Cowboys at the Raiders, NFL football Betting Pick
Dallas @ Oakland nfl betting Pick and Preview
Led by Tony Romo, the Cowboys finished a disappointing 9-7 last season (7-9 AGAINST THE SPREAD), putting the pressure on the third year starter and head coach Wade Phillips. Phillips finds himself on the hot seat after Dallas missed the playoffs last season, particularly after losing 3 of their last 4 games in December to end the season. Still, despite Romo’s woeful 5-10 record as a starter in December and January, the Cowboys are +1200 to win the Super Bowl, one of the top teams according to Vegas and several online sports betting sites.
Gone is star wide receiver headache Terrell Owens (Buffalo), but the Cowboys may actually benefit from losing Owens, who was a frequent headache. However, Dallas also had to fill the starter role for defensive end Chris Canty (NY Giants), Greg Ellis (Oakland), Roy L. Williams (Cincinnati) and Zach Thomas (Kansas City). The lingering question: how will the Cowboys fare in their first season at their brand new state of the art stadium, which cost owner Jerry Jones $1.5 billion.
The Cowboys travel to Oakland, where the two teams will meet for the first time since 2005. Oakland is a terrible 24-72 in their last six seasons, but owner Al Davis opened up his checkbook yet again, spending more than $200 million in the off season to acquire rookie wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, giving second year quarterback JaMarcus Russell a viable receiving option. Russell should benefit from the addition of veteran backup quarterback Jeff Garcia, as the Raiders finished dead last in passing yards per game last season.
Despite a 5-11 record (7-9 AGAINST THE SPREAD), the Raiders hold a 1 point advantage heading into the game against the Cowboys. Vegas and online sports books do not seem to believe in Oakland as much as Davis does, putting the Raiders at +7500 to win the Super Bowl.
For our NFL football betting pick, take the Raiders -1.
