NFL Odds – Dallas Tries to Justify Elite Status Against Tennessee in Week 5

The NFL odds makers almost unanimously had the Dallas Cowboys as part of the upper echelon before the season started. In Week 5, they will need a win to stay in contention in an already underwhelming NFC East Conference.

The Tennessee Titans pay a visit to Cowboys Stadium on Sunday attempting to squash any talk of a season turnaround for Jerry Jones’ squad.

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TENNESSEE TITANS (2-2) vs. DALLAS COWBOYS (1-2)

Sunday, October 10, 4:15 PM ET
Cowboys Stadium
Dallas, Texas

Broadcast: CBS

NFL Lines:

Tennessee: +6 1/2 (-110)
Dallas: -6 1/2 (-110)

Moneyline: Tennessee +240: Dallas -290
Total: 41 1/2 points

The NFL oddsmakers appear to have forgotten about Dallas’ poor start and have installed them as 6 ½ point favorites against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon. It’s a pretty big spread considering that the Titans could easily be 3-1 on the season if not for a costly mistake late in last week’s game against the Denver Broncos.

The Titans have not exactly been a scintillating offensive team so far this season. They have the 30th ranked passing offense and the eighth ranked rushing offense in the league. Surprisingly, they have the seventh ranked scoring offense.

Vince Young has been pedestrian at best and has already been benched for ineffective play. He has not been asked to throw a lot, but when he has thrown, he has not done much. His highest output of the season was last week when he passed for a whopping 173 yards.

That leave Chris Johnson to carry the load and he hasn’t been all that good lately. He has been held to under 60 yards rushing in two of his past three games and NFL odds are that he will struggle again this week against a Dallas team that has allowed only one 100 yard rusher in two years.

Tennessee’s defense has reemerged. They are 8th overall, lead the NFL in sacks with 16, but are weak in their secondary. They have given up a mind boggling 672 yards passing in their past two games!

If the Dallas Cowboys want to be considered a Top NFL team, they are going to have to win this week, and win big. And this is a good week to do so – the Cowboys are 16-5 in their last 21 games after a bye week.

The fourth ranked passing game should flourish and NFL odds are that the bye week helped out the struggling 26th ranked rushing game. Dallas is still an elite offensive team that appeared as if they were in a slump at the beginning of the season.

The Dallas defense is good, although the wins and losses dictate otherwise. In their last game they woke up, generated some much needed turnovers and sacks and played as the unit that we were all expecting.

Am I worried about Dallas? No!

NFL Odds Outlook:

Tennessee is 10-4 S/U in their last 14 games, is 4-1 S/U in their last five on the road, 18-8 ATS in their last 26 as an underdog and 9-0 S/U against non-conference teams. However, Tennessee is jus 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall.

Dallas is 7-2 S/U in their last nine games at home and 5-1 ATS in their last six games coming off a bye.

Dallas is ready to emerge from their doldrums. They are a much better team than their 1-2 record indicates. On the flip side, Tennessee may be worse than their 2-2 record indicates, particularly with the way that Vince Young and Chris Johnson have been playing.

I have faith in the Cowboys – they need to make a statement and they will do so this weekend. Look out NFC East – you should have buried the Cowboys when you had the chance.

NFL Odds Pick: Dallas Cowboys – 6 ½