Bucs vs. Cowboys Betting Preview 12/18/16 – Sunday Night Football Odds

Betting Preview

The Buc’s chances of making the playoffs didn’t look to promising at the half way point in the season when they were 3-5 and gave up 43 points in their last loss to Atlanta. But they have since dramatically turned things around and have won five straight games.

Quarterback James Winston has led a very capable offense with over 3300 yards passing and 23 touchdowns and is helped by a rushing game that averages over 104 yards a game. The biggest improvement though has been their defense.

In their first eight games the defense allowed five opponents to score at least 27 points but in their last five games they have not allowed more than 21 points in any game and give up an average of 23 a game. This has allowed them to be sitting in first place in their division tied with Atlanta.

The Cowboys suffered their second loss and had their 11 game winning streak snapped in a 10-7 loss to the Giants in their last game. It was the Giants that also gave them their first loss in the opening game of the season.

Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott didn’t have a very good game against the Giants and it was the first time all year he threw more interceptions than touchdowns in a game. It was also the third straight game he had passed for under 200 yards in a game. Rookie running back Ezekiel Elliot leads the league in rushing on a team that is ranked second in the NFL running the ball while averaging over 26 points a game.

The oddsmakers have made Dallas a seven point favorite and set the total at 46.5. According to Covers.com Consensus Analysis 63% of the public are behind the red hot Bucs while 55% believe the defenses will not be able to keep the total under.

Dallas has won five of their last six meetings while the total has gone under in eight of the last 10 games between these teams.

Previous Meetings

11/15/15: Cowboys 6 @ Bucs 10
09/23/12: Bucs 10 @ Cowboys 16
12/17/11: Cowboys 31 @ Bucs 15

Trends

• The favorite has covered the spread in five of their last seven meetings
• The under is 4-1 in their last five meetings
• The Bucs have covered the spread in their last five games overall.

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