The Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys close out their preseason campaigns at the AT&T Stadium on Friday night.
Seattle is 0-2 in the preseason after losing to the Chicago Bears 27-11 last week. Meanwhile, Dallas is 1-1 after picking up a 32-18 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in their most recent preseason outing. The win however was the Cowboys’ first in their last seven preseason games.
Dallas opened as the -1.5 point spread favorite in this game but with all indications pointing to the Cowboys resting their starters as they await Week 1, the Seahawks have emerged as favorites by one touchdown. Seattle still has to settle its quarterback issue and with Drew Lock expected to get significant minutes in this game, sportsbooks have the Seahawks favorite to end their preseason campaign on a high note.
The Seattle Seahawks ended an era when they traded QB Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos during the offseason. With Wilson gone, the big question is who the next QB1 will be. At first, it appeared like it was going to be Geno Smith who has been the backup in Seattle during the last three seasons. However, with the Seahawks acquiring Drew Lock from the Broncos in the Wilson deal, Smith had competition. The third game of the preseason is usually a dressed rehearsal but with the QB1 situation still unsettled, that won’t be the case for the Seahawks.
Both Lock and Smith played well during the team’s first preseason game with each throwing over 100 yards. Lock did not play in Game 2 due to COVID-19 and Smith got all the opportunity he needed to prove his worth. But he didn’t. Now Lock is back and head coach Pete Carroll says Lock will get his chance on Friday. With Lock expected to play significant minutes, we might see the other Seattle starters who have held out so far after two games. Because of their situation, it’s believed that the Seahawks have more motivation to win this game.
While the Seahawks are still trying to figure a lot of things out, the Dallas Cowboys are set and ready to enter another season with the hopes of going deep enough in the postseason to give themselves a chance at returning to the Super Bowl. Dallas looked good during the regular season with QB Dak Prescott returning from injury. Despite a good season, Dallas’ Super Bowl hopes quickly evaporated when they lost in the wild card round to the 49ers.
The Cowboys will be returning Prescott and hopefully, he will even be better than he was last year. Dallas has an excellent running back duo of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard plus they have a young and talented wide receiver in CeeDee Lamb. On defense, they have two young stars in Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs. As with the previous campaign, health is the main issue for Dallas. If the core can stay healthy, the Cowboys are legit contenders. Having said those, they are ready for the regular season and don’t want to do too much on Friday to avoid any unnecessary injuries. Prescott isn’t expected to play in this game just as most starters aren’t.
Seattle is 5-1 SU in their last six games against Dallas. The Seahawks have also won two out of their last three meeting against the Cowboys in Dallas. Seattle is also 1-2 SU in their last three preseason games against Dallas.
Seattle Seahawks SU trends:
Dallas Cowboys SU trends:
This preseason game is a tale of two different teams. The Dallas Cowboys are preparing for a season where they hope they go deeper in the playoff and get a shot at winning the Super Bowl. Dak Prescott looked great last season in his first year back from injury and should be better this year The Cowboys will use this final preseason game to identify who will remain on the roster before the final cuts. They are likely going to toggle with the entire roster, leaving no continuity in play. With the Cowboys also nursing injuries, look for them to rest most of their starters in this game.
Will Grier and Cooper Rush remain in a battle as to who will be QB 2 for the Cowboys. Neither has played well in the preseason and the two combined for only 130 passing yards in their last game against Los Angeles. Neither Grier nor Rush has also thrown a TD in preseason play so if Prescott does not play here, the Cowboys will look to their defense and special teams to pull off the win.
Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks are trying to forge a new path and looking for a new leader after trading Russell Wilson to the Broncos. Seattle has an ongoing quarterback battle between Drew Lock and Geno Smith. Head coach Pete Carroll didn’t say who will start but said that Lock will get a lot of playing time after not being able to play in their second game. With Lock looking to lock up the QB1 job, look for him to go all out here.
Geno Smith was largely unimpressive last week as he failed to move the offense inside the Chicago red zone. Smith managed just 112 yards on 10-18 passing and left the game with a knee injury although it wasn’t considered serious. But given Smith’s performance and injury, plus Carroll’s statement about Lock’s playing time, I expect Drew Lock to figure in significant minutes here.
Between Lock delivering on offense and Dallas hoping for another save from their special teams or defense, I’m going with the former. Drew Lock proves his worth and helps the Seahawks win.
Prediction: Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks are 4-0 ATS in their last four games played against the Cowboys. Seattle is 2-1 ATS in their last three head-to-head meetings in Dallas. The Seahawks are 1-2 ATS in their last three preseason games played against the Cowboys
Seattle Seahawks ATS trends:
Dallas Cowboys ATS trends:
KaVonte Turpin has been exceptional in the preseason but it would be difficult to ask him and the special teams to make up for the team’s offensive woes. The Dallas offense must be able to move the ball and get some scores to win this game. No, they are not against an elite offensive team like the Chiefs, Packers, or Bills but they are facing a Seattle team that needs to know who starts in Week 1.
Pete Carroll sounds like he wants to give Drew Lock every opportunity to prove himself in this game after missing Game 2 with COVID-19. Lock is undoubtedly the better QB1 option than Geno Smith, at least for now, but he must prove his worth. Lock was limited in his first practice back for there’s no question he is raring to go here. With Lock expected to play significant minutes, look for the Seahawks to familiarize himself with their starters, who have not played at all this preseason. With Seattle having a lot to prove here, I expect them to pick up the big win.
Prediction: Seahawks -7
The total has gone under in six out of the last 10 meetings between these two teams. The under is also 5-2 in the last seven meetings in Dallas. The under is also 2-1 in their last three preseason meetings.
Seattle Seahawks over/under trends:
Dallas Cowboys over/under trends:
I have no doubt that the Seahawks are going to bring the best of their offensive game here with Drew Lock expected to figure in heavy minutes. However, the Cowboys don’t have the same mindset and are merely going through the motions, hoping nobody gets hurt before the start of the season. With a more conservative approach, I don’t think that the Cowboys will be looking to score as much as the Seahawks.
Also, the Seahawks have scored an average of only 18 points per game in the preseason. Dallas scored 32 last week but gives most of the credit to their special teams. Don’t forget, they scored only seven points in their preseason opener. The backup QBs have not looked good for the Cowboys either, so I don’t expect a fluid offense here.
This total opened at 40 but is down to 37.5. Despite that, I don’t think Dallas is too concerned about scoring that they will help the Seahawks breach the total. Give me these teams to hit the under.
Prediction: Under 37.5
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
