Cardinals vs Cowboys Monday Night Analysis

The Dallas Cowboys season took a massive blow last week, as QB Dak Prescott left the game with a gruesome ankle injury. He is done for the year, which means they will ride with backup QB Andy Dalton.

[ See also the Cardinals Cowboys prop bets story for three top picks ]

The Cowboys will take on a 3-2 Arizona Cardinals team that beat the lowly New York Jets last week. Dallas is 0-5 ATS this year, however my Cardinals Cowboys pick predicts they will curb that trend on Monday Night Football.

We don’t always agree with Trend Dummy’s deep data dives, but he came up with the facts that Arizona is 2-11-1 ATS in their last 14 games played on a Monday and just 1-5 ATS at Dallas. Then he found Dallas at 8-3 ATS in their past 11 as an underdog and 4-1 ATS in their past five Monday Nighters.

Cardinals Cowboys Odds: -1.5 Arizona Total 55 at BetRivers | Matchup Report 

Dallas has been hit by the injury bug more than any other team this season. They currently have 11 players on IR, and will be without their starting Quarterback, Right Tackle and Left Tackle the rest of the way. 

This looks like a good matchup for the Dallas offense, considering how awful the Cardinals run defense has been the past two weeks. They gave up 123 rushing yards last week against the Jets, and 174 yards Week 4 against the Panthers. I am expecting a healthy dose of Zeke in this game, considering that Dalton is taking reigns. 

The Cowboys defense also took a step in the right direction last week, as they held Daniel Jones to only 222 passing yards and a QBR of 60.4. The Cowboys will have their hands full with Kyler Murray this week, but the Cardinals run game has struggled. 

And hey, maybe Trend Dummy’s positive Dallas, negative Arizona trends will add up to a Cowboys cover here.

Why the Cardinals can cover the spread

The Cardinals are back on the right track, after their “get right” win against the Jets. The Cardinals are going to need QB Kyler Murray to play better, as he has 8 TDs and 6 INTS this season. 

The Cardinals offense should be able to put up some point against the Cowboys. The Cowboys defense has been atrocious this season. They have given up the 6th most yards per game, and haven’t held an opponent under 30 points since Week 1.

DeAndre Hopkins has been everything the Cardinals could have asked for this season, and he will have another favorable matchup on Sunday. 

Cardinals Cowboys pick

The Cowboys match up well against the Cardinals, who will be without Chandler Jones the rest of the season, which will cripple their pass rush. The Cowboys will rally around their backup QB at home and steal this one in a close, high-scoring game.