If you ask any team in the NFL what is one of the biggest factors to a successful season, more than likely the majority of the clubs will stress health. You can’t forecast injuries just you like it’s impossible to handicap turnovers and penalties. They happen for a reason and always hurt.
Heading into a Week 6 battle against Arizona on the road, Dallas was listed as the top team by the oddsmakers at Las Vegas Sports Consultants, the company that provides over 90 percent of lines to casinos in Nevada .
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Not only did the Cowboys suffer a 30-24 overtime loss to the Cardinals, the club also lost starting quarterback Tony Romo for the next three games due to a broken pinky in his throwing hand. Also, it was reported earlier this week that defensive back Adam Jones was suspended indefinitely as well.
Dallas had earned a power rating of 145.2 prior to the losses but that number has since dwindled down to 138.7, which is ranked 13th amongst all teams in the league. The Cowboys head to St. Louis this weekend with Brad Johnson as the tabbed starter behind center. Before the Romo news broke, LVSC opened Dallas as an 11-point road favorite but that number has simmered to as low as 6 ½-points at some books.
While the Cowboys dropped 12 spots, the once winless Rams moved up two places from dead-last to 30th. New head coach Jim Haslett and his troops are fresh off a 19-17 stunner over Washington last Sunday as a 12-point road underdog. The defensive effort was a major improvement, considering the unit allowed 38, 41, 37 and 31 in the first four games.
Tied at the top of the heap are the Chargers and Giants with a ranking of 143.1. New York had its road winning streak snapped on Monday in a 35-14 loss to the Browns while the Chargers avenged three straight losses to the Patriots with a 30-10 triumph at home. San Diego begins a two-game road trip to Buffalo and then to London in a battle versus New Orleans.
Sticking with the Saints, Sean Payton’s team jumped from No. 15 to No. 9 in the latest LVSC rankings. New Orleans hammered Oakland 34-3 in wire-to-wire fashion but now begin a brutal four-game stretch outside of Louisiana . First, the Saints play at Carolina before the previously mentioned trip across the pond versus the Chargers. Then, a bye week before back-to-back road games at Atlanta and Kansas City .
Below is a complete list of the LVSC Power Rankings.
