The Jacksonville Jaguars and Dallas Cowboys will each be looking to come away with their first win of the preseason when the two teams meet at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 29 at AT&T Stadium.
Despite two lackluster performances, Jacksonville will likely not see first-overall pick Trevor Lawrence again until the regular season kicks off, while Dallas is getting everything set up for the regular-season return of franchise QB Dak Prescott.
Which one of these teams will head into the NFL regular season with a little momentum? Keep reading our Jaguars vs. Cowboys picks and predictions for the answer.
Jaguars vs Cowboys game info
• Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
• Date: Sunday, August 29, 2021
• Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
• TV: NFL Network
Jaguars vs Cowboys odds
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Jaguars at Cowboys betting preview
Weather
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Key injuries
Jaguars: Marvin Jones Jr. WR (Out), Travis Etienne RB (Out), Josh Allen DE (Out), D.J. Chark WR (Out).
Cowboys: Dak Prescott QB (Out), Malik Hooker DB (Out), Tyson Smith OT (Out).
Find our latest NFL injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Cowboys are 0-3 ATS in the preseason. Find more NFL betting trends for Jaguars vs. Cowboys.
Against the spread (ATS) pick
[Editor's note: This preview was written prior to the Jaguars trading QB Gardner Minshew to the Eagles on Saturday morning.]
The Jaguars have four starting offensive linemen out in this game, so it’d be insanely risky for them to throw Trevor Lawrence out there. Urban Meyer is unlikely to put his franchise quarterback in harm’s way, so you should expect them to sit him for the entirety of this one.
However, even if Jacksonville does opt to let Lawrence watch this one from the sidelines, the team should be able to cover this small spread at Jerry World.
An argument can be made that Jacksonville has the best backup quarterback in the league right now, as Gardner Minshew would be more than capable of starting for quite a few NFL franchises. He should be able to put up some big numbers when he’s out there in this game, and the same goes for C.J. Beathard, the third-string quarterback for the Jags.
Beathard is another guy that has legitimate starting experience in the NFL, so he's overqualified for mop-up duty in the preseason. These two quarterbacks make it extremely hard to back the Cowboys, even though they will be playing at home.
Cooper Rush is likely to spend a majority of the time on the field for the Cowboys in this game, and Rush has actually looked pretty good for Dallas thus far, completing 65.7 percent of his passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns in three exhibition appearances.
However, the team also has to give Ben DiNucci some reps, and DiNucci has not looked capable of even playing against anybody at this level. Last week, the 24-year-old threw three interceptions against the Houston Texans, and he’ll be a threat to turn the ball over whenever he drops back on Sunday.
The Jaguars have had trouble stopping the pass in the preseason, but facing DiNucci gives them an opportunity to turn in a nice performance before the season starts.
PREDICTION: Jaguars -3.5 (-110)
Over/Under pick
The Jaguars have allowed at least 300 passing yards in each of their previous two preseason games, and they gave up 23 points in each of those contests. That suggests that the Cowboys will be able to score some points in this game, especially when Rush is in at quarterback.
If Dallas can get to 17 or so in this game, that would be a huge win for Over bettors. Jacksonville is due for a breakout offensive performance in this game, as both Minshew and Beathard will be looking to showcase their talents for other teams.
That’s one of the reasons the Over is such an enticing play — but it helps that Dallas’ defense hasn’t been great in the preseason either.
PREDICTION: Over 36.5 (-110)
Jaguars vs Cowboys betting card
- Jaguars -3.5 (-110)
- Over 36.5 (-110)
Picks made on 8/27/2021 at 6:20 p.m. ET
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