The Dallas Cowboys will host the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football to close down the Week 9 NFL slate. Jacoby Brissett will be making the start for the Cardinals with Kyler Murray still recovering from a foot issue.
Arizona enters with a 2-5 record on the season while the Cowboys sit at 3-4-1 on the year. Dak Prescott has played at a high level, but Dallas’ continued defensive struggles have weighed down the team.
Looking at the odds for the matchup, the Cowboys enter as 3.5-point favorites and hold -175 odds on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Cardinals hold +145 odds of getting the outright victory with the game total set at 53.5 points.
There are plenty of ways to get involved in the action beyond just backing a side. This article will look at my three favorite prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for the Week 9 Monday Night Football matchup between the Cardinals and Cowboys.
Cardinals at Cowboys Best Prop Bets
Javonte Williams Over 66.5 Rushing Yards (-113)
After spending the first four seasons of his career with the Denver Broncos, Javonte Williams signed with the Cowboys this offseason and is in the midst of a career resurgence. He is playing 73.2% of the offensive snaps and has tallied 14+ touches in every game thus far. Williams has been productive in these opportunities, rushing for 633 yards and eight rushing scores across the first eight games. The former second-round pick is posting an impressive 5.1 yards per carry and leads the entire NFL with 34 rushes for first downs. Williams has 124 rushing attempts on the season with Dak Prescott the next-most on the team at 25.
He will look to add to his strong start against a Cardinals defense that has struggled this season. They rank 12th in points allowed and 21st in yards given up overall as well as 14th in net yards per rush attempt and 12th in rushing yards allowed. The game total is high for this matchup and Dallas has shown little ability to stop anyone defensively this year. Expect the Cowboys to keep their foot on the gas from a scoring standpoint throughout and for Williams to be leaned on at a high rate.
Overall, Williams is averaging 79.1 rushing yards per game and has posted rushing totals of 54, 97, 76, 85, 135, 29, 116 and 41. He also has run the ball better at home this year, with rushing totals of 85, 97 and 116 in these three matchups. Expect him to provide a necessary balance to Dallas’ passing attack tonight and see plenty of chances with the ball in his hands. The game script is in his favor and count on Williams rushing for over 66.5 rushing yards for the sixth time this season.
Zonovan “Bam” Knight Anytime Touchdown (+140)
The Arizona backfield is a bit more of a mystery compared to Dallas. No member of the team has more than 35 rush attempts on the season and multiple players will be expected to get carries today. But Trey Benson and James Conner remain on IR and Zonovan “Bam” Knight will be braced for the bulk of the production. Head coach Jonathan Gannon told the media he will be the first running back to receive an opportunity, but it will depend on the game for how the touches are broken up and how involved Michael Carter and Emari Demercado will be.
The area I am most confident Knight will get work is in the red zone. He has played a team-leading 47.5% of the backfield snaps with 25 carries across the past two games. This includes a team-high seven red-zone carries in the last three games. Knight has scored twice in the past three games.
While their high-powered offense serves as their identity, the Dallas Cowboys have a pretty convincing argument for the worst defense in the league. They rank 31st in points and yards allowed, 30th in rushing yards conceded and 26th in net yards per rush attempt. Dallas is allowing the fifth-highest red-zone scoring percentage and Arizona will have a path to moving the ball behind Jacoby Brissett. Six of Knight’s seven red-zone carries over the past three weeks have been inside the 10-yard line. Count on Arizona having chances to put points on the board and for Knight to be a top option when it is near the goal line. Getting +140 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook feels like great value given the level of opportunity and matchup.
CeeDee Lamb to Record 100+ Receiving Yards (+161)
CeeDee Lamb has missed three games this season due to a high-ankle sprain and failed to register a catch in the game he got injured. But he has resumed his place as one of the top wide receivers in football since getting healthy. The four-time Pro Bowler has tallied 28 receptions for 408 yards and a touchdown on the season, posting receiving totals of 74, 110, 112 and 110 in the four full games he has played. The lone game that he fell below 110 yards came against the Broncos. Denver’s defense ranks fourth in points allowed, third in yards given up, sixth in receiving yards allowed, second in net yards per pass attempt and fifth in EPA per pass play this season. Even still, Lamb had 74 yards on seven receptions and 10 targets.
He will now face a Cardinals defense that ranks 24th in passing yards allowed and 20th in EPA per pass play. The standard receiving prop for the Cowboys’ star is set at 81.5 yards on DraftKings Sportsbook. But he has surpassed triple digits in three of the four full games he has played and has averaged as many as 102.3 receiving yards per game over the course of the season before.
Given its defensive shortcomings, Dallas needs to put up points at a significant rate and put its high-powered offense on display. Lamb is an essential part of this and will see plenty of pass volume in his direction. His 8.4 targets per game rank 12th in the league and if you take out the game he left due to injury, he would be averaging 10.5 targets per game. This trails only Drake London and Ja’Marr Chase in the entire NFL. Don’t expect the Cowboys to let their foot off the gas at any point and give Lamb plenty of opportunities to make plays. I am backing him to record 100+ receiving yards for the fourth time this season at the +161 odds.
