Cowboys receive huge sign of respect from oddsmakers ahead of Week 18
When the Dallas Cowboys traveled to Washington to face the Commanders in Week 18 of last season, their motivation level was quite hard to figure out. On the one hand, they had a shot at stealing away the NFC East. On the other, it would've taken a miracle to make it happen as the Philadelphia […]
When the Dallas Cowboys traveled to Washington to face the Commanders in Week 18 of last season, their motivation level was quite hard to figure out.
On the one hand, they had a shot at stealing away the NFC East. On the other, it would've taken a miracle to make it happen as the Philadelphia Eagles looked incapable of losing, which needed to take place. They were up 16-0 by halftime, which might've impacted the Cowboys' approach in the second half, too.
The whole thing resulted in one of the weirdest games of the Mike McCarthy era in Dallas. A half-motivated Cowboys squad that decided to played its starters against the Commanders seemed to have woken up with the wrong foot.
Dak Prescott threw an ugly interception on an out route. Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott totaled 29 yards in 15 combined attempts. The Cowboys averaged 2.8 yards per play and were 4-of-18 on third down. Ultimately, they lost 26-6 and moved on to the playoffs as a Wild Card squad.
This year, things should be different for the Cowboys. This time around, their motivation to win is colossal. They're seating in the driver's seat of the NFC East and control the No. 2 seed in the conference. Win and you play at home in the playoffs for at least two games, provided you win in the Wild Card round. It doesn't get better than this.
Ahead of the game, which has been recently scheduled for Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET, oddsmakers let us know that they aren't really fearing a letdown spot from the Cowboys. Las Vegas is making Dallas 13.5-point favorites over the Commanders for the regular season finale.
This isn't only a large spread, but it's an indirectly large show of respect considering it's almost the exact same spread the San Francisco 49ers received when facing the same Commanders team at Washington last weekend (they opened at -14). The Niners beat the Commanders 27-10.
Now granted, the Cowboys aren't quite at the level of the Niners. But the oddsmakers might be higher on them than the general public if they're power rating them almost the same as they are San Fran.
Of course, betting spreads don't tell the whole story. Heck, the Cowboys were favorites by 13.5 in Week 3 and they lost in Arizona. Not to mention, the same Cardinals team upset the Eagles, who were also 13.5-point favorites on Sunday.
But oddsmakers are also incredibly accurate in how they view teams. Let's see if the Cowboys deliver in Week 18 by securing the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
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