Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions 2019: Prediction Against The Spread, Odds, Week 11 Betting Preview

Matthew Stafford’s status is up in the air in the days ahead of the Week 11 matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions. Whether or not Detroit’s starting quarterback is able to take the field, Dallas is likely to come away with a victory.

The sportsbooks that do have an early betting line list the Cowboys as 3.5-point road favorites, according to OddsShark. Sunday’s game total is 51.5.

With Stafford under center, the Lions are a bad football team. Detroit is an awful team with backup quarterback Jeff Driskel in the lineup.

Dallas is a good team that beats up on bad opponents, making them the right bet in this contest.

The Cowboys are coming off a close loss to the Minnesota Vikings, who won 28-24 at AT&T Stadium. Three of Dallas’ defeats have come at the hands of teams that are contending for a first-round playoff bye. The only outlier is a Week 6 loss against the New York Jets when both of the Cowboys’ starting tackles and wide receiver Amari Cooper were injured.

Dallas is 4-1 against teams that enter Week 11 with a sub-.500 record. The Cowboys also beat the 5-4 Philadelphia Eagles. Dallas covered the spread in all five of their victories, scoring more than 30 points in each contest.

It’s a pretty safe bet that the Cowboys will hit the 30-point mark Sunday.

Dallas ranks first in the NFL in both yards per play and yards per game. Only five teams are scoring more points per game.

Detroit is 30th in total defense and 26th in opponents’ yards per play. Before losing to Mitchell Trubisky and the Chicago Bears 20-13 in Week 10, the Lions had given up an average of 31.2 points over their previous five games.

If Driskel is called upon to make a second straight start, Detroit’s offense has little chance to keep up with Dallas. Driskel went 27-46 for 269 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Week 10. His 73.6 passer rating knocked his career rating down to 80.4 in nine games.

Stafford was having arguably the best season of his career before getting hurt. He’s got a 106.0 passer rating, throwing for 1,668 yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions in his last five starts.

But Stafford can’t stop Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and an elite offensive line. A week after Elliott was stymied by Minnesota’s defense, the running back is likely to rebound against a unit that’s giving up 4.6 yards per carry.

The Cowboys surrendered 28 points in last week’s defeat as Dalvin Cook ran for 97 yards and totaled 86 yards on seven receptions. With Kerryon Johnson on injured reserve, the Lions don’t have a playmaker in the backfield that will put up comparable numbers.

Dallas is sixth in scoring defense, seventh in total defense and ninth in opponents’ yards per play. The unit will only need an average performance in order for the Cowboys to come away with a victory in Detroit.

Prediction: Dallas over Detroit, 34-20