Dallas Cowboys vs Detroit Lions Prediction & Betting Tips - NFL

Prediction published on 28/12/2023, 20:15  by Matthew Newman | Modified on 29/12/2023 at 14:48 in NFL Predictions

The early hours of Sunday morning will see the 11-4 Detroit Lions travel to the 10-4 Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys have lost back-to-back road games at the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins so they will be grateful to be back on home soil, a perfect 7-0 at AT&T Stadium so far. They can still win the NFC East but that will demand not only another win here but also getting that road monkey off their back and beating the Washington Commanders in Week 18. They average a hair under 40 points per game when playing here, which is an exceptional offensive output. Even when adding in their lesser form on the road, they are averaging more than 30 points per game which is 2nd best in the NFL. They have been stronger defensively at home than on the road, boasting the 5th best defence in terms of points against in the league. Those figures will mean that they will be expected to win this game, especially on home soil.

The Lions are not too far behind the Cowboys with the 5th best offence in the league, averaging 27.5 points per game. Unlike the Cowboys, they have managed to do that on the road as well as home with a record of 6-2 on their travels, averaging 24.75 points in the process. Turnovers have been better on the road as well, of the 21 they have committed this season, 14 have been at home so perhaps the extra pressure put on them by their fans has seen them force plays that are not really there. On the other side of the ball, they have 12 takeaways on the road and seven at home so again, they have better numbers on the road. Only two teams have more rushing yards and five have more passing yards than the Lions this season for a superbly balanced attack. Their running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are 7th and 11th in the NFL in yards with 90 and 128 needed respectively for 1,000-yard seasons. There have only been seven pairs of teammates in the history of the league to both go over 1,000 rushing yards in the same season which shows the rarified air these two are in.