Jaguars vs. Cowboys: Defensive struggle in Dallas?
The Jacksonville Jaguars and Dallas Cowboys could find themselves in a defensive clash as they go head-to-head on Sunday in Week 6.
In years past, the Dallas Cowboys were a team that thrived off of their offense. Through five weeks in the 2018 season, we’re not seeing anything of that sort. This has been a team whose success to this point has largely been due to their defense. And in Week 6, they’ll meet up with a similar team as the Jacksonville Jaguars come to Dallas on Sunday.
Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott have been elite players in the NFL before, but neither have been to this point. That’s not all of their faults, however. The play-calling on offense from Jason Garrett and Scott Linehan has been criminally bad, made even worse by an under-performing offensive line. None of that is great for the Boys as they get set to face an elite Jacksonville defense.
The Cowboys defense, however, has been impressive. Demarcus Lawrence has emerged as a star edge rusher in this league while young talent in the secondary and linebacker corps, headlined by Jaylon Smith, has stepped up. In this matchup, the Jaguars will be starting a third-string left tackle and will have less-than-100 percent players elsewhere on the line. That’s exploitable for the Boys.
If they’re able to get past the line, that could cause the Jaguars offense problems. Blake Bortles has continued to be a roller coaster this season, made worse with continued injuries to Leonard Fournette, who’s out for this game. With that and a depleted receiving corps, the potential for a Bortles dumpster fire to get set ablaze is certainly there.
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From Calais Campbell to Jalen Ramsey, though, the Jags thrive off of their defense. When looking across at this struggling Cowboys offense, they have to believe they’re about to dominate this game on that side of the ball. If they’re to have success and stay afloat, they may have to.
TV and Live Stream Info
Date: Sunday, Oct. 14, 2018
Start Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
Location: Arlington, TX
Stadium: AT&T Stadium
TV Info: CBS
Live Stream: FuboTV, NFL Sunday Ticket
Even going on the road, the Jaguars are still favored by a full three points. Of course, the Cowboys haven’t given the oddsmakers too many reasons to believe in this team at the moment, so that does make sense. Regardless, the defensive narrative appears evident with the low Over/Under.
Betting Odds (via Odds Shark)
Point Spread: Jacksonville -3
Moneyline: Jacksonville -175, Dallas +155
Over/Under: 40
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Prediction
This is going to be far more of a defensive game than most are expecting. The Jaguars offensive line injuries should allow the Cowboys to force Bortles into mistakes. Meanwhile, Jacksonville’s strong defense should bring about more questions about Dallas. At the end of the day, however, I trust the Dallas playmakers on offense to do something more than the Jags’.
Final Score: Jacksonville 10, Dallas 16