Dallas Cowboys at New York Jets (-4.5), Total 40.5 |
The Dallas Cowboys are coming off a disappointing 6-10 campaign and will now be playing their first full year under the direction of head coach Jason Garrett, who knows his team will be walking into an emotional MetLife Stadium on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
“I don’t think in any way it was a regional event,” Garrett commented. “It was an international event. Obviously, it was like none other in our planet’s history, let alone our country’s history.”
Dallas welcomes back starting quarterback Tony Romo to the huddle, after having his 2010 season cut short by suffering a broken clavicle in the sixth game of the season.
Romo still has some dangerous offensive weapons to throw to, including tight end Jason Witten and wide receivers Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. Problem is, New York possesses one of the top secondaries in the league.
Bettors will find that the Cowboys are 2-0 ATS as road underdogs over the past two years and 4-3 ATS in September games.
New York trails the all-time series, 7-2, including a 34-3 loss at Cowboys Stadium as 14.5-point road underdogs on Nov. 22, 2007. In each of the Jets three losses, they’ve failed to score more than seven points.
Jets head coach Rex Ryan is also poised to face his twin brother for the ninth time in their respective careers, leading that particular series with a 5-3 advantage.
The squad has a great shot of making it back to its third consecutive AFC Championship Game, returning 18-of-22 starters, 10 defensive and nine offensively.
One new player that will receive plenty of media attention will be wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who will be playing in his first regular season game in 1,001 days after serving a prison sentence over the last two years.
He will be targeted by third-year quarterback Mark Sanchez, who has accumulated 23 wins in his first two seasons, which is the second most by a signal-caller in the last 40 years.
Jets signal-callers were incredibly sharp during the preseason, connecting on 72-of-121 attempts for 742 yards and a 93.8 passer rating. Sanchez finished 26-of-43 for 280 yards and posted a 102.8 rating.
Bettors will be interested in knowing that the Jets are 4-9 ATS as a home favorite of 3.5 to 10 points and have gone over the total in 18 of their last 24 games.
