The Washington Football Team and Dallas Cowboys will put a bow on Sunday’s action in the NFL when these NFC East rivals square up on “Sunday Night Football.” The division title is within Dallas’ grasp in this game as a win against Washington would crown them NFC East champions for the first time since 2018. Meanwhile, Washington needs to pull out a win to keep whatever playoff hopes remain alive.
Here, we’ll specifically be looking at the different betting angles that this divisional matchup has in store for us. We’ll be taking a look at how the lines have shifted throughout the week leading into Monday night and, of course, give you our picks for this game along with a handful of our favorite player props.
All NFL odds via Caesars Sportsbook.
How to watch
Date: Sunday, Dec. 26 | Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
Location: AT&T Stadium (Arlington)
TV: NBC | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds:
Line movement
Latest Odds: Dallas Cowboys -10
The Cowboys did open as a 9-point favorite on the early look of this spread. Coming out of Week 15, that number jumped out to Cowboys -10 and jumped as high as -11 before settling back down to Cowboys -10 on Saturday night.
The pick: Cowboys -10. Dallas has been one of the best teams in the league to bet on this season, owning an 11-3 ATS record coming into Week 16 (tied for NFL best). Not only that, but they’ve been able to beat up on bad teams as they are 4-0 against clubs with losing records over their last four matchups. Washington is coming off the heels of a massive COVID outbreak, while the Cowboys — who rank No. 3 in the NFL in DVOA on defense — have too many horses for Ron Rivera’s team to keep up.
Key trend: Washington is 0-3-1 in its last four games vs. the NFC East.
Over/Under total
Unlike the spread, there wasn’t that much movement with the total. The early look at this number at 48 and did quickly bump down to 47.5 amid Week 15. As this week has progressed, it fell another half-point to 47 and has held ever since.
The pick: Under 47. Both of these teams have been able to keep opposing offenses from scoring in the red area as of late. Over the last three weeks, Dallas (33.3%) and Washington (35.7%) rank inside the top five of lowest red zone scoring percentage in the NFL. Meanwhile, Washington has only been able to average 18 points per game over the last three weeks, while the Cowboys offense has been a bit disjointed, despite averaging 25 a game over that same stretch.
Key trend: Under is 7-1 in the Cowboys last eight games overall.
Dak Prescott props
- Passing touchdowns: 2.5 (Over +170, Under -210)
- Passing yards: 280.5 (Over -115, Under -115)
- Interceptions: 0.5 (Over +100, Under -130)
- Completions: 25.5 (Over -105, Under -125)
- Pass attempts: 36.5 (Over -110, Under -120)
- Longest passing completion: 37.5 (Over -115, Under -115)
The Over on Prescott’s 25.5 completions may be the most intriguing prop of the bunch. He has gone over this number six times this season while averaging nearly 38 attempts per game. Washington currently ranks 7th in the NFL in the highest completion percentage allowed to opposing quarterbacks this season.
Taylor Heinicke props
- Passing touchdowns: 1.5 (Over +140, Under -170)
- Passing yards: 223.5 (Over -115, Under -115)
- Interceptions: 0.5 (Over +100, Under -130)
- Longest passing completion: 35.5 (Over -110, Under -120)
It might not be wise to get out in front of Heinicke’s passing yards prop, especially if Washington begins to trail Dallas early and forces the passing game to get more involved. Heinicke has already gone over this number six times this season and Dallas is allowing 245.6 passing yards per game through the air entering Week 16.
Player props to consider
Tony Pollard total rushing attempts: Over 9.5 (-130). Pollard has seen double-digit carries in eight of his 13 games played this season. He’s a big enough piece to this offense that he should see plenty of work alongside Ezekiel Elliott.
Dalton Schultz total receiving yards: Over 40.5 (-115). Schultz has gone over this number 10 times this season and is facing a Washington team that is allowing 57 receiving yards per game to opposing tight ends this season.
