The New Orleans Saints knew things might be a little different when Drew Brees retired after the 2020 season. They didn't know who the quarterback was going to be, but Jameis Winston won the job and was working out okay until he hurt his knee and was lost for the season.

BetOnline customers did not see Taysom Hill take over at that point; instead it was Trevor Siemian, more or less a journeyman. He engineered a win over Tampa Bay, but things have gone south with three straight losses.

Injuries have played a part as well. Alvin Kamara will now be missing his fourth straight game as the Saints play host to the Dallas Cowboys at the Superdome, with kickoff at 8:20 PM ET on Fox and NFL Network.

Kamara was ruled out with a knee injury a short time ago, and so Mark Ingram and Ty Montgomery will have to carry the load in the run game.

And that run game should have a new dimension as Hill is apparently being given the start by head coach Sean Payton. the former BYU star, who had a history of injuries there, is not a polished NFL passer, but Payton has a tremendous amount of faith in him.

Whatever Hill hopes to do with dropbacks, however, is going to be affected by absences on the offensive line. More on that in a second.

With the injury edge tilting greatly in Dallas' favor, so has a lot of the support from bettors, so the line has moved upward at BetOnline:

Dallas Cowboys -6.5 (-113)
New Orleans Saints +6.5 (-107)

Over 45.5 points -110
Under 45.5 points -110

The Saints will be missing both of their starting offensive tackles, Terron Amstead and Ryan Ramczyk, and that really puts them behind the eight-ball. To be missing Kamara's two-way talents (rushing and receiving) is one thing, but it's going to be a lot more difficult doing business on the ground without two pillars of the offensive front. Don't forget that the Saints are already without Michael Thomas, the record-setting wide receiver who won't see the field this season. And tight end Adam Trautman has an MCL sprain. So he's out too.

The Cowboys' injury picture is much better. That's because Dak Prescott will have his top two receivers on hand. Amari Cooper did not really have an injury that kept him out; he was on the COVID list. But he is activated and should play. CeeDee Lamb is also out of concussion protocol.

And things could be easier for the Cowboys because of the absence of Marcus Davenport and Tanoh Kpassagnon. This puts additional pressure on the secondary. And we're thinking that New Orleans won't be as good as their league-leading 3.4 yards allowed per carry. That's good news for Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard.

Hill recently signed a four-year contract extension with the Saints which will pay him more than twice as much if he is able to become the starting QB and keep the job. So if Payton had so much confidence in him, why didn't he give him the starting job earlier? That's a legitimate question, which might be answered for a guy who has completed seven of eight passes this season.

The Cowboys will do without head coach Mike McCarthy, who is on the shelf with COVID, as are four assistants. Maybe that doesn't turn out to be a big factor.

Yea, maybe the number doesn't have "value." But the fact is, we saw a stripped-down version of the Saints get throttled 31-6 last Thursday by Buffalo. This offensive line problem is very important, so we lean with Dallas and also make a play on the "under" in this one.

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