Cowboys Look to Right Ship Against Dreadful Lions

Football Betting Lines

12/29/2006 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Don't expect the Dallas Cowboys to unfurl a "We're Back!" banner after Sunday afternoon's tilt with the Detroit Lions.

The Cowboys are more than likely to beat the Lions at Texas Stadium in Week 17, and a decisive win appears to be a fairly solid proposition as well. But just six days removed from a humiliating 23-7 home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, whipping up on 2-13 Detroit isn't exactly going to erase nationwide doubts about Dallas' staying power in the NFC postseason bracket.

A Cowboys victory would, however, put pressure on the Eagles in their late- afternoon home contest against the Atlanta Falcons. Though both Dallas and Philadelphia have already clinched postseason berths, a Cowboys win and Eagles loss would give America's Team its first NFC East title since 1998, and would lock Dallas into the No. 3 spot and a First-Round home game against whatever 7-9 or 8-8 club claims the conference's second Wild Card berth.

Should the Eagles defeat the Falcons, Dallas will be the No. 5 seed and will travel to meet NFC West Champion Seattle in the opening playoff round.

The only suspense for the Lions on Sunday will be in regard to the franchise's quest for the No. 1 pick in the 2007 Draft. Detroit is tied with Oakland for the worst record in the NFL as Week 17 begins, and owns a narrow edge in the strength-of-schedule tie-breaker.

Although a victory in Dallas would help Detroit avoid its fourth 0-8 road finish in the last six seasons, and would snap a run of losses that was extended to seven in last week's 26-21 home setback against the Bears, it would likely also infuriate a long-tormented Lions fan base that has only the No. 1 pick to look forward to after another humiliating campaign.

SERIES HISTORY

Dallas has a 10-8 lead in its all-time series with Detroit, including a 20-7 home victory in Week 11 of last season. The Cowboys also defeated the Lions in 2003 and 2004. Detroit's last win in the series came in 2002 at home, and its most recent win in Big D was a 20-17 overtime decision during the 1994 season.

In addition to their regular season history, the teams have met twice in the postseason. The Cowboys were 5-0 winners in a 1970 NFC Divisional Playoff, and the Lions won a 38-6 affair in a 1991 NFC Divisional Playoff.

Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells has a 8-3 all-time mark against the Lions, including a 4-1 record while with the Giants from 1983 to 1990. Detroit's Rod Marinelli will be meeting both Parcells and the Cowboys for the first time as a head coach.

LIONS OFFENSE VS. COWBOYS DEFENSE

If he makes his 16th start as expected this week, Lions quarterback Jon Kitna (3902 passing yards, 17 TD, 21 INT) has a chance to join a select group of which he undoubtedly wishes not to be a part. Kitna is set to become just the fourth quarterback in NFL history to start every game for a team with 14 or more losses, joining Archie Manning ('80 Saints), Jeff George ('91 Colts), and David Carr ('05 Texans). The veteran is actually fourth in NFL passing yards as Week 17 begins, though his 58 sacks absorbed lead the league, and his 21 picks are just one behind Ben Roethlisberger's 22 for most in the NFL. Kitna snapped a streak of 12 consecutive games with at least one interception against Chicago, when he completed 27-of-45 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns. Wideouts Roy Williams (76 receptions, 5 TD), Mike Furrey (87 receptions, 5 TD), and tight end Dan Campbell (21 receptions, 4 TD) all caught TD passes in the loss. With 16 more receiving yards for Furrey, he and Williams will become the first Lions teammates since Johnnie Morton and Germane Crowell in 1999 to go over 1,000 yards in the same season. Second-year Lions receiver Mike Williams (6 receptions) had two catches for 22 yards last week, but also had several costly drops.

The vulnerability of the Cowboys secondary was laid bare on Christmas night, when Eagles quarterback Jeff Garcia completed 10 passes of more than 10 yards, including three of 25 or longer. Safeties Roy Williams (55 tackles, 5 INT) and Patrick Watkins (34 tackles, 2 INT) have been a particular liability in coverage, and both players' confidence could benefit from a couple of big plays against Kitna. Cornerbacks Anthony Henry (78 tackles, 2 INT) and Terence Newman (61 tackles, 1 INT) have been slightly better than the safeties, with Henry posting his second interception of the year early in Monday's loss. Starting outside linebackers DeMarcus Ware (63 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 1 INT) and Al Singleton (25 tackles, 1 sack) both had sacks versus the Eagles, though Dallas continues to rank in a tie for 24th in the league in that category (29). Yardage-wise, the Cowboys are 22nd in NFL pass defense (215.3 yards per game).

The Lions enter Week 17 with little hope of pulling out of last place on the NFL rushing offense chart (69.6 yards per game), though Detroit did manage to field a spark of a ground game in last week's loss to the Bears. Running backs Arlen Harris (129 rushing yards, 1 TD, 14 receptions), Aveion Cason (63 rushing yards), and Lamar Gordon amassed 77 yards on 16 combined carries, an average of 4.8 yards per tote. Harris was the high man with 44 yards on 10 attempts, while Gordon made his first and only carry in 2006 to date count for two yards. Detroit, which has run the ball an NFL-low 279 times on the year (17.4 times per contest), has three running backs - Kevin Jones (foot), Shawn Bryson (knee), and Brian Calhoun (knee) - on season-ending injured reserve.

