Atlanta Falcons vs Cowboys: Week 10 staff predictions

Writer: Yuriy Andriyashchuk

Game: Dallas Cowboys (5-3) vs Atlanta Falcons (4-4)

Breakdown: The Falcons are coming off of a heartbreaking loss in Carolina in Week 9 as they had a chance to win it in the fourth quarter but Julio Jones failed to catch the “gimme” pass from Matt Ryan in the end zone. They are looking to earn a must win vs the Cowboys in Atlanta this week after a three-game road trip to put them back in the NFC South and playoff hunt.

News broke Thursday of Cowboys’ running back Ezekiel Elliot’s suspension being upheld. Elliot will miss at least four games while the process is still in place. This is good news for Atlanta as Elliot is second in the NFL in rushing with 783 yards. Backup running back Alfred Morris can still give Dallas some tough grind-it-out yardage but the impact won’t be as great as when Elliot has the ball in his hands.

Two weeks ago in the Falcons’ win over the Jets on the road, they did a phenomenal job of keeping the chains moving and putting up points in the red zone. In their loss vs the Panthers, the Falcons revered back to their miscues of not converting on third down or making key plays to keep drives going. Julio Jones was basically a one-man show in Charlotte while the rest of the offense was non-existent.

If the Falcons fix this problem and revert back to the ways of their explosive 2016 offense, then their hopes of turning their season around are very much alive. Both defenses match up evenly as Atlanta is ranked 10th in total defense and Dallas is 11th.

Despite Elliot not playing, expect the Cowboys to be very competitive but I have the Falcons squeaking out a tough win before they head back on the road in Week 11 to take on the Seahawks.

Final: Cowboys 21 Falcons 24