Free Pick: Philadelphia at Dallas 9/27/21

The Monday night game pits the Eagles against the Cowboys in a NFC Least division game in Dallas. Both teams are 1-1 and the winner will get a leg up although it is still very, very early and that won’t mean much. Still, Dallas can’t afford to lose this home game.

Scouting the Eagles: Philly opened the season with a 32-6 win at Atlanta which was a surprise to a lot of people including the Dudes. Quarterback Jalen Hurts was excellent and the defense kept Matt Ryan and the Falcons bottled up all day. They returned home for game 2 to play a good 49ers team and were competitive before losing 17-11. So, what do we make of the Eagles? How about they give Hurts some help on offense. The Eagles have amassed 762 total yards in the first two games. Hurts has completed 39 of 58 passes for 454 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions and has added 144 rushing yards and another touchdown. That adds up to him contributing on 598 of the 762 yards of offense the Eagles have, so I don’t want to hear anything bad about Hurts. Miles Sanders has 128 yards rushing and is the leading running back and rookie wide receiver, DeVonta Smith has been impressive with 8 catches for 87 yards. Philly will want to run the ball and they could have some success, although the main weakness of the Dallas defense has been defending the pass. Defensively, the Eagles have been stingy, having allowed only 566 total yards so far. The defensive line, led by Javon Hargrove (12 tackles, 2 sacks), has put significant pressure on opposing quarterbacks and that combined with good play from the secondary, has contributed to allowing only 325 passing yards through the two games.

Scouting the Cowboys: Dallas has been good on offense the first two weeks and Dak Prescott has been impressive in his return from last year’s injury. He has completed 77% of his passes for 640 yards and three touchdowns and the Dallas passing attack is as dangerous as anyone in the NFL. Wide Receivers, Amari Cooper (16 receptions, 163 yards, 2 touchdowns), and CeeDee Lamb (15 catches, 185 yards, 1 touchdown), give Prescott two of the best receivers in the league. Tight end, Dalton Schultz is a capable guy as well. Running backs, Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard have combined for 227 yards and are an adequate duo to support the running game. On the defensive side, there isn’t as much optimism. But, to be fair, they have faced two good passing quarterbacks in Tom Brady and Justin Herbert. We will get a better read on their pass defense Monday night. They have been good enough against the run, but they would like more pressure from the defensive line to take some of the heat off the secondary.

This game will be the Eagles trying to run the ball and use Hurts’ ability as well as they can. They hope they can keep the ball away from the dangerous Dallas offense. It will come down to whether the Eagles can score enough points because all signs point to the Cowboys being able to score with their offense. Dallas comes in as a 3.5 point favorite.

DUDES WHO BET SPORTS PICK: Dallas -3.5 all day long