It’s November 1 and Week 8’s Sunday slate is upon us. The NFC East is wide open for the taking and the Cowboys are looking to take advantage of the circumstances, so they’re looking to follow up Monday’s win with another one on a short week. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are trying to get back in the hunt as they welcome first-round pick Jeremiyah Love back into the fray for what should be a winnable game on the road.
Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. ET in Dallas. Here’s a preview, prediction and pick for Cardinals vs. Cowboys in NFL Week 8.
Cardinals vs. Cowboys prediction, preview
Arizona enters this week with a 2-5 record to begin the Mike LaFleur era, which isn’t catastrophic by any means, but also hasn’t been too inspiring. The team has plenty of offensive upside, but playing up to the ceiling on a weekly basis is something they’ve struggled with. They average just 20.3 PPG, 26th in the league, though the ranking of 20th in EPA/play is a little bit more encouraging.
The big story this week is the return of No. 3 selection Jeremiyah Love, with the highly-touted RB finally healthy after dealing with ankle injuries over the first few weeks of the season. He’s shown flashes in short bursts – such as a Week 3 performance with 109 scrimmage yards and a touchdown – but is yet to live up to expectations in a split backfield. Ideally, he’ll take back over the top spot and provide some juice for an offense that has sorely needed it over the last couple of weeks with just 34 combined points in the last two games. The Cardinals do have a top-two TE in the league in Trey McBride, who has 59 catches for 472 yards and four touchdowns thus far as the team’s top target. However, WR Michael Wilson has underwhelmed over the last three games since Marvin Harrison Jr. was first inactive and then subsequently traded. He’s clearly a good receiver, but Wilson has averaged just 39.0 receiving yards per game since absorbing more work in a traditional X role after posting 64.5 over the first four weeks, when Harrison Jr. played that part. Either way, he’ll need to return to form in order for Jacoby Brissett to play at his best orchestrating things against a soft defense.
Speaking of defense, the Cardinals have been quite poor in that regard. While they’ve limited teams at times this season, they’re still allowing 29.7 PPG and rank dead last in that stat, falling 28th in EPA/play allowed, too. That’s going to be a major problem against the Cowboys, who have one of the best offenses in the NFL when everything clicks into place.
Dallas enters this week with a 3-4 record, but the team is coming off a standout win over the Eagles back on Monday night. The shorter week may play a slight role with one less day to recover between games, but it may not necessarily be a major factor, either. The Cowboys have the fifth-highest PPG average in the NFL at 27.0, and at fifth in EPA/play with top-eight marks in EPA/dropback and EPA/rush, this is a versatile attack that can win in different ways. They do prefer the pass at third in PROE, which now has Dak Prescott at 1,851 passing yards and a 13-5 TD-INT ratio. In the passing attack, CeeDee Lamb is producing at an elite level with 53 grabs for 651 yards and six touchdowns. George Pickens (questionable; shoulder), who enters with 37 receptions for 485 yards and two touchdowns, has taken something of a backseat after seemingly taking on the lead role last season. The run game is also coming to life, too, with Javonte Williams at 472 rushing yards and eight touchdowns via the ground after his best performance of the season on Monday.
The defense is certainly a problem, though. Dallas is conceding 25.7 PPG, which ranks 23rd in the league, and the unit has been gashed on the ground with 145.7 rushing yards allowed per game. DT Kenny Clark (back) is questionable as well, which further hurts the outlook in that phase of the game.
Cardinals vs. Cowboys pick, best bet
At the time this article was written, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Cowboys as a -7 favorite at home with -310 odds to win on the Moneyline; the Cardinals were a +250 road underdog to win outright with the game total set at 54.5 combined points.
The 54.5-point total is tied for the highest on this week’s slate, and while there’s still a decent chance the over cashes, I’d rather avoid banking on such a lofty line – after all, we saw a matchup that profiled similarly as a shootout between Dallas and Green Bay end 23-13 just a couple of weeks back. I do like getting the Cowboys at an alt line of -6.5 instead, though.
The outlook for points is quite bullish since both teams have bad defenses and plenty of offensive upside, but I’m more comfortable going with Dallas in this spot for one key reason. Even with a 3-4 record, the Cowboys are simply more proven. Who do you trust more at AT&T Stadium – Jacoby and his weapons on the road, or Prescott and his guys at home? The Cowboys also have some positive momentum building after hanging a season-high 38 points on a division rival last week, and even if Pickens plays, I still believe their offense is better in terms of talent. I expect Arizona to put up points, but do think Dallas ultimately wins by a touchdown.
