Saints Cowboys Score Prediction
The Dallas Cowboys(3-0) visit the New Orleans Saints (2-1) at Mercedes-Benz Superdome Sunday of Week 4. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET.
The NFL’s most dominant team will take on the league’s most overhyped when the New Orleans Saints roll into Jerry World to take on the Dallas Cowboys. The Saints have been on a 10-game heater this season, beating teams by an average of 16.1 points per game and are the clear favorite to win the Super Bowl. The Cowboys have been playing some decent ball lately, winning three. The FNIA crew shares their Sunday Night 7 picks for next week's SNF game between the Cowboys and Saints in New Orleans. The FNIA crew shares their Sunday Night 7 picks for next week's SNF game between the Cowboys and Saints in New Orleans. Watch NFL NHL NBA MLB Soccer NASCAR Motors Golf Horses Oly NCAA FB On Her Turf.
The Cowboys have won three straight games while covering the spread in each contest. Meanwhile, the Saints won a huge road test in Seattle last Sunday by a score of 33-27.
Cowboys at Saints: Week 4 preview, betting trends and notes
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Cowboys at Saints: Key injuries
Cowboys WR Michael Gallup(knee) is out again for Week 4 but Amari Cooper is 100%. WR Tavon Austin is also fully ready to go.
As for the Saints, Bridgewater will have OL Terron Armstead blocking for him as he is off the injury report. QB Drew Brees is expected to miss at least another 5-7 weeks (thumb).
Saints Game Prediction
Cowboys at Saints: Odds, betting lines and prediction
NFL odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Saturday at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Prediction
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Saints 31, Cowboys 27
Moneyline (?)
The Saints get the edge at home against a Cowboys team playing a team with a winning record coming off a big win. The +125 odds for the Saints to win outright, however, is intriguing with a $10 wager returning a profit of $12.50.
Against the Spread (?)
The +2.5 is a solid number to get behind with the Saints. Get the Saints at +2.5 with +100 odds returning a profit of $10 on a $10 wager even if they lose by as many as two points.
Over/Under (?)
Lean slightly to the OVER 46.5 (-121). Make it a small-unit play regardless of the projected score. This comes down to pace early. If the Saints can get Alvin Kamara in open space early, the over hits with ease.
Chris’s NFL betting record: 8-6
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The New Orleans Saints’ season could end in just a few days. That’s what’s at stake in their Divisional Round game: single-loss elimination. It just adds more pressure onto them to take care of business against a familiar opponent in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Bucs quarterback Tom Brady has never been beaten three times in a single season, a fact that’s been all the rage in the discourse surrounding this matchup. But Brady had never been beaten twice in a single season before the Saints did it, so don’t let that weigh too heavily on your mind. Besides, three-game sweeps are more common than the narratives might suggest.
Anyway: let’s dive into the matchup and take a shot at maybe our final score prediction of the year.
Saints' keys to success
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Will Trey Hendrickson be cleared to play? His neck injury has slowed him down for a few weeks now, but he’s been practicing on a limited basis, so he should at least be questionable for Sunday; we’ll know for certain once the Friday injury report rolls out. But getting him back would be huge. Pro Football Focus credited him with 10 pressures in two games with Tampa Bay this year (including three sacks), and he’s outright taken over drives at times with constant pressure off Brady’s blind side. If he can’t play, it means the Saints will have to manufacture pressure with blitzes and mismatches, like lining David Onyemata and Cameron Jordan up against weak links in the Buccaneers line. Which, to be fair, they should be doing anyway.
On offense, New Orleans should continue to enjoy the mismatches they’ve found against the Buccaneers defense. They’ve targeted linebacker Devin White in the run game, where he’s logged half of his missed tackles on the year in two games with the Saints. Alvin Kamara makes everyone look bad, but he’s a tough matchup for White specifically. Look for the Saints to go after him again on Sunday. In the passing game, it’s best that they avoid Carlton Davis altogether after his strong Week 1 game with Michael Thomas. The rest of the Bucs secondary is vulnerable enough to where trying to win that one-on-one matchup isn’t worth the hassle.
Saints' biggest concerns
Saints Vs Cowboys Score
AP Photo/Jason Behnken
Can the protection hold up? New Orleans should match up well with the Buccaneers edge rushers, but Ndamukong Suh can win inside much like Akiem Hicks did a week ago against rookie guard Cesar Ruiz. And Tampa Bay should try to dial up more blitzes than in the past to avoid letting their linebackers be picked on in coverage. The interior trio of Ruiz, Erik McCoy, and Andrus Peat must be on top of their game while tackles Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk focus on corralling Shaquill Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul.
On defense, the Saints secondary must compete against every pass. Brady has been on fire since they last saw him, benefiting hugely from the addition of receiver Antonio Brown (who has caught at least one touchdown pass in each of his last four games). While Brown hasn’t put up huge receiving numbers himself, the attention he commands from defenders has freed up opportunities for teammates Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Tampa’s run game is the weakest among teams left in the playoffs — averaging just 94.9 rushing yards per game — so it’s vital for the Saints defense to take that element away quickly and force Brady to step up in the face of their pass rush.
Final score prediction
Cowboy Vs Saint
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Maybe Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles calls a different game than he has in four previous meetings with the Saints and successfully pressures Brees into making too many mistakes. Maybe Bruce Arians takes a different approach on offense and gives Brady more options underneath the New Orleans coverage rather than hoping for the home-run opportunities that just aren’t there.
At this point in the rivalry, the sample size is too broad to ignore. The Saints offense has scored 30.8 points per game since Arians and Bowles were hired (not including a couple of defensive touchdown returns), while allowing just 16.7 points per game on defense against Tampa Bay. It’s possible the vaunted postseason version of Brady finally appears, but this one shouldn’t be close now that the Saints have all of their weapons back.
Vikings Saints Score Prediction
Final score: Saints 34, Bucs 24