Two struggling teams collide on Monday Night Football as the Tennessee Titans take on the Dallas Cowboys at the AT&T Stadium in Texas.
The Dallas Cowboys’ decision not to re-sign Dez Bryant in the offseason has left a hole in their offense. And after the Cowboys have alternated losses and wins this season, they traded for Amari Cooper from the Raiders and hope that he will be the playmakers that makes the difference for them.
Cooper caught at least 1,000 yards his first two seasons and averaged 6 touchdown catches in each of his first three seasons. But he’s played just 6 games with 22 catches and 280 yards with 1 touchdown this season. Dallas hopes he is the main target that quarterback Dak Prescott has been looking for all season long. Prescott has thrown for 1,417 yards this season with 8 scores and 4 pick offs this season and experts have cited the lack of weapons as the main reason for his steady decline.
The Tennessee Titans’ 3-4 season has been largely attributed to its lackluster offense which ranks 30th in the league in total offense and in total points scored. Tennessee has scored 20 points or more in just one of seven games this season. With their offense sputtering, Tennessee has lost its last three games
Marcus Mariota is completing 66% of his passes for 1,030 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions. Dion Lewis leads them on the ground with 270 rushing yards and one touchdown. Lewis also has 29 catches while Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor have combined for 617 yards and two touchdowns.
Both teams are 3-4 on the season and the Titans are 1-3 on the road this year while the Cowboys are a spotless 3-0 at home this season. Tennessee is 2-5 SU in their last 7 road games while Dallas is 5-5 SU in their last 10 home games played. The Cowboys have also won their last three Monday Night Football games played.
The Titans showed some offensive progress last week like 6th year back Dion Lewis accounting of 155 yards of total offense against the Chargers, there is still plenty to work on as they are ranked 30th in the NFL in total offense at 280.9 yards per game and in total points scored at 99 points. But Mariota doesn’t have too many passing options as the Titans lack a playmaker. Corey Davis had nine catches for 161 yards and a score against the Eagles but he’s totalled eight catches and 83 receiving yards in his last three outings.
On the other hand, the Cowboys have added Amari Cooper via trade. They used their bye week to incorporate him to the offense and they hope he’s learned enough to play meaningful minutes in this game. Otherwise, the Cowboys will run with the tried and tested Ezekiel Elliott, a formula which has worked at home. Dallas’ three wins have come in their home field and Tennessee simply cannot be trusted with their offense sputtering. We’re picking the Dallas Cowboys to beat the Tennessee Titans on 11/5/18.
Tennessee is 4-3 ATS in seven games this season while Dallas is 3-4 ATS in their seven games played this season. The Titans are 2-2 ATS in four road games this year while the Cowboys are 2-1 ATS in three home games this season. Head to head, the Titans are 3-1 ATS in their last 5 games against the Cowboys.
The Titans are 11-23 ATS in their last 34 road games and 2-5-1 ATS in their last 8 games after a bye week. Dallas is 9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 games against teams with losing records and 13-6 ATS in their last 19 games following a bye week.
Despite losing only by an average margin of 7.6 points per game during their current three game losing schedule, the Titans have scored 20 points or fewer all but one of their first seven games. On the other hand, the Cowboys have alternated losses and wins this season and their three wins have been by an average winning margin of 14 points. The Dallas offense is getting a boost with Amari Cooper while the Titans’ offense is one of the worst in the league. I don’t like betting on Dallas with a premium but I don’t like to bet on an offense like Tennessee’s either. I’ll choose the lesser evil. Prediction: Cowboys -6.5
The total has gone under in five out of the last six games of the Titans and the under is 4-2 in Tennessee’s last six games on the road. The under is also 9-2 in Dallas’ last 11 games played and 5-1 in Tennessee’s last 6 games overall. The total has also gone under in 13 out of the last 16 games overall of Dallas.
I’m not sure how many times I’ve said this in the preview: Tennessee has one of the worst offenses in the NFL. But that’s worth reiterating because that’s the bottomline in this game. Dallas is adding offensive firepower in Amari Cooper but against a poor offense like the Titans, scoring 40 points will be an uphill climb. The trends also back it so I’m going to pick it. Prediction: Under 41
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