Betfair.net

Coming off a bye week, the Dallas Cowboys will be looking to gain ground the NFC East as they face the Atlanta Falcons who are looking to stay within sight of first place New Orleans.

This is a big game for both teams, as the Falcons go to Dallas for the first and only time this season. Dallas must prove to that they can compete with the big teams in the league as their 3 wins so far have been against winless teams. They have a strong offensive game, which is rated second in the league, but Tony Romo has only 6 touchdown passes this year.

The team hopes to utilize Miles Austin, who debuted two weeks ago with a dynamite performance of 250 yards in the air and two touchdowns. Their hope also stems from the fact that the Falcons placed cornerback Brian Williams on injured reserve and now must find a way to contain the Cowboys attack in the air.

While the Cowboys are in the middle of the league pack when it comes to points allowed per game, they are in the bottom when it comes to yards given up per game with an average of 357.8. They also give up an average of over 100 rush-yards per game which means the Falcons could have a field day in that department with Michael Turner. He has 17 TD's in the past 13 games including 6 in the past 4 games alone. But if for some reason Turner is off his game on Sunday, they have plenty of weapons in the air with the likes of Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez. On the day that Austin recorded his 250 yards performance, Roddy White had 8 catches for 210 yards with 2 touchdowns when Atlanta blew away the 49ers. He's averaging 77 yards per game this season. Meanwhile Gonzalez has touchdowns in 3 of his past 5 games.

Sophomore Quarterback Matt Ryain has won 7 of his past 8 starts and is 4 of 5 in October. His passer rating of 95.6 on the season is good enough for 10th in the league, while Tony Romo's 86.5 puts him at 17th in the league. Also, the Falcons haven't allowed a sack in its last 4 games, meaning Ryan will have time to find his receivers. The last time these two teams met, Romo and running back Marion Barber had big games, but that was back in 2006 and this is not the same Atlanta defence. The falcons are 4th in the league in points-allowed per game at 15.4, making them very proficient. However with the loss of Brian Williams, I have a feeling this will be a high scoring affair.

The Cowboys will be plenty rested coming off their bye week, while the Falcons are coming off a big win at home against the Bears. I feel very confident in backing Atlanta at 2.86 since they are the better team and the Cowboys have been inconsistent in their play all season. There will be over one hundred thousand people at this game cheering on their 'Boys, but I have a feeling they'll be leaving home empty. Back the Falcons in this game