A massive Monday Night Football for week 6 in the National Football League, as the Dallas Cowboys head to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers, where they will look to bounce back from a humiliating loss at the hands of the 49ers in week 5. With the Chargers refreshed after coming off the bye, this should be a thrilling matchup between two teams with deep playoff aspirations.
Below, we will dissect the matchup, previewing how we think things will play out, and give out our Best Bet. Make sure you are following Before You Bet, as we will have dedicated Match Previews for all Prime-Time games this season, as well as a preview of the main slate on Monday’s. All for free!
NFL Week 6 Predictions & Tips
Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Chargers
SoFi Stadium, Tuesday 17th October, 11:15am (AEDT)
Last Week
As mentioned, the Cowboys come off a horrible loss to fellow NFC heavyweight the 49ers, going down 42-10 last Sunday night. The Cowboys were dominated from the outset, with the 49ers outgaining the Cowboys 421 to 197, whilst gaining 5 yards per pass more than the Cowboys and winning the turnover battle 4-1. Quarterback Dak Prescott was eventually benched, after throwing 3 interceptions, to go with Tony Pollard’s fumble.
The Chargers had the bye in week 5, with their most recent encounter in week 4 being a nail biter against the Raiders, in which the Chargers snuck home 24-17. The Chargers should have won far more comfortably, leading 24-7 at halftime, before not scoring in the second half. Justin Herbert barely threw the ball, after hurting his finger during the second half. The Chargers need to learn how to put games away sooner, or it will be another disappointing 9-8 type season for this talented team.
Injury Report
Los Angeles Chargers
Mike Williams (WR) – OUT
Corey Linsley (C) – OUT
JT Woods (DT) – OUT
Donald Parham Jr (TE) – Questionable
Joey Bosa (LB) – Questionable
Nick Williams (DT) – Questionable
Alohi Gilman (SAF) – Doubtful
Deane Leonard (CB) – Doubtful
Dallas Cowboys
John Stephens Jr / Peyton Hendershot (TE) – OUT
David Durden (WR) – OUT
DeMarvion Overshown (LB) – OUT
Josh Ball (OT) – OUT
Trevon Diggs / CJ Goodwin (CB) – OUT
Leighton Vander Esch (OLB) – OUT
Chuma Edoga (OG) – Questionable
Juanyeh Thomas (DB) – Doubtful
Match Preview
These teams last met just over two years ago at this same venue, with the Cowboys sneaking home 20-17 in a tight encounter. The Cowboys managed to win the turnover battle 2-1, which ultimately decided the game.
This game opened Cowboys -2.5 on the lookahead, before re-opening at Cowboys -2 after last week’s games. The Chargers have been bet down slightly to 1.5, with news coming out of some internal issues developing at the Cowboys after last week’s poor performance, which followed on from the Cowboys losing to the Cardinals just two weeks prior. Given the Chargers almost zero homefield advantage, my raw power numbers give a fairly good indication of where I find the value in this game, with my numbers making the Cowboys close to a 3.5-point favourite at a neutral venue. Once I factor in my subjective numbers, I make the Cowboys close to a 4-point favourite, meaning I see real value here in a nice bounce back spot for the Cowboys.
As for the total, it was 46.5 on the lookahead, before re-opening at 49.5. The total has continued to be bet up, to where the total now sits at 51.5. I kind of like the under in this game, with some familiarity on both sides, with Kellen Moore trading his OC role at the Cowboys for the same job at the Chargers. But, given the nature of the Chargers to be involved in shootouts, I think I’ll leave this one alone and just play the side in this matchup.
Dallas Cowboys -1.5
$1.92 (2 Units)
