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Lions at Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are back. Their return to the top of the NFC East goes hand-in-hand with the return of the running game. Last season Cowboys ranked dead last in rush attempts at 21 per game. This season they are near league top (tied 3rd) at 31.69. This huge change contributed 12 points to their winning marging turning them from losers to winners. You don't see a team go from last to near first on key stats very often. Hat tip to the Dallas Coaching staff headed by Coach Garrett. See the yearly chart below with Number of Rushes in red and Winning Margin in blue.

with
Yearly 2005 to 2014


Oddly enough, the strength of the Lions game is defense against the rush. Giving up only 69.31 Rushing Yards per game, they are league leaders. They may stop the Cowboys rush. But the Cowboys also have an efficient passing game with QB Romo and receiving corps earning 7.43 Yards per Pass Attempt, ranking 4th in the league.

2014 through Week 17


The Cowboys offense is versatile and that's the problem for the Lions. The Lions will need to keep the ball away from the Cowboys. If they can do that (and the Cowboy defense has holes, especially the pass defense) they've got a chance. But the computer sides with the Cowboys and their offensive power, favoring Dallas by 7. I'm with the computer.

Bill Sanders for BudGoodeSports.com
dr.bill@wrsanders.com

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