Whether you love them or hate them, you cannot deny that the Dallas Cowboys are perhaps the most iconic team in the NFL. Dubbed as “America’s Team,” the Cowboys dominated the 90’s, but went into a bit of a decline after that decade of dominance. There are signs that this team is in the ascendancy this NFL preseason, but whether that continues may well come down to whether the dynamic duo of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott can steer clear of a sophomore slump after both put in spectacular rookie seasons.
The Cowboys didn’t lose many games last year, but one team that was able to get the better of them was the LA Rams, which was a huge surprise given how ineffective the Rams were for the majority of last season. These two will hook up again on Saturday night in Week 1 of the NFL preseason, although this will be the second game for Dallas after they picked up a 20-18 win over the Arizona Cardinals in the Hall of Fame Game. The Cowboys are betting favorites against the Rams, so, let’s look at the betting stats of these two teams over the past 3 seasons to see if we can get an idea of how this thing might go.
Analyzing the NFL Preseason Odds Dallas Cowboys Vs LA Rams
When: Saturday, August 12 at 9 PM EST Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, LA TV: NFL Network Radio: Sirius XM Radio Live Stream: NFL Game Pass NFL Preseason Odds: Dallas Cowboys -2½ (-115)Straight Up Stats
The Cowboys went 13-3 last season before losing in the first round of the playoffs, taking their record over the past 3 seasons to a very respectable 30-21. Road wins are tough to come by in the NFL, but Dallas have been among the best in that category, going 16-8, including an impressive 8-2 record as the road favorite, which they are in this one. Those stats suggest that they are going to be very tough to beat on Saturday night. Things have not been quite as rosy for the LA Rams over the past 3 seasons, as their straight up record during that time comes in at 17-31. They went 5 games under .500 at 9-14 over the past 3 seasons, and were not much better as the home underdog, going 5-7. It’s easy to understand why Dallas are a 2.5-point favorite for this one.
Point Spread Stats
The Cowboys went 25-25-1 ATS from 2014 to 2016, which doesn’t really give us much of a clue as to whether or not they can cover here. That changes when you look at what they did on the road during that period, going 15-9-0 ATS, including going 6-4-0 as the road favorite. This swings things very much in their favor, especially with the spread set at just 2.5-points. The Rams did not do a particularly solid job of covering the spread, going just 18-28-2 during the past 3 seasons. They were just 9-13-1 ATS at home and 5-6-1 as the home underdog. There is little here to suggest that they might be able to keep this one close.NFL Week 1 Preseason Winning ATS Picks
OVER/UNDER Stats
The O/U for this game has been set at 37 points. Dallas had one of the best offenses in the league last season, but that has not really translated to the OVER being particularly common, as they are 22-28-1 O/U over the past 3 seasons. Scores were low on the road for Dallas, who posted a 9-15-0 O/U record, including a 4-6-0 record as the road favorite. The Rams have struggled offensively for a few seasons, so no real surprise that the UNDER is common. They are 19-29-0 O/U over the past 3 seasons, although they are 12-11-0 O/U when playing at home. Their O/U record as a home underdog is 7-5-0, suggesting that this thing could slip over the 37 points.Dallas Cowboys Team Statistics
- Offensive total yards 379.76
- Average Score For 26.59
- Offensive rush yards 149.06
- Defensive total yards 348.06
- Offensive passing yards 230.71
- Defensive rush yards 83.41
- Average Score Against 20.00
- Defensive passing yards 264.65
Los Angeles Rams Team Statistics
- Offensive total yards 262.69
- Average Score For 14.00
- Offensive rush yards 78.25
- Defensive total yards 337.00
- Offensive passing yards 184.44
- Defensive rush yards 103.75
- Average Score Against 24.62
- Defensive passing yards 233.25
Dallas vs LA Rams Game History
- Total Meetings: 32
- First Meeting: November 6th, 1960. Cotton Bowl. Dallas, Texas.
- Last Meeting: September 21st, 2014. Edward Jones Dome.
- All-Time Series: Dallas 17-15-0
- Largest Margin of Victory: Dallas 37-7 (1976)
- Longest Win Streak: Dallas 3 (2011-2014)
- Current Win Streak: Dallas 3 (2011-2014)
