Which of the crisis teams will bounce back?

Which of the two secret favourites gets back on track in December? That question will take centre stage in the Thursday Night Game when the New Orleans Saints host the Dallas Cowboys, one of their favourite opponents in recent years.

October was a big disappointment for both teams. For example, the Cowboys only managed to win one game this month (against the weak Falcons), whereas the Saints did not manage a single October win.

The Texans are just what they need. They have won ten of the last 13 meetings against them and Dallas rarely found a concept against their defence. Since 2013, the Cowboys have only scored over 20 points against New Orleans once.

Thus, we see this game with slight advantages for the Saints, as the Boys’ own defence has been in declining form lately. For Saints vs. Cowboys, our prediction is a close game in which the Saints could even manage a surprise.

Kickoff of the Thursday Night Game in New Orleans is on Friday night at 02:20. The game will be broadcast live on DAZN.

New Orleans Saints – Statistics & current form

When will the Saints strike back? That’s the question pundits have been asking for weeks now, as the squad should actually be good enough to make the playoffs. However, the 6:31 at home against the Bills in particular raises questions about their offense.

For this reason, information leaked out this week that there will be a change at the quarterback position: Taysom Hill instead of Trevor Siemian. A long overdue move that could actually be the crucial piece of the puzzle.

Can Hill reignite the offense?

With Taysom Hill at the starting quarterback position, the Saints’ offense will definitely become more unpredictable. With the Cowboys defence showing major weaknesses against the run lately, this change also makes perfect sense.

Hill can run himself, but he can also throw. This is not his core competency, but since Alvin Kamera is also an extremely strong receiving running back on the field, even short passes are promising on Thursday.

All in all, we clearly expect the Saints to crack the 20-point mark this time around, which will definitely keep their chances of winning alive. Especially since their defence has Dallas well in hand very often.

Defence always particularly strong against Dallas

For some reason, New Orleans suits this Cowboys offense extremely well. Even in 2019 when it was supposed to be Dak Prescott’s big year, they held him and the Boys to 212 passing yards and only 45 rushing yards. All of which resulted in a meager ten Cowboys points.

Much of that defence is on the field again on Thursday, which is why we think a repeat is possible. Thus, both the odds on the Saints and on few Cowboys points are good betting options on New Orleans vs. Dallas.

Key Players:
QB: Taysom Hill
RB: Alvin Kamara
WR: Marquez Callaway
TE: Adam Trautman
K: Aldrick Rosas

Dallas Cowboys – stats & recent form

The Cowboys are stumbling, and on both sides of the field. Especially the start of their games they always spank mercilessly. Even against the Raiders they quickly conceded 14 points, from which they could not recover until the end (even if it finally went into overtime).

In the meantime, their bloodletting on defence is also noticeable. In the long run, the Texans can’t replace Lawrence, Gallimore, Gregory and Urban equally, which is causing their defence’s numbers to plummet.

Defense as well as offense with injury problems

What the failures of Lawrence and Gregory represent on defense, Amari Copper and CeeDee Lamb represent on offense. Without their two best receivers, their offense always struggles to get into games and against a strong Saints defense, that could break their backs again.

Tight end Dalton Schultz is having the best season of his career, but he’s not a difference maker like Amari Cooper. So again on Thursday, all the burden will be on the shoulders of running back Ezekiel Elliott – something he has rarely been able to master successfully.

Cowboys’ running game needs improvement

Against the Raiders, Elliott only managed a total of 25 rushing yards despite overtime, giving him an abysmal average of 2.8 per run. Even his good backup Tony Pollard only managed 36 rushing yards in this game. That’s where you notice the lack of top receivers, which also has an effect on the running game.

Since the Saints have traditionally been good against the run and are once again the third-best run defence in 2021 (91.9 yards allowed per game), this matchup suits New Orleans better. With Saints vs Cowboys, a bet against Dallas is therefore also promising from a value perspective.

Key Players:
QB: Dak Prescott
RB: Ezekiel Elliott
WR: Michael Gallup
TE: Dalton Schultz
K: Greg Zuerlein

New Orleans Saints – Dallas Cowboys Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

The Dallas Cowboys have been very good to the Saints in recent years. Ten wins from the last 13 duels played prove this. Dak Prescott, in particular, has never done well with the tough Saints defence.

In the two duels in which Prescott was at the helm against the Saints, the Cowboys scored just 13 and 10 points. With Dallas also having similar problems against a Chiefs defence recently, it could be difficult for Dallas to break the 20-point mark on Thursday.

Especially away from home, the Cowboys are often wingless. Therefore, with Saints vs Cowboys, the odds on New Orleans are worth considering. We can even handicap them 4-5 points, which greatly increases the odds of success in low scoring games.

New Orleans Saints – Dallas Cowboys Tip

The Cowboys have the slightly better record this season and are thus also considered the favourites by bettors. However, two facts speak against it from a betting point of view. The first is Dallas’ recent poor away performances and the change at quarterback for the Saints.

As a third point, we could even mention the slightly greater injury worries of the Boys, which makes us recommend a bet on the Saints even without a handicap as a betting option for New Orleans vs. Dallas.

In addition, bets on subpar points are clear favourites in this matchup. The last two duels between these two teams resulted in total scores of 23 and 22 points. The 47.5 points should be quite a bit too much. Accordingly, the betting odds on a low-scoring New Orleans Saints vs. Dallas Cowboys game are also worth considering.