SuperBook Sports previews tonight’s showdown

NFL: Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Chargers

Well, at least the Cowboys get another shot in primetime relatively quickly. One week after getting embarrassed on “Sunday Night Football” by the 49ers, they’re back in the spotlight on “Monday Night Football.” San Francisco smacked Dallas by a final score of 42-10, and handed the Cowboys their second loss of the season.

Meanwhile, it feels like the Chargers haven’t played in forever, because they haven’t. Los Angeles had one of those early byes and hasn’t been on the field since Oct. 1 versus the Raiders. An 0-2 start had many concerned, but the Chargers rebounded to beat Minnesota and Las Vegas to get to 2-2. While the teams are in different conferences, both need a win to continue to further their playoff hopes. It should be a good one.

Cowboys -1.5 (-110)

What to like about this line…

• When Dallas wins this season, they win big. Like, really big. The Cowboys have beaten the Giants 40-0, Jets 30-10 and Patriots 38-3. That’s a combined 108-13 in their three victories, just an insane margin. The Dallas defense has given up just 83 points, which was the fourth-best in the NFL entering Week 6. And considering the Niners put up 42 of those last week, this unit can be quite good. They might make life tough for a usually explosive Chargers offense. 

• It’s not like the two wins Los Angeles has posted this year are very impressive. The Vikings are just 2-4 and the Chargers beat them by only four points. The Raiders are 3-3, but their victories have come over the Broncos, Packers and Patriots, that’s the definition of blah. Plus, SoFi Stadium will look like Dallas West on Monday night, as the Chargers have trouble drawing their own fans into the building. With Cowboys supporters m everywhere, it’ll feel like a home game, and probably 70% of the crowd supporting Jerry Jones’ team.

What not to like about this line…

• The Chargers were able to take Austin Ekeler and Justin Herbert off the injury report over the weekend, which is huge knowing their star running back and quarterback will both be out there. Ekeler hasn’t played since Week 1, sidelined by an ankle injury. But against the Dolphins, he was his normal excellent self. Ekeler went for 117 yards on the ground, averaging 7.3 yards per rush and also scoring a touchdown. Additionally, he caught four passes for 47 yards. He’s a game changer and gives L.A. a huge boost. 

• It’s hard to ignore what San Francisco did to Dallas last weekend, potentially exposing their holes on both offense and defense. George Kittle had three touchdowns, with Brock Purdy throwing for four overall. Christian McCaffrey also found the end zone and the Niners rushed for 170 yards. You better believe Herbert, Ekeler and wide receiver Keenan Allen watched that game and know what they can also do. On offense, Dak Prescott threw for just 153 yards and tossed three interceptions. Tony Pollard went for just 29 yards on the ground. The 49ers showed the league how to beat (and even dominate) this team.

Over / Under 51.0 (-110)

What to like about the over…

• There’s no doubt both these teams can score the football, and there’s plenty of playmakers on both sides. Star pass-rusher Joey Bosa is questionable, so if he can’t go, that should help the Cowboys offense. As mentioned, Dallas has scored 40, 30 and 38 in three games this season. Los Angeles has put up a total of 34 once, 28 another time and at least 24 in their other two contests. Points shouldn’t be an issue, especially with both offenses looking relatively healthy outside of Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams blowing out his ACL a few weeks back. Betting the over is more fun than the under, so it’s worth a look.

What to like about the under…

• Dallas has gone under 51 in four of their five games, with only last week getting there by just a single point. They’ve been involved in a lot of blowouts, games in which zero points were scored by an opponent once, three points and 10 points. And they managed just 10 themselves last week. The Chargers went under this number in their last game, scoring just 41 combined with the Raiders. They’ve also pushed it once (against the Titans) and got over by one (with the Vikings). Unless this game turns into a shootout, the under feels more likely to hit. Even if the final score is something like 27-24, a high scoring game, you only get a push. There’s some evidence you should stay away.

Preferred Prop: Austin Ekeler First TD +450

Taking Ekeler to score at anytime is a lock, but the -210 payout isn’t great. Why not go all in and put some action on him to be the first TD scorer at +450? Back and healthy, Ekeler has a knack for finding the endzone and he’ll do it tonight; there’s no reason to think he can’t do it first. He was dynamic against the Dolphins in the season opener, and with Ekeler, the “rest” feels like it will be more significant than the “rust.” The anytime option is always there, but if you’re in on Ekeler, you might as well get paid. 

Steve Quinne’s Pick: Los Angeles moneyline (+105)

The Cowboys were exposed last week, plain and simple. They’re good at beating up on the bad times, although they did lose to the Cardinals, but don’t have a single impressive win this year given the opponents. When Dallas had its chance to prove they’re a Super Bowl contender, they laid a giant egg. They’re simply still not an elite team, as much as the NFL and their fanbase would probably like that. And the Chargers will be very fresh and pretty healthy, not having played for 15 full days. Ekeler can go wild, and Herbert will find the holes in the Dallas secondary. Look for the Chargers to win a pretty fun game, 30-21.