Lions @K'BOYS
Two GOOD teams face off. It should be quite a scrap.
Some key points:
** Pt. differential is a key indicator of performance (minus any obvious skewing) and in this regard Dallas has +165 vs Detroit +57
** You've read me say here many times that "venue is important" - not just in providing an edge to the home team in a given game but in understanding previous games' results in lieu of where they were playing and against whom! Never accept published stats at face value. All of them are affected by and skewed by who they played and at what venue.
** Cowboys are dominant at HOME with a perfect 7 - 0 and a whopping +171 pt diff
** to oppose that, the Lions are 6 - 2 on the ROAD for just +6 pt diff.
** The Cowboys have dominated at home often by wide margins, albeit against a slightly weaker sched than the LIONS have faced on the road. Still, lots of teams play weak schedules too and no other comes anywhere remotely close to Dallas
Top scoring HOME teams:
+171 pt diff in Dallas
+66 pt diff in SF
+61 pt diff in Detroit
+30 pt diff in Atlanta
+28 pt diff in LA Rams
** another key is performance against similar opps (at specific venue of course)
Detroit faced an elite (very high rated) team in game one of the season and beat KC by 1 pt. But that that was eons ago. I dismiss games that far away in the sched. The only other time they faced an elite team on the ROAD was Oct 22, when they were routed by RAVENS 6 - 38! Their last 8 games have all been either weakss or mediocre opponents, losing 2 and barely winning 4 others.
The only top tier squad Dallas faced AT HOME, was Nov 5, when they whupped the Eagles by 20!
** Finally a subjective but key intangible which has served me well in my capping over the past 30 yrs - schedule momentum. The roadie, tonight, Detroit, is coming off 2 consecutive wins - albeit vs mediocre opps. They are riding a high, but it's back down to Earth time, now finally they face a very good team who is undeniably the best HOME team in the league!
Dallas, meanwhile is in a spot I call "Money!" (most of the time) ....An elite team coming off 2 consecutive road losses, finally returns home - where they are dominant - with a chance to redeem themselves in primetime!
Game tonight is poised for a Cowboys win SU in Dallas. I give them maybe a 55% shot at
Of course, anything can happen in football.....this is not a lock by any stretch!
But MY money says:
K'Boys -225 *BB 2u
K'Boys -1.0 - 200 *BB
K'Boys -1.5 - 190