Los Angeles Chargers vs Dallas Cowboys Prediction, 8/24/2024 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Week 3 Preseason
Game: Los Angeles Chargers at Dallas Cowboys
Date: Saturday, August 24, 2024
Location: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX
TV: NFL+
Odds/Point Spread: Cowboys (-3.5)
Total/Over-Under: 33
The Dallas Cowboys (12-5 last year) will play the Los Angeles Chargers (5-12 last season) at AT&T Stadium on Saturday. Dallas opens this matchup as 3.5-point favorites from Vegas oddsmakers. The betting total is set at 33.
The Los Angeles Chargers finished the season having earned a 5-12 record. In their last contest, the Chargers played the Broncos and went home with a loss by a final score of 24-7. Easton Stick connected on 13/24 with 179 yds passing. He had a quarterback rate of 78.3 and ended the game with no picks. Austin Ekeler was the rushing leader for the Chargers with 10 carries for 51 yards (5.1 yds per carry). Quentin Johnston averaged 30.3 yards per catch by accumulating 91 yards on 3 receptions. The Los Angeles Chargers rushed the ball a total of 19 times and tallied 76 yards, earning them an average of 4.0 yds per carry. Overall, they had 67 plays for 283 yds. Los Angeles gave up 21 completions on 33 attempts for a total of 216 yds, and a completion rate of 63.6%. In the running game, the Chargers gave up 106 yards on 31 attempts, which is an average of 3.4 yds per run surrendered.
Concerning putting the ball in the endzone, the Los Angeles Chargers averaged 20.4 points per game. As a team they held an average of 96.6 yds via the ground game, which had them sitting 25th in the National Football League. The Chargers attained 5,599 total yards for the prior campaign. Los Angeles had 204 1st downs as a unit, and they were hurt by 79 penalties for 725 yards. They turned the football over 21 different times (8 interceptions and 13 fumbles). Los Angeles totaled 24 touchdowns via the pass and 11 rushing touchdowns.
The Chargers were sitting in 24th in the league concerning team defense, giving up 23.4 points per contest. The opposition ran for an average of 4.1 yards per attempt on the ground and 113.2 yards on the ground per game for the previous season. During the season, they gave up 1,924 yards via the ground game in 17 outings. Concerning passing yards, the Chargers conceded 4,246 yards which had them ranked 30th in the National Football League. Over the course of their 17 games, they surrendered 249.8 yards per game through the air as well as relinquishing a completion percentage of 65.1%. They allowed 362.9 yards/game which put them 28th in the league.
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The Cowboys finished the season having earned a 12-5 record. When they last took the field, the Cowboys walked away with a victory by a final of 33-13 when they played the Eagles. Dak Prescott (2 touchdowns) finished the contest with 271 yds on 24/39 passing while his quarterback rating was 99.4. He didn't throw any picks and his average yds per pass attempt was 6.9 yds. Tony Pollard carried the football 16 times for 59 yds, ending the game with 3.7 yds per carry for Dallas. Jake Ferguson was a featured target for the Cowboys, grabbing 5 throws for 72 yds (14.4 yds per catch). Dallas ran for 4.3 yds per attempt, finishing the game with 138 yards on 32 attempts. The Cowboys finished the contest with a total of 394 yds while they ran 74 plays (5.3 yds per play). The Cowboys pass defense gave up a completion percentage of 67.9%, surrendering 218 yds on 19 for 28 passing. Dallas surrendered 23 rush attempts for 106 yds (4.6 yds per rush).
When it comes to their ability to score points, the Cowboys sat 1st in the NFL averaging 29.9 points per game. Last season, the Cowboys threw for a total of 4,397 yards via the pass not to mention averaging 258.6 passing yards per outing, which ranked 3rd in the NFL. They held an average of 112.9 yards per game on the ground and rushed for 1,920 yards for last season. The Dallas Cowboys averaged 371.6 yards per outing which had them ranked 5th out of all teams in the NFL. The Dallas offense totaled 964 penalty yds on 115 violations, ranking them 2nd in the league in terms of making mistakes. They tossed 10 interceptions while surrendering 6 fumbles and they earned 229 1st downs.
They surrendered 21 touchdowns through the air as well as 187.4 yards per game, which had them sitting 5th out of all teams. Dallas surrendered a total of 1,910 yards on the ground (112.4 yards per game) and 14 touchdowns by way of the ground game throughout last year. In total, they surrendered 315 total points. Their defense compiled 26 turnovers (9 fumbles recovered and 17 picks) in the prior season. The Cowboys defense was on the field for 1,014 plays, which had them sitting 2nd in the NFL. The Cowboys conceded 18.5 points per game, which put them in 5th of all teams in the NFL.
Who will win tonight's Chargers/Cowboys NFL game against the spread?
Josh's Pick: Take the Cowboys -3.5
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Additional Resources:
Dallas Cowboys - Twitter
Los Angeles Chargers - Twitter