NFL WEEK 14 – CHARGERS vs. COWBOYS
Never, ever it is a good sign when an NFL owner talks on or off the record about the status of his head coach, but it’s Wade Phillips’s lot in life that Jerry Jones has never met a microphone that he didn’t like.
LOOKING FOR THE BEST NFL CAPPERS ON THE INTERNET + WEEK 14 NFL PICKS? CLICK HERE —–>
Time: Sunday 4:15 ET
Venue: Cowboys Stadium
MoneyLine: Chargers +140 (-110) / Cowboys -165 (-110)
Spread: Cowboys -3
Over/Under: 48.5
1. The team has sucked in big games.
2. Because of 1, the Boys have not won even one playoff game.
So with Dallas (8-4) tied for first in the air-tight NFC East and the 9-3 Chargers in Big D on Sunday afternoon, it just about goes without saying that this game is very important in the coaching career of Bum Phillips’s son.
Nothing short of divine intervention will enable to Cowboys to snag the second NFC seed (and first-round playoff bye) from the 10-2 Vikings, so it would be a good idea to take care of business against Dan Diego, fend of Philly and New York, and at least get a divisional-round home game that is awarded to the NFC East champ.
It’ll be no small task, because San Diego is hardly the pushover that it was in the first month of the season. The Chargers arrive in Big D with a 7-game winning streak, and while 4 of those games came against Kansas City (twice), Oakland and Cleveland, they are quickly becoming the team no one wants to catch in the playoffs. With Denver just a game behind in the AFC West, the chance of a letup against the Cowboys is slim.
The Chargers have no trouble moving the ball. They are averaging 34 points over the last four games, and when you put that many points on the board you have to invent ways to lose. That hasn’t happened. Philip Rivers has 7 TD passes and zero interceptions over that span, and the Chargers have lost only one fumble.
With each win, the image of Charger coach Norv Turner as an over-his-head dunce melts away. Turner’s emotionless demeanor has invited withering criticism from Charger fans over the last few years, but now his stay-the course style seems to be producing dividends.
Most books have this as a field goal game, interesting only because the Cowboys are having difficulty kicking field goals. Nick Folk has missed 8 (of 24) times this season, including a key 42-yarder in the loss to the Giants last weekend. Fingers are being pointed at holder Mat McBriar, and there is talk that Tony Romo will get the job again. That should produce shudders for Cowboys fans who remember Romo’s last hold for the Boys, which he botched, costing Dallas a field goal and resulting in a playoff loss to Seattle in January 2007.
Lots of subplots in this one should make for a terrific game with playoff implications.
Comment on this game below, hit us with your pregame NFL picks and predictions…
Grab yourself a 50% SIGN UP BONUS today at Sportsbook.com Sportsbook! (Plus you grab yourself a $25 Free Bet!!!) – CLICK HERE NOW!
Lawrence Paul is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog, and is a free-lance gambling and travel expert from Massachusetts.
