NFL Football
2010-12-19 - Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Football : United States : NFL : Week 15
Sunday 19 December 2010 - Kickoff 1pm ET
6pm (British Standard Time)
Dallas Cowboys (4-9)
The Dallas Cowboys have a chance to leave their home supporters a nice memory at the end of a really tough season as they host their last home game this season. Many would have expected them to play at least 1 more game there with the SuperBowl being hosted by Dallas this season, but a terrible start meant that was not going to happen. The players face a Divisional rival here with a chance to move off the bottom of the NFC East.
Dallas are 1-6 at home this season and never really got going. However, the appointment of Jason Garrett as the Interim Head Coach has seen them play much tougher, ending up in close losses at home to New Orleans and Philadelphia, 2 opponents who look Play Off bound. The Cowboys have averaged 32 points per game in the 5 games Garrett has been coaching and the Offense should be able to take advantage of a Redskins Defense that gives up just under 400 yards of Total Offense per game.
The players in Dallas are all saying the right things about playing the season out in the correct manner. There will be an emotional let down in losing such a close game with the Eagles last week, but Jon Kitna is pushing this team to score points and there are still a number of key playmakers that can have big games.
Washington Redskins (5-8)
The real story behind this game is the going ons in the Capital which has seen the Redskins season lurching from bad to worse. The team lost a close game to Tampa Bay at home last weekend when the punter dropped the snapped ball that would have allowed the extra point to be kicked and the game pushed into OT. That saw the player, Hunter Smith, lose his job. The 2 key players for Washington at the start of the season were Albert Haynesworth and Donovon McNabb, but now both have been suspended or benched for the rest of the season.
The Haynesworth situation had been brewing for most of the season but it is the McNabb tale that is taking up all of the media time. Donovon McNabb was brought in from the Philadelphia Eagles to lead Washington but things have quickly turned sour under Mike Shanahan. First he was benched in the final 2 minutes of a loss to Detroit- that was not the end of the story as Mike Shanahan, and son Kyle, could not get their reasons straight and gave the media a field day.
Now McNabb has been benched for Rex Grossman and is also behind John Beck in the depth chart. Again the reasons were not clear with a variety offered by the Shanahans and now it seems it has divided the locker room. McNabb is also likely to be throwing a new stadium next season.
Washington will be looking to score their first Offensive TD against the Cowboys in 15 quarters, almost 4 games.
Head to Head
The teams have been evenly matched when playing one another in recent seasons, both winning 5 of the last 10 games.
Dallas have won 3 of the last 4 at home against Washington but are only 1-3 against the spread in those games.
The underdog is 20-6 against the spread in the last 26 games in the series. Washington are 6-2 against the spread in the last 8 games.
The Cowboys have won all 5 games under Jason Garrett against the spread. Washington are 1-4-1 in their last 6 games.
Other Interesting Notes
Dallas are 13-4 against the spread in the game following playing Philadelphia.
The bets in Vegas are all over the Cowboys since the news about McNabb broke. 86% of the money has been placed on Dallas.
Prediction
This is going to be a tough ask for Washington, especially for anyone that has seen Rex Grossman play on a regular basis. I expect a lot of rushes and screens being set up by the Redskins in an attempt to move the ball.
Dallas have been scoring points for fun for Jason Garrett and I find it hard to see how Washington can keep up.
The other factor to consider is how the players have reacted to McNabb's benching. It seems to have divided the locker room and many are very upset with the way the whole thing has been handled. With the team having nothing to play for, this game could see a indication as to how the players are reacting to the Shanahan policy.
I cant back Rex Grossman in any game and I am picking the Cowboys to win and cover.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Dallas Cowboys 31-14 Washington Redskins
