The Dallas Cowboys may be, and as it turns out, they are, NFL online betting favorites against the Arizona Cardinals, but that doesn’t change the fact that, like Lucy, Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott got some splainin’ to do. It’s not like any one is clamoring for Alfred Morris, or, even worse, for the Cowboys to sign Colin Kaepernick, but Dallas should bring John Cena to the locker room, because these young Cowboys might just need an attitude adjustment.
LaDainian Tomlinson rips Ezekiel Elliott, saying the Cowboys RB "quit on his team" https://t.co/1GQM5bkDNf
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 18, 2017
- Date: Monday, 25th September
- Time: 8:35 PM
- Venue: University of Phoenix Stadium
- Online sportsbook NFL betting website odds:
Cowboys -3 (-119) 47 (-105) -165
Cardinals +3 (-102) 47 (-115) +144
To say that Elliott was uninspired in Dallas’ soul-crushing 17-42 to the Denver Broncos on Sunday would be an understatement as big as Zeke’s own understated and underwhelming eight-yard performance – a personal career low. But, as the Bard would say, the most unkindest cut of all was the fact that Elliott couldn’t even be bothered to chase down interceptions. One could argue that Prescott shouldn’t be throwing picks to start with, but still.
“It’s definitely not me,” the running back said per NFL.com. “It’s definitely not the type of player I am. It’s definitely not who I am for this team. I just can’t do that. I was frustrated and I wasn’t myself.”
“I would say I was just very frustrated, but that’s no excuse for the lack of effort I showed on tape. And I just can’t do that. Being one of the leaders on the team and being a guy that people count on, I can’t put that type of stuff on film,” Elliott added, and he’s right, you know. There is absolutely no excuse for not at the very least trying to cover the NFL online betting spread, which the Cowboys have failed to do in seven of their last nine games, four of their last five at home, and four of their last six visits to Arizona. Being the favorite is not guarantee, either; Dallas is 2-6 against the spread in their last eight games as a fave.
The good news for the Dak Pak is that Sunday’s performance was the exception rather than the norm (Norm!). “I don’t buy into that [a blueprint for beating the Cowboys]. I think we just didn’t play our game and we didn’t execute the way that we should or we normally do,” Prescott said via ESPN. “I kind of encourage teams and hope teams give us that same scheme and those same matchups. I’m not buying it.” The Cards are, according to the Cowboys official website, “constructed [defensively] in a way that could give the Cowboys trouble,” but never in a million years as much trouble as the Broncos defense gave Dallas, and that alone is reason for optimism. The Cowboys have yet to break the 20-point mark in a single game this season, but, even if the NFL online betting total goes under, as has been the case in 11 of Dallas’s last 14 road games, and four of their last six games in Arizona, they could still do enough damage to pick up the W.