Cowboys vs. Saints Odds, Spread, Over/Under: Thursday Night Football Pick
The Dallas Cowboys will try to ‘get right’ on Thursday Night Football, but will Taysom Hill spoil their plans? Sportsbooks favor the Cowboys by 4.5 points on the spread. Find out how NFL betting expert Nick Galaida is picking this game in this Cowboys vs. Saints preview.
Cowboys vs. Saints Odds
| Cowboys Spread | -6 |
| Saints Spread | +6 |
| Moneyline | -227/+190 |
| Over/Under | 47.5 |
| Date | Thursday, Dec 2. |
| Time | 8:20 p.m. ET |
| TV | NFL Network |
The Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints will open Week 13 of the NFL season on Thursday evening at Caesars Superdome. Dallas will be without a number of personnel members for this contest due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the coaching staff. New Orleans will be starting Tayson Hill at quarterback for the first time this fall, hoping to put an end to their current four game losing streak. Oddsmakers are expecting a relatively easy victory for Dallas, pricing the Cowboys as a five-point road favorite on the spread.
Dallas Cowboys
Though it is far from a sexy injury report, the absence of Head Coach Mike McCarthy, offensive line coach Joe Philbin, and at least three more assistant coaches is a significant loss for this group. In Week 2, the Saints experienced a similar situation in which their coaching staff was decimated ahead of a matchup against the Carolina Panthers. New Orleans scored only seven points in a blowout loss, and struggled to make in-game adjustments. On Thanksgiving, Dallas learned shortly before kickoff that they would be without multiple assistant coaches. The impact was significant enough to play a role in the 7.5 point favorite, Cowboys, losing outright to a Las Vegas Raiders team that had scored 16 points or less in three straight games and had not recorded a win since prior to Halloween.
On top of the losses to the coaching staff, Dallas will be without their starting right tackle, Terence Steele on Thursday. Per McCarthy, La’el Collins and Tyron Smith will be the starting tackles for Thursday’s affair. Amari Cooper, who tested positive for COVID-19 on November 19, was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday. It remains to be seen where his conditioning level is after only getting out of quarantine on Monday. Per Jori Epstein of USA Today, Dallas held what essentially amounted to be a walkthrough practice on both Sunday and Monday.
If there is any good news for Cowboys fans, it is that Ezekiel Elliott and CeeDee Lamb were both full practice participants on Wednesday. Even without Steele, Dallas has one of the best offensive lines in the league, which allows Dak Prescott and his numerous offensive weapons to operate effectively. Defensively, Dallas has held opposing quarterbacks to the fourth-lowest passer rating in the league in 2021, allowing only 15 touchdowns while forcing 15 interceptions. The Cowboys have been much more vulnerable to the run, permitting 4.4 yards-per-carry on the ground.
New Orleans Saints
Update (11 p.m. ET): The Saints have ruled out running back Alvin Kamara from Thursday night’s game against the Cowboys. Following the announcement, oddsmakers moved the consensus line from Saints +4.5 to +6.
New Orleans could look to exploit Dallas’ vulnerability on the ground on Thursday, especially if Alvin Kamara is able to return to the field for the first time since Week 9. Kamara was listed as a limited practice participant each day this week for the Saints, which has led to him being labeled as questionable ahead of kickoff. If Kamara is unable to go, New Orleans will likely feature a heavy dose of Mark Ingram, who was a full practice participant this week after being forced to miss the Saints’ game on Thanksgiving against the Buffalo Bills. New Orleans has a porous offensive line, but they should be able to run the ball with success against a weak Dallas defensive line in this one.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Saints still have an abundance of elite talent. Though this unit surrendered 40 points to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11 and 31 points to the Bills in Week 12, the offense for New Orleans hurt matters by consistently putting this group in poor field position and by failing to control the time of possession. Even after back-to-back abysmal weeks, this defense is allowing a league-best 3.4 yards-per-carry and is top-10 against the pass, measured by opposing quarterback passer rating. On Thursday Night Football, this group should have their best showing since Week 10.
Thursday Night Football Pick & Prediction
The Cowboys injury report does not look terrible when examining it for which players will suit up and which ones will be on the sidelines. However, the absence of a number of coaches has likely hurt both the game day preparation, and will almost certainly have a negative impact on in-game adjustments. New Orleans has done little to impress bettors in recent weeks, but putting Taysom Hill under center could improve their offense, which should lead to better results from the defense as well. If Kamara plays on Thursday, New Orleans has a strong chance to cover the spread at home.
PICK: Saints +4.5 (now Saints +6)
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