Dak Prescott managed to do what he does best once again on Sunday, and I’m referring to the fact that he beat a Daniel Jones led team once again. Dallas waltzed into Indianapolis and ultimately came away the victors in a nail-biting game that really felt like it was going to come down to who made the last critical mistake.

The defense once again was anecdotally bad. I can say with supreme confidence that Daron Bland is the worst football player I have ever watched play in a Dallas Cowboys uniform. We thought Trevon Diggs last stint in Dallas was bad- Bland is 3x worse. He will undoubtedly be cut in the spring whenever his contract out comes in to place. The defense is missing Overshown- and Barham inexplicably only played three snaps on defense (via Marcus Mosher on Twitter). I fully believe that when Joey Porter Jr. can play consistently, at least some of the coverage issues can be assisted. Downs doesn’t naturally fit as a corner and needs to be used more frequently as a nickle or his natural position, safety. Also, shout-out Caleb on recording his first NFL interception with a game ending pick off of an errant Daniel Jones throw. The Cowboys are going to have to find a way to continue to patch this defense with edge rush and pass defense.

The offense was humming again. CeeDee had a monster game once again- even if he did have the boneheaded fumble that kept the Colts in the game towards the end of things. Dak looked great and had some incredible throws down the stretch where he put the ball right into the receiver’s hands 40 yards downfield. The running game is still iffy- it really feels like they cannot get consistent production out of Javonte and Goodson ended up having a quite solid game.

I am going to continue to harp on this, but Brian Schottenheimer must be fired at the end of this season barring a miraculous playoff run. His play calling is awful, this team is as undisciplined penalty wise as I’ve ever seen from a Cowboys team (which is saying A LOT), and the defense needs to have a better plan on how to try and keep improving. I don’t love Christian Parker’s tenure so far, but it feels unfair to judge him when taking into consideration the entirety of the situation. Mike McCarthy would be 7-2 with this team, and time is ticking for Schotty to figure it out.

Overall, this game was a lose-lose. The Cowboys continue to lurk in the race for the division versus a team that is actively starting Joe Milton, but it really feels like the penalties, lack of defense, and inconsistent offensive performance (mostly due to play calling) is going to hinder this team from making any sort of meaningful run in an NFL that truly feels week-to-week wide open on who is good and who isn’t. If Dallas pulls off some miraculous win versus San Fransisco this coming week I may be singing a different tune, but I hate watching this team and I really don’t know where the future leads for a Cowboys team who’s window with Dak Prescott is rapidly closing.

---

J.A. Riley

Read it on jariley.com

As low as some of my expectations have gotten over the course of this year, this absolutely blows the floor out of the water for disgusting, disgraceful loss. The Cowboys needed to win versus a really bad Cardinals team and end up losing in OT by a field goal.

The defense was stellar in the first half, and by the end they were getting absolutely gashed by Tyler Allgeier of all people. Look, I understand Downs and JPJ ended up leaving the game in the middle of it, but this defense flamed out in spectacular fashion. Allgeier ran straight through the heart of Texas (like Talarico did last night) and made it look easy. Big Q has played great all season, and I’m a big fan of Kenny Clark, but holy crap you cannot let that Cardinals team walk out with the win. Overshown has been really solid, but this defense has to stand up and figure out how to not allow more than 30 points seemingly every game.

I’m not going to absolve the offense, or coaching