Dallas has been on fire since their win in new orleans, they are 4-0 ats since that game covering by double digits in each game. The dallas offense is 2nd in total yards and will be tested by the minn def which is ranked 6th in yards allowed. If minn has a weakness on def it is their pass def which is 19th in yrds allowed. Dallas is 5-1 ats vs teams in the bottom half of the league in pass def, and romo has averaged over 288 yds a game since the new orleans game. But dallas will need to be successful in the running game which wont be easy against a minn defense which is 2nd against the rush. Dallas is 1-4 su and ats when they fail to run for over 100 yds.they dominated in their first playoff game against philly by running the ball and eating up the clock. Include that with the fact that their defense put pressure on mcnabb all day and had 4 sacks plus forced 4 turnovers and thats how you win a game.(minn has allowed 34 sacks this season) they will also need to get barber and jones off to a good start to set up the pass. If dallas can make minn respect the run it opens up the playaction pass which dallas does well. On the other side of the ball the dallas defense has stepped it up recently. They finished the season ranked 2nd in yards allowed but they havent really played up to their potential or been consistent until recently. The dallas defense has only allowed 14 points in their last 3 games and have forced 8 turnovers and 16 sacks in their last 4.they will be facing favre and minn offense which is 2nd in scoring. The dallas defense is soft against the pass, 20th in the league. So look for minn to do what they seem to be doing against everybody lately and pass the ball alot. In most cases i would think this would be an advantage for the cowboys considering favre's gunslinger image. But favre is having one if not the best seasons statistically that he has ever had. Favre has only thrown 7 interceptions this season, if you wanted to know his second lowest total you would have to go all the way back to 1996 when he threw 13! He also has the highest qb rating he has ever had, his 107 qb rating this season is the first time he has had a rating over 100 in his entire career. It may seem like im going on and on about favre but he is 40 years old and he has a qb rating of 108 on attempts 31+. That means he actually gets better when he has high volume passing games. So people may think he takes too many risk but he has managed games better than he ever has. If peterson can get involved early with the running game and keep from turning the ball over minn can slow down the dallas pass rush enough for favre to move down the field. Another big advantage for minn is their home field advantage where minn is 6-2 ats. The metrodome crowd will be loud, so look for dallas to have a few false starts. If the minn defense can pressure romo along with the deafening crowd noise there could be confusion on the dallas offense especially early on. I think this is going to be a close, hard fought game by both teams. It will be very close, coming down to which qb will be able to step up big for their team. I was leaning toward dallas at +3 but the line moved to +2.5 points. The only way i would take dallas in this game is if i bought a point to get +3.5 because i think this will be a very close score. Dallas +2.5 is not enough for me to take them against minn at home in the playoffs. Im also watching the total to see what value i can on the under before game time. It opened at 47 but has dropped to 46 and 45.5 for some sportsbooks. The offenses get most of the attention for these two teams but we will also get to see two of the best defenses. This game has all the makings of a great one.
My picks: Minn-2.5 and the under
My picks: Minn-2.5 and the under
.......Minnesota at home????? WOW, all MFrickin day......@ -3!!!!!!, any day of the week!
