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The Dallas Cowboys return to their home stadium for a Week 9 clash with the Denver Broncos. Dallas is sporting a 6-1 record that comes with a six-game winning streak. The Broncos have clawed their way to a 4-4 record but their wins have come against weaker competition.
Our friends over at DraftKings Sportsbook currently have the Cowboys as 10-point favorites against the Broncos. The Cowboys started as seven-point favorites and that has grown as the week has progressed. The folks over at FiveThirtyEight have the Cowboys at a 73% chance of winning, while ESPN has them at 69.6%.
You can follow the link here for the win percentages of every game for Week 9. You can also get a list of picks for all the games of Week 9 at this location.
As for the Cowboys game, let’s see what people are thinking.
MDS’s take: The Von Miller trade signaled that the Broncos, despite their hot start, don’t see themselves as contenders. I don’t see them as contenders either. With Dak Prescott back, Dallas should cruise.
MDS’s pick: Cowboys 33, Broncos 17.
Florio’s take: Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush, Will Grier, Ben DiNucci, Dominic DeNucci. Doesn’t matter.
Florio’s pick: Cowboys 28, Broncos 20.
We got a unanimous decision the Cowboys will win, but only one prediction for them to cover.
It looks as though the Dallas Cowboys will have MVP-contender Dak Prescott back under center for a home matchup with a Denver Broncos squad that appears to have thrown in the towel at the NFL trade deadline. So it’s not surprising that Dallas is favored by more than a touchdown or that the majority of the panel is willing to lay those nine points.
“I think it’ll be tough for the banged-up Broncos to get up for a difficult road game following the Von Miller trade,” Gagnon said. “But even without that factoring in, we’re talking about a bottom-12 DVOA (Defense-Adjusted Value over Average) team that had lost four in a row before limping past an inferior Washington Football Team at home last week. The Cowboys are the real deal. They should coast.”
Still, Prescott might not be 100 percent, and Dallas might also be without stalwart left tackle Tyron Smith (ankle). With that in mind, we’ll note that only the slimmest possible majority is backing Dallas.
“The Broncos have been sneaky tough this season,” Kenyon said in defense of his Denver selection. “Only a three-point loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 7 separates Denver from being in second place in the AFC West right now. The Cowboys should win this game, but the line feels like it should be closer to -7 than -9.”
Predictions
Davenport: Dallas
Gagnon: Dallas
Kenyon: Denver
O’Donnell: Dallas
Rogers: Denver
Sobleski: Dallas
Score Prediction: Cowboys 31, Broncos 20
Almost everyone is taking Dallas with a projected score to cover the spread.
Given that Dak Prescott was warming up ahead of the Cowboys’ Week 8 matchup, it would be reasonable to expect he might be on the field for the Week 9 game against the Broncos. If he is, then this should be a reasonably one-sided matchup.
Denver got an important win against Washington, but it was hardly convincing.
Broncos vs. Cowboys Prediction: Cowboys 28, Broncos 20
Not quite covering the spread here.
The Broncos are starting to see the wheels come off, despite the fact they got back to. 500 with a limping win over Washington. Teddy Bridgewater is cooling off and the running game will be contained by the Cowboys. Dallas should have Dak Prescott back to operate its offense at the usual high level and go back to throttling a visiting opponent with far less firepower.
Pick: Cowboys win 31-20 and cover the spread.
Another cover.
Over at CBS Sports, you have six of eight NFL writers choosing the Cowboys to cover the spread.
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