Dallas at Philadelphia Week 17 NFL Lines & Betting Preview

This meeting between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles will be the 118th in their NFC East rivalry — although it may turn out to be one of the most meaningless. Dallas is already eliminated from the postseason thanks to their punchless performance against Seattle at home a week ago, while the Eagles used a stout defense to overcome the Oakland Raiders, 19-10, on Monday Night Football and have secured home field advantage all the way to the Super Bowl, should they advance that far. The Eagles delivered one of several embarrassing losses that Dallas has taken this season when the teams met in Texas back on November 19, rolling to a 37-9 win in a game that Dallas actually led at halftime. Let’s consider your NFL lines options for this regular season finale.

Dallas at Philadelphia Week 17 NFL Lines & Betting Preview

The @CowboysBreak brings you their last game preview of the year for week 17.https://t.co/BhY4WqylcG pic.twitter.com/aIk3Ps7ils

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) December 29, 2017

When: Sunday, December 31, 1:00pm ET Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia TV: FOX Radio: KRLD 105.3 FM Dallas / WIP 940 AM Philadelphia Live Stream: NFL Live NFL Lines: Dallas (-3), O/U 38.5

Latest NFL Lines Trends

• Cowboys are 2-4-1 ATS in their last 7 games
• Cowboys are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games on the road
• The total went UNDER in 6 of Dallas’s last 8 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
• Eagles are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games at home
• Eagles are 12-1 SU in their last 13 games
• The total went UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia’s last 6 games

Why should you bet on the Cowboys?

Dallas is good at rolling up yards between the 20-yard lines, but even in the three-game winning streak they had built before losing to the Seahawks, they showed a penchant for relying on field goals, because they could not punch it into the end zone despite having a vaunted offensive line. Ezekiel Elliott returned from a six-game suspension last week, but that didn’t stop the Cowboys’ coaching staff from calling for pass plays on first- and second-and-goal inside the five yard line in the fourth quarter. Dallas also turned the ball over three times (one of which was a pick-six). Given the physical style of defense that the Eagles play, it’s hard to see this changing. The Dallas defense has actually played well since the return of Sean Lee at linebacker. They only permitted two offensive touchdowns by the Seahawks, but when the team has to rely on the secondary, a unit that is very young tends to either get torched or give up huge pass interference penalties in clutch time. Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown are both speedy corners who show promise but who really don’t have any business in an NFL starting lineup at this point. So even though the Eagles will have Nick Foles at quarterback in the absence of Carson Wentz, I see the Eagles being able to find targets like Alshon Jeffery at will against this bargain-basement secondary that the Cowboys assembled for this season.

Why should you put your money on the Eagles?

The Eagles did struggle last week. They only gained 216 yards of total offense, as Nick Foles was very inaccurate with his passing. His offensive line, which has been one of the better units this season, gave up a lot of pass rushes by the Raiders, and Foles spent a good amount of time running for his life. It’s likely that Doug Pederson and his staff will make the necessary adjustments in preparation for Dallas, which does put up a decent pass rush led by DeMarcus Lawrence and Taco Charlton. When it comes to the running game, the Eagles have LeGarrette Blount and Jay Ajayi, and I don’t see the parade of fumbles that hurt the Eagles against Oakland happening again. On defense, the Eagles held the Cowboys to nine points when the teams met earlier this season. Yes, the Cowboys have Elliott back, but that only got them four field goals against a Seattle team that was missing three of their four starting defensive backs. The Cowboys’ offensive line has turned into more of a liability than a strength with left tackle Tyron Smith largely unavailable due to injury, and his replacement, Byron Bell, looked more like a greeter at a restaurant than a blocker last week, simply waving as opposing rushers rumbled by to harass Dak Prescott.

Expert Pick and Final Prediction

The erosion of the offensive line due to some injuries (and the retirement of Doug Free) has been a major part of Dallas’ decline this season. The decision to rely on rookies in the secondary has also played a role as well. We saw a Dallas team that has basically packed it in last week, when things got tough against Oakland, and I don’t see them getting up for the Eagles now that their postseason hopes are over. I predict a final score of Philadelphia 27, Dallas 9.