Few expected the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings, both teams considered among the favorites for the NFC Championship, to be a combined 2-6 going into Week 6. Short of a tie, one of these teams will lose Sunday and that does not bode well for the loser’s playoff chances. The oddsmakers have the Cowboys (+1.5) as 1.5 point underdogs for Sunday’s matchup against the Vikings in Minnesota. The over/under is set at 44.5 points.
Penalties and turnovers have been the Achilles heel of the Cowboys thus far, despite leading the NFC in total offense and ranking 4th in defense. They’ve averaged over 9 penalties per game, and are minus-4 in the turnover margin.
Since 1990, 12 teams have made the playoffs after rebounding from at least three games under .500 at some point after Week 5. The 2008 Chargers were the most recent, bouncing back from a 4-7 start. The 2004 Packers won the NFC North after a 1-4 start. The 2002 Jets won the AFC East despite being 1-4 and 2-5. After watching both the Vikings and Cowboys play this year, I’m not sure I’d put any money on a similar recovery for either team, which means essentially this is an elimination game for the loser — at week 6.
Speaking of elimination, how secure do you think Wade Phillips’ job will be if they lose this game? I know I’ve ready my share of reports quoting, and conjecturing for, Jerry Jones’ plan to keep Phillips, but each mark in the Loss column tips that scale exponentially at this point. If Dallas loses, Phillips won’t sleep well, assuming he currently does.
So will the Cowboys go out and “win one for the gipper?” Not alot to show that will be the case. The Cowboys have an air of non-chalance about them it seems, and they’re definitely a team on the ropes this Sunday.
For the Vikings, this game is just as critical. Ownership has basically thrown everything in the pot for a SuperBowl this year. Moss adds a desperately needed deep-threat, but Favre’s immortality is wearing off finally. Tendinitis in your throwing arm means your accuracy and range are affected, and if Favre can’t throw down field to Moss, the whole point of the trade is moot. Throw in the off-field Favre issues and this team has a ton of pressure of it’s own to deal with.
This game might as well be a playoff game. Here are some trends to consider:
All games in this series since 1992
MINNESOTA is 7-3 against the spread versus DALLAS since 1992
MINNESOTA is 6-4 straight up against DALLAS since 1992
6 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL since 1992
Games over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 1-0 against the spread versus DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 1-0 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
All games played at MINNESOTA since 1992
MINNESOTA is 5-1 against the spread versus DALLAS since 1992
MINNESOTA is 4-2 straight up against DALLAS since 1992
4 of 6 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL since 1992
Games played at MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 1-0 against the spread versus DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 1-0 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
