Seattle suffered their worst loss under Pete Carroll last Sunday getting run over 42-7 by the Rams. Dallas kept their playoff hopes alive with a thrilling 20-17 victory at Oakland.
The Seahawks are very up and down on offense and QB Russell Wilson shoulders far too much responsibility. He is the leading rusher for the team (482 yards, more than double the next player) and has been sacked 37 times. He is getting hit too often and the Cowboys will look to keep that up with their much-improved pass rush. DE DeMarcus Lawrence has 13.5 sacks and likely will square off against RT Germain Ifedi, a mismatch on paper. WR Doug Baldwin leads the team in receptions and yardage and WR Paul Richardson averages 16.6 ypc and is a big-play threat Dallas has to account for. TE Jimmy Graham leads the team with 9 TD receptions but has only 1 catch over the past 2 games, both losses. The Cowboys have been vulnerable through the air on occasion but they should harass the o-line enough that they don’t give up too many big plays downfield.
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Dallas welcomes back RB Ezekiel Elliott this week and not a moment too soon. They have won their last 3 games without him but lost the first 3 games that he missed due to suspension. He averages 4.1 ypc but there is heavy volume wrapped up in those numbers. He has stayed in shape during his absence and expect 20+ carries this Sunday. The Seahawks run defense has been a little better than average but they have several starters out on defense, including their 2 best LBs (K.J. Wright, Bobby Wagner, check status of both). Elliott will look to duplicate Rams RB Todd Gurley, who smoked the Seahawks for 180 total yards and 4 TDs last week. QB Dak Prescott showed during Elliott’s absence that he is a much better player with his fellow 2nd-year player with him in the backfield (97.9 QB rating with Elliott in 2017, 76.6 without him). WR Dez Bryant has also upped his game in recent weeks but TE Jason Witten has been MIA. With Elliott back, he should be able to find seams off of play action. Seattle has given up 72 points over the past 2 games and Dallas should be able to put points on the board against this injury-ravaged unit.
Public Money
In this Week 16 NFL matchup between Seattle and Dallas have the public with a slight lean to the Cowboys to cover the 4.5 point spread with 58%. The over/under bettors believe this game will go over the posted total line of 47 with just over 60% on board.
