Despite starting off the season 2-0, the Dallas Cowboys are in a pretty dire situation as they’ll have to go on through with life without two of their best players in Dez Bryant and Tony Romo for the next couple of weeks. They’ll get a taste of this reality when the Matt Ryan-led Atlanta Falcons (2-0) pay them a visit at AT&T Stadium for their Week 3 clash this coming Sunday.
Can the Cowboys still come out on top without their two stars? Read on further for a complete breakdown of this NFC matchup. And while you’re at it, you check out as well our other Week 3 previews: Steelers vs. Rams, Jaguars vs. Patriots and 49ers vs. Cardinals. Enjoy.
[sc:Football ]Atlanta Falcons vs. Dallas Cowboys Preview
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
When: Sunday, September 27, 1:00 PM ET
Line: Atlanta Falcons (-2) at Dallas Cowboys (+2); total: 45.0– see all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: FOX
Betting on the Atlanta Falcons
Another game, another successful comeback for the Atlanta Falcons, who improved to 2-0 in the Dan Quinn era after beating the New York Giants in their Week 2 matchup, 24-20. This win wouldn’t have been possible, though, without their star wide receiver in Julio Jones.
[sc:NFL240banner ]Jones proved once again to the world that he was worth every penny of his new $84 million contract with another dominant performance. He garnered 13 catches for a total of 135 receiving yards and was targeted 15 times. His 13 receptions tied the franchise record set by former tight end Tony Gonzalez about three years ago.
Of course, it wasn’t just Jones who deserves credit for the victory as Matt Ryan also had a pretty impressive performance of his own in leading his Falcons. Ryan finished 30-of-46 for 363 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. In the fourth quarter, the 30-year-old quarterback was huge down the stretch by completing 9 of his 13 passes, the last of which went to Jones for the aforementioned 37-yarder catch that eventually set up Devonte Freeman’s game-winning 2-yarder touchdown with 1:14 remaining in the game.
Moving forward to Week 3, the Falcons will be traveling to AT&T Stadium and take on a Dallas Cowboys team that’ll be missing the services of Dez Bryant and most their starting quarterback in Tony Romo, who left Sunday’s contest versus the Eagles due to a fractured collarbone.
The Falcons also suffered a significant injury blow as rookie running back Tevin Coleman left their game against the Giants with a rib injury. If he can’t go against Dallas, look for the Falcons to rely even more on their highly efficient passing game. Atlanta’s offense was fifth-best in the NFL with 284.6 passing yards per contest in 2014. And through the first two games of the 2015 season, they’re already averaging 318.0 passing yards, the third-highest in the league right now.
In a defensive standpoint though, the passing game has worked against them, especially last year wherein the Falcons allowed a league-worst 279.9 passing yards. The onus will be on the linebacker Justin Durant and reliable safety William Moore, who have delivered 35 tackles combined in the first two games of the year, to solidify their team’s defense against a Cowboys team missing its two main offensive stars.
Atlanta is 4-1 SU and ATS in their previous five road games.
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Betting on the Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys’ first two victories this season have all been costly ones. In their thrilling season-opening triumph over the New York Giants, they lost Dez Bryant to an injury and now, they’ve lost franchise quarterback Tony Romo after emerging victorious, 20-10, versus the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2.
On the bright side, the Cowboys have launched their 2015 campaign with a 2-0 record. They’ll hope to keep moving on the right track as they strive to defend their division title and a second-straight postseason appearance. But from this point on, getting a win is definitely going to be much more difficult without their two superstars in the lineup.
That said, backup quarterback Brandon Weeden ought to make the most out of this golden opportunity in leading the signal-calling for the Cowboys when they take on the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3.
Weeden, who’s had the second-lowest total QBR in the league since 2012, played quite well in relief of the injured Romo on Sunday opposite the Eagles, completing all of his seven passing attempts with a touchdown to give his team its second win of the year and its third-straight win against their division rivals.
Weeden can’t do it all alone obviously, as he’ll also need the pair of Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley to step up for the receiving group. Williams has compiled 144 yards on nine receptions with a touchdown in the first two games of the season. Beasley, on the other hand, has 63 yards on eight catches in the same time frame.
As for the defense, Atlanta is going to have a tough time in breaking through Dallas’ secondary that has been able to limit their first two opponents this season to less than 300 yards and is only averaging 204.5 passing yards allowed per game, which is currently among the fewest in the league.
The Cowboys are 6-4 SU and 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games as the underdogs.
Writer’s Prediction
Matt Ryan and Julio Jones put on a show once again to lead the Falcons (-2) to the 24-17 victory.
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