Falcons open as 9-point underdogs against the Cowboys

On the heels of a win in hostile territory over hated division rivals the New Orleans Saints, the 4-4 Atlanta Falcons head to Dallas to tackle the 6-2 Dallas Cowboys. While the Falcons enjoyed a road win on Sunday, the Cowboys took an at-home drubbing by the Broncos for their second loss of the season.

All this has factored into the opening odds, obviously.

According to our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook, the Falcons opened as nine-point underdogs on the road against the Cowboys, a line that likely would have been a bit larger save for Atlanta’s unexpected win against New Orleans and Dallas’ home loss against Denver.

Both teams are in the mix for the playoffs — the Cowboys a bit more in the mix than the Falcons. Dallas leads the dumpster fire of the NFC East, and the Falcons have scraped to .500 in a competitive NFC South.

If you believe that narratives can present a factor, the Falcons will enter this one with a bit of extra motivation, as they’ll be meeting their former head coach and current Dallas DC Dan Quinn for the first time since he received his walking papers in Atlanta.

They’re no longer in the basement in the division, but they have a lot of work to do should they firmly enter the playoff conversation. A win on the road against a division leader will certainly help that, underdogs or not.

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.