Dolphins vs. Cowboys Betting Line

Home: Dallas Cowboys (6-4 overall, 4-1 at home)
Away: Miami Dolphins (3-7 overall, 1-4 on the road)
When: Week 12. Thanksgiving Day. Thursday November 24, 2011 at 4:15pm ET
TV: CBS

The second Thanksgiving Day NFL game has the Dallas Cowboys hosting the Miami Dolphins at 4:15 pm ET. If your family is like mine, the men in your family will be overdosed on tryptophan and hogging the couch right around half-time. If you’d like to place a bet on this game, we have the latest Dolphins vs. Cowboys point spreads, money lines, and over/under odds listed below – from the best US friendly online sportsbooks. BetOnline accepts Visa, Mastercard, and Amex for deposits. Bodog accepts Visa.

After losing their first seven games of the season, the Miami Dolphins are coming off of three wins in a row. While they weren’t wins against any elite teams, the way they’ve won has been impressive. The Dolphins beat the Chiefs 31-3 in week 9, the Redskins 20-9 in week 10, then the Bills 35-8 in week 11. That’s a combined score of 86-20. Not too shabby.

The bad news for the Dolphins is that the Cowboys are hot too. They’ve also won their last three games, two of which were against the same teams the Dolphins beat. In week 9, the Cowboys beat the Seahawks 23-13. They destroyed the Bills 44-7 in week 10, and then squeaked by the Redskins (27-24) in OT in week 11.

Latest Dolphins at Cowboys Betting Lines: Week 12, 2011

Below are the latest Dolphins vs. Cowboys betting lines for this 2011 Thanksgiving Day matchup. To place a bet, click on any of the sportsbook logos or odds links below.

Dolphins vs. Cowboys Thanksgiving Day Analysis & Prediction

These teams have had very similar results in the last 3 weeks, and against two of the same teams. Seasonal stats don’t tell us much about the Dolphins right now, because they’re clearly a different team than they were during the first seven weeks. The Cowboys are better as well.

The Dolphins rushing defense has been exceptional during the last three games, holding their opponents to a total of 218 yards on 70 carries (3.1 yards/carry). Their passing defense has been excellent as well, giving up a total of 616 yards on 115 attempts (5.36 yards per attempt).

Tony Romo has been playing much better in recent weeks, throwing 8 TD’s with 0 INT’s in the last three weeks. In the last 6 weeks, he’s thrown 12 TD’s, with just 2 INT’s. For the season, he’s thrown 19 TD’s and 7 INT’s. Tight End Jason Witten has been his favorite target, but he’s also hitting Dez Bryant, Laurent Robinson, and Miles Austin almost at-will.

Rookie runningback DeMarco Murray has been a beast for the Cowboys the last several weeks, rushing for a ridiculous 6.0 yards/carry, and 747 total yards. He’s also caught 21 passes for 136 yards. Apparently nobody told this kid he was playing in the NFL now, because he’s putting up college-type numbers. With all of that said, he didn’t have a good game against the Redskins in week 11, gaining just 73 yards on 25 carries (2.9 avg). The Dolphins rushing defense has been great in recent weeks, and the Cowboys will need Murray to have a solid game and open up the field for Romo and his receiving corps.

This is a great game on paper, a Miami defense that has been outstanding in recent weeks, against a potent Cowboys offense with so many weapons. However, the Cowboys offense is a completely different creature than the Dolphins have faced recently. The Cowboys can kill you in a number of ways, and adjust to defenses better than the last three teams the Dolphins have faced.

Being played in Dallas, of course we have to give the Cowboys a bit of an edge right off the bat. The Cowboys are 4-1 at home, and the Dolphins still haven’t proven they can beat a good team on the road. As good as the Miami defense has been recently, none of their recent opponents have had a well-rounded offense like the Cowboys have. In the end, the Miami offense won’t be as effective as the Cowboys offense, leading to a Cowboys win at home.

Miami Dolphins vs. Dallas Cowboys Point Spread

At the time of this writing, the best Cowboys point spread is at BetOnline, at -7 (Even). The best Dolphins point spread is at Bodog, at +7 (-110).

This spread seems about dead-on the money to me, making this a tough pick. I’m predicting a Cowboys win by 1 touchdown, so I’ll take the even odds on them at BetOnline. We have to pay -110 or -120 on any other pick right now, so this bet makes the most sense to me.

If you prefer the Dolphins and the points, go to Bodog where you can get them at +7 (-110). As the Cowboys vs. Dolphins point spread changes, we’ll update the chart posted above.

Cowboys vs. Dolphins Money Line

The Cowboys vs. Dolphins money line hasn’t been posted at Bodog yet. At BetOnline, the Cowboys money line is -290. The Dolphins money line is +245.

I’m not crazy about either of these money lines, so I’ll wait until closer to game time before deciding to make a bet or not. I’d like to see something like -250 on the Cowboys, or +285 on the Dolphins. If either of those become available, I’ll make that bet. Right now, I don’t see enough value on either side to bet on the money line.

Dolphins vs. Cowboys Over/Under Betting Odds

At the time of this writing, the latest Dolphins vs. Cowboys over/under is 44 (-110) for either side at BetOnline and Bodog. I’m expecting a score in the range of 27-17 up to 31-24, so clearly I’m taking the over. Both teams have shown us they can score, and an over/under of 44 looks low to me.

I’ll bet on the over at BetOnline, at 44 (-110). If you prefer the under, you’ll get 44 (-110) as well.

Bet on Dallas Cowboys vs. Miami Dolphins

For this Thanksgiving Day Cowboys vs. Dolphins game, I’m going to bet on the Cowboys -7 (Even) at BetOnline. At the current odds, I’m going to skip the money line bet and see how the lines move. If either side shows more value, I might make a bet – but it will likely be close to the start of the game after casual bettors have pushed the line.

For the over/under, I prefer the over on this game. This is possibly my favorite bet for any of the Thanksgiving Day NFL football games.