Thanksgiving Second Helping: Miami at Dallas

Well, they are doing the little things that affect winning–red zone, third down conversions, turnovers–that they were so bad at early. But it goes to show the small difference between winning and losing in this league. They aren’t playing that much differently than before. They have outgained the three juggernaut opponents by a whopping 57 yards in the three victories. That’s right. They have outscored their recent opponents by more points than they have outgained them in yards.

Dallas, meanwhile, comes into this game off surviving in overtime against the Redskins. It wasn’t their best performance of the year, but winning a game like that is a welcome relief in Dallas. If the Cowboys can win today and beat Arizona next week, they can take a strong hold on the division heading into the showdown at home against New York.

Here’s a quick tale of the tape:

ONYA DNYA OYPC DYPC Cowboys 7.4 6.1 4.6 4.3 Dolphins 6.1 6.5 4.0 3.7

The Cowboys have a definite advantage in the passing game matchup. The Cowboys’ running game with DeMarco Murray emerging is strength on strength against the Dolphins pass defense. Given the passing game discrepancy, Miami will need to continue to do those things like win the third down conversion and turnover battles to pull the upset.

[photo via Getty]