NFL Betting Preview -- Eagles-Cowboys May Take On Look of a Pre-Season Game

  • In Charles Jay
  • Sat, Jan 8th, 2022 1:27:50 pm
  • By Charles Jay - Exclusive to OSGA


The Philadelphia Eagles are headed to the playoffs, but they take on the Dallas Cowboys in an all-NFC East regular season finale.


The Dallas Cowboys really humbled the Philadelphia Eagles back on September 27 on the way to a 41-21 victory. But as many BetOnline customers know, the Eagles have become a much different team since then.

We really mean that. That was the third game of the season, and Philly didn't really have an offensive direction.Since that time, however, some key decisions by head coach Nick Sirianni have turned this into a whole different entity on that side of the ball.

As of right now the Eagles have won six of their last seven and are sitting in the #7 spot in the NFC pecking order. They lead the league in rushing, and Sirianni deserves at least some consideration in the Coach of the Year voting.

So it is Philadelphia vs. Dallas at Lincoln Financial Field at 8:15 PM ET. And in the NFL betting odds associated with this game, the Cowboys are the road favorites:

Dallas Cowboys -4
Philadelphia Eagles +4

Over 44.5 Points -110
Under 44.5 Points -110


There are certain things that have to happen for either of these teams to improve their playoff seed, and the coaches have been put in a position where they have to consider whether to put players at risk for the unlikely potential reward. Still, Dallas coach Mike McCarthy has said that he will be playing his starters as much as possible. That does not include running back Tony Pollard, who has one of the highest per-carry averages in the league. And we wonder whether there will be an unusual burden put on Ezekiel Elliott. It is also our understanding that left tackle Tyron Smith is on the COVID list.

And speaking of that, Dallas, among its other players who won't see action, are a couple of its defensive standouts - linebacker Micah Parsons, who has had perhaps the best rookie season of anybody, and Trevon Diggs - as they have been put on the COVID list.

How important should this be to BetOnline customers? Well, the Cowboys' stop unit has found its way to the top of the league in DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average), which is more or less an overall efficiency rating, so expect that group to be compromised.

The big question with the Eagles has been whether to start Gardner Minshew at quarterback in place of Jalen Hurts, who had been dealing with a high ankle sprain but had 44 yards rushing last week against Washington. If Hurts sees action, it might be in a limited capacity, while the presence of Minshew might turn this into a different team offensively, emphasizing the pass more.

Here is their list of COVID restricted players - Fletcher Cox, Dallas Goedert, Jordan Howard, Boston Scott, Nate Herbig, Avonte Maddox, Rodney McLeod, Alex Singleton, Marcus Epps, Genard Avery, and Jack Stoll. Basically that takes their best running backs away, with Howard and Scott sidelined as well as Miles Sanders, who certainly is not going to come back from a hand injury in this game.

So we're not sure what to expect from either side, except that if Dallas was going to put some players from its starting units out there - at least whoever is available - they will play in the first half, like a preseason game. And that might create an advantage for them - enough to lay three points (at -105) in the first half line at BetOnline, where you can enter their $100,000 NFL Playoff Pick'em contest and grab your share of the big loot by picking the spread and totals winners for the NFL playoff games........ Remember that Odds Boosters gives you an opportunity to get explosive payouts on pre-selected parlays every day of the week........ And for deposits, they have a lot of crypto options for you, including Bitcoin!


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