orioles

The Steelers opened the week as dogs, but now find themselves marginal favourites - although they're a pick 'em with many books. The Cowboys are 0-9 ATS at home and that run may continue. Pittsburgh have kept their last seven opponents to 200 yards or fewer passing, but have a badly nicked up secondary and their pass rush will need to be effective to keep Romo from exposing them deep. However, the Dallas O line has been awful and Romo will need to use all his talents at extending plays to keep the chains moving. A strong run game would help, but the Cowboys haven't got the ground game going all year, for a number of reasons, and the Steelers are a fine run stopping unit, ranking 4th in the NFL. Dez Bryant's injury is a blow for Dallas - as the receiver who has the most rapport with...

The Eagles. Poor, clipped, wounded sparrows. Battered, beaten and they've Nick Foles under centre. Presumably, Dallas will try to stuff the Eagles' run game (their only remaining offense) and force Foles to try and keep pace by throwing to what's left of his receiving corps. I say keep pace, because Dallas should pour it on against one of the poorest defenses about. The Cowboys are wildly unpredictable from week to week, but they've always struck me as 'flat track bullies' (for those of you reading this on my other blog, who aren't followers of cricket, I apologise: it means when the going is easy, they look aces) and really, if ever there was a team to show off against, it's Philadelphia. The Eagles haven't conceded less than 28 points since October 14th. They have a -17 turnover...

Great, a choker followed by a game between maybe the two most unpredictable teams in football! I honestly couldn't pick a team to cover with these two, so I'm going to post my one 'No bet' of the year ATS. Instead, head to SJ and back Over 5 sacks in the game for a small interest; the Eagles don't have an O line and DeMarcus Ware and his buddies must be licking their lips. [b][i]Pick: Over 5 sacks @ 2[/i][/b]

Atlanta are a solid team: Dallas are not. Usually, the team that wins the turnover battle, wins the game. With this in mind, consider the fact that Romo has thrown thirteen picks this season, whereas the Falcons [i]as a team[/i] have turned the ball over just seven times. Romo tends to be wildly unpredictable and tonight he won't have a run game to fall back on (DeMarco Murray is out and Felix Jones is banged up) and he'll be behind an O line that has had problems keeping him protected. Atlanta can be beaten deep, and Romo has decent options downfield, but he'll turn the ball over to an offense that can be ruthlessly efficient. Matt Ryan has been solid this season and if he's given any time, he can look at targets like Roddy White, Julio Jones and the ageless Tony G. Dallas corners...

The Giants are strong on the road ATS (10-3-1 since 2011) and I'll take them to cover tonight. Manning went 26 of 40 for 337, but looked slightly out of sync last week and Coughlin needs to get Bradshaw rolling, particularly catching out of the backfield now that the Cowboys have lost Sean Lee. Cruz is a beast and can prosper in this matchup where he's likely to draw Scandrick operating in the slot; look for the usual big play attempt with Cruz on the end. Unfortunately for Dallas, they're badly depleted in the run game, because Washington ran all over the Giants last week: Phil Costa's absence won't help and the net result is that the Cowboys will need to rely on Romo's arm and he has struggled to produce consistently this season - largely because of continuing protection problems....