Six days after being gutted by the Eagles' formerly middle-of-the-road running game, the Cowboys will likely be glad to see Detroit's deficient rushing attack on Sunday. Philadelphia running backs Brian Westbrook and Correll Buckhalter piled up 160 yards on 34 combined carries (4.7 yards per rush) in the game, moving the chains and helping the Eagles boast a 14-minute-plus advantage in time of possession. Parcells will be looking for better things out of the three-man line of nose tackle Jason Ferguson (41 tackles) and ends Chris Canty (30 tackles, 1 sack) and Marcus Spears (45 tackles, 1 sack), and will require inside linebackers Bradie James (91 tackles, 1 INT) and Akin Ayodele (77 tackles, 2 INT, 1 sack) to make some plays behind them. Ferguson and James tied for the team lead with seven tackles against Philly. Despite Monday's struggles, the Cowboys rank a respectable ninth in the league against the run (104.9 yards per game).

COWBOYS OFFENSE VS. LIONS DEFENSE

Following a November in which he threw nine touchdown passes versus just one interception, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (2582 passing yards, 17 TD, 12 INT) has fallen back to earth with four TD strikes and seven picks in December. The 2007 Pro Bowl selection has thrown multiple INTs in three of his last four outings, and has completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes in Dallas' two most recent defeats. Romo was 14-of-29 for 142 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions against Philadelphia, the weakest of his 10 efforts as a starter. Starting wideouts Terrell Owens (79 receptions, 12 TD) and Terry Glenn (64 receptions, 6 TD) both made public complaints about the direction of the offense in the wake of the Eagles loss, perhaps attempting to disguise the fact that neither played particularly well in the defeat. Owens had three catches, 32 yards, and his NFL-leading 12th touchdown reception of the year to go along with multiple dropped passes, and Glenn finished with just one catch for 17 yards. Glenn is 62 yards shy of the first back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons of his 11-year NFL career. Tight end Jason Witten (60 receptions, 1 TD) led Dallas with six catches for 50 yards last week. The Cowboys line has allowed 33 sacks on the year, including three to Philly on Monday.

Romo shouldn't have much trouble locating his receivers against a Detroit defense that is allowing opponents to complete a league-high 66 percent of their passes and ranks near the bottom of the NFL in sacks (26) and interceptions (11). Bears quarterbacks Rex Grossman and Brian Griese last week completed 26 passes to 10 different targets, not turning the ball over and absorbing just two sacks on the day. Neither sack came from starting ends Kalimba Edwards (31 tackles, 2 sacks) and Jared DeVries (22 tackles), with reserve linemen Corey Smith (9 tackles, 1 sack) and Tyoka Jackson (12 tackles, 2 sacks) both breaking through. Tackle Cory Redding continues to lead Detroit in sacks with seven. Cornerbacks Dre' Bly (50 tackles, 3 INT) and Stanley Wilson (35 tackles) combined for 15 tackles against Chicago, while safeties Terrence Holt (73 tackles, 3 INT) and Kenoy Kennedy (61 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT) chipped in with 10 stops.

After suffering through a curious inability to run the ball against the soft Philadelphia defense last week, the Cowboys will likely try to establish running backs Julius Jones (1057 rushing yards, 4 TD) and Marion Barber III (639 rushing yards, 18 receptions, 15 TD) early on Sunday. Jones and Barber combined for just 41 yards on 16 carries (2.6 yards per rush) in the loss, and together were out-rushed by Romo (3 rushes, 42 yards) on the night. Jones, who carried 10 times for 38 yards, has now averaged fewer than four yards per rush in nine of his last 10 games. In the two recent losses to the Eagles and Saints, Barber has rushed eight times for a total of two yards. Dallas currently ranks 11th in NFL rushing offense (125.2 yards per game).

Jones and Barber will be operating against a Detroit defense that ranks 23rd in the league against the run (130.1 yards per game), and did a solid job against Chicago's stable of running backs last week. The Lions held three Bears backs to 116 yards on 30 carries (3.9 yards per rush). Weak side rookie Ernie Sims (123 tackles) and middle man Paris Lenon (65 tackles, 1 INT), who combined for 13 tackles versus Chicago, have been the team's most active run- stopping linebackers. Redding (44 tackles) has done a good job at the under tackle position after switching from end at mid-season, and second-year man Anthony Bryant (7 tackles) has held up capably while serving in a starting role for the last two weeks.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

There shouldn't be a great deal of mystery here. The injury-riddled and less- than-talented Lions are playing for nothing, the somewhat-dysfunctional but still-capable Cowboys are spitting mad after an embarrassing loss and still have a shot at a division title. Look for Romo and Dallas to rebound, and for Detroit to officially be on the clock after another thorough beating.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Cowboys 34, Lions 7