to the Titans who rank 31st in total points scored, only ahead of Buffalo.
They average a whopping 15.1 PPG.
What does that mean? It means instead of cheering for points, you may be better served cheering (and betting) for punts.
A quick look at some stats below leave me wondering how either team will move the ball. Neither is prolific through the air, while both are strong defending the pass. Dallas does own a strong run game with Ezekiel Elliott but Tennessee is at least serviceable defending the run.
Tennessee vs Dallas Key Stats
| 30th | Passing OFF | 29th |
| 9th | Passing DEF | 3rd |
| 19th | Rushing OFF | 4th |
| 19th | Rushing DEF | 9th |
| T-15th | * Punts | 20th |
| 19th | Opp Punts | 7th |
*Where 1st would mean a team has punted the most times
From a total punting standpoint, each of these teams rank middle of the pack in punting themselves. However, the Cowboys standout as forcing their opponents to punt the seventh-most in the league.
The #Titans defense has allowed the third fewest points per game this season (18.1). The #Cowboys are second (17.6), per @Titans #TitanUp #MNF #TENvsDAL
— AtoZSports Nashville (@AtoZSports) November 3, 2018
Some final punting stats: Dallas has punted a total of 30 times, while forcing opponents to punt 39 times, good for an average of 9.86 punts combined in their games.
The Titans have punted a total of 33 times while forcing opponents to punt 31 times, which averages out to 9.14 total per game.
The bookies have this number set just right but I see the total in this game going OVER the average for both teams.
Pick: Total Combined Punts OVER 9.5
Ryan is SBD's resident soccer pro, though his repertoire is by no means limited to a single sport. His articles have been published by the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Kitchener Rangers, and outlets like SportsXpress and Shredthespread.com
