Monday Night Football Picks: Eagles vs. Cowboys Odds & Predictions
NFL Week 3 concludes with an NFC East showdown in Arlington, Texas. Can Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith and the Eagles take advantage of a vulnerable Cowboys defense and keep apace of Dak Prescott? Sports betting analyst Nick Galaida previews both teams and gives you his Monday Night Football pick. For more NFL betting tips, check out Eagles vs. Cowboys player props.
Eagles vs. Cowboys Odds
| Eagles Odds | +3.5 |
| Cowboys Odds | -3.5 |
| Over/Under | 51 |
| Date | Monday, Sept. 27 |
| Time | 8:20 p.m. |
| TV | ESPN |
The Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys will conclude an exciting Week 3 of action on Monday Night Football at AT&T Stadium. Considering that this is an intra-division contest between two sub-par football teams, it is no surprise to see oddsmakers expecting a closely-contested affair, pricing Dallas as only a field goal favorite on the spread.
Let’s take a deeper look at the matchup to see where bettors can find value at sportsbooks in this contest.
Philadelphia Eagles +3.5 (-110)
Week 3 has been the week of the underdog with the Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, and Green Bay Packers all collecting a victory on Sunday. The Eagles will try to keep up that trend when they travel to take on their division rival.
In Week 1, the Eagles surprised a lot of bettors with a dominant 32-6 win on the road against the Falcons. In Week 2, they surprised a lot of people again, by hanging close with the San Francisco 49ers all the way until the closing seconds of a 17-11 loss. Quarterback Jalen Hurts has been excellent through the first two games of the year, but did exhibit some of his toxic traits against the 49ers, making risky throws, and holding on to the ball too long at times. Hurts has looked good from the pocket in 2021, especially when kept clean. Philadelphia’s offensive line should have a better performance on Monday compared to their Week 2 performance against one of the toughest defensive lines in football.
The Eagles’ defense held the Falcons to only six points in their season opener, and kept the 49ers in-check as well, allowing only 17 points. San Francisco did a better job than Atlanta of designing a plethora of quick, short throws—which operated to neutralize the impact of Philadelphia’s defensive front. Still, the Eagles were tough in the running game, holding the 49ers to 3.1 yards per carry. This accomplishment is especially noteworthy when considering the usual dominance of San Francisco’s offensive line. In the secondary, Steven Nelson and Darius Slay have been sensational to start the fall. Philadelphia’s main vulnerability tonight is check down passes to the running back and the deep-ball. If Nick Sirianni can devise some creative defensive coverages to mitigate those concerns, Philadelphia should be able to deliver another strong defensive performance.
Dallas Cowboys -3.5 (-110)
Dallas has started the 2021 campaign with back-to-back tough tests on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Chargers. In Week 1, they were unable to stop Tom Brady on a game-winning drive—losing a heartbreaker 31-29. Last week, they were able to make Justin Herbert very uncomfortable in the fourth quarter, and led a game-winning drive of their own to secure a 20-17 victory and avoid an 0-2 start.
Dak Prescott has not been great to start the year, but he has looked relatively healthy as he gets reacclimated to live game action after a devastating injury ended his season in 2020. The offensive line has been better than expected with Tyron Smith, Connor Williams, and Zack Martin doing a great job against two outstanding defensive lines to open the year. Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard are shaping up to be one of the most dynamic running back duos in football, with Pollard once again looking like the best option out of the backfield in Week 2. If Dallas can replicate their game plan against the Buccaneers, designing a number of quick, short passes, they should be able to put some points on the board this evening.
The defensive side of the ball is where most of the Cowboys’ question marks remain. Outside of Micah Parsons, there are no clear-cut stars in this unit. Damontae Kazee and Jayron Kearse have played well at safety to begin the season, but Anthony Brown and Trevon Diggs have been social distance paragons at cornerback through two weeks. Still, this group has collectively done an okay job against two dynamic offenses. Dallas should have an easier test on Monday against Jalen Hurts than they have each of the last two weeks against the Buccaneers and the Chargers.
Eagles vs. Cowboys
Earlier this week, I selected the Cowboys in my pick’em article to win this intra-division matchup in prime time, but they were my least confident selection of the 16 game slate. Dallas has numerous offensive weapons, but the vulnerabilities on the defensive side of the ball make them a risky play on the spread in this one.
Philadelphia might not have enough to win this game outright, but they should be able to keep it close. So far in Week 3, there have been four games decided by a field goal or less. Expect a tightly-contested affair tonight. Bet the Eagles on the favorable side of three-points tonight, but make it a small play.
PICK: Eagles +3.5 (-110)
Prop Bet
In Week 1, Pollard totaled four receptions on four targets. Last week against the Los Angeles Chargers, Pollard secured all three of his targets and had 16 total touches in the game. The Philadelphia Eagles have one of the weaker linebacker units in the league, which could make check-down passes to the running back, a spot that the Dallas Cowboys look to exploit on Monday. Going back to the end of 2020, Pollard has caught three or more passes in four of the last five games that he has seen the field. His role in the Dallas backfield appears to be expanding every week. Bettors should consider a small play on this player prop.
PROP: Tony Pollard o2.5 receptions (-113)
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