The Dallas Cowboys will look to bounce back from their first straight-up loss since Week 1 when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on “Sunday Night Football” as seven-point betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Dallas saw the NFL’s longest win streak this season come to an end with a 10-7 loss to the New York Giants as 3 1/2-point road chalk last week, but maintains a two-game lead over the Giants in the NFC East going into Sunday’s Buccaneers vs. Cowboys betting matchup at AT&T Stadium.
The 11-2 Cowboys have averaged 26.2 points per game this season, scoring 30 or more points on five occasions, but have stumbled over the past two weeks, eking out a meager 22 total points, and are winless against the spread in three straight outings.
That bodes poorly ahead of a clash with the surging Buccaneers. Tampa Bay takes a five-game SU and ATS win streak into Week 15, its longest string of success since its victory at Super Bowl XXXVII.
The Buccaneers have limited opposing offenses to just 11.8 points per game during their current tear, and are an impressive 3-2 SU and ATS in their past five games as underdogs of seven or more points, according to the OddsShark NFL Database.
Elsewhere, the Giants will look to solidify their position as the NFC’s top wild card when they host the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions as four-point favorites this weekend. New York has won five straight at home during its current 7-1 SU run, but has covered in just two of its past four, and has seen the point total go under in five straight.
Last weekend, the 9-4 Lions escaped with a 20-17 win as 7 1/2-point chalk over the visiting Chicago Bears in their fifth straight SU win, but have lost three of four meetings to New York, going 2-2 ATS.
Over in the AFC, the Pittsburgh Steelers look for a fifth straight SU win to extend their lead atop the AFC North as they battle the rival Cincinnati Bengals as three-point road favorites.
The Steelers have won and covered in three straight games on the road, but face a rejuvenated Bengals squad that is on a season-high two-game SU and ATS win streak, and is 3-1-1 SU in its past five at Paul Brown Stadium.
In other NFL Week 15 betting action, the Bears look for a second straight home win as they host the Green Bay Packers as 5 1/2-point underdogs, the New England Patriots visit the Denver Broncos as three-point betting favorites and the Washington Redskins entertain the Carolina Panthers on “Monday Night Football” as 6 1/2-point favorites.
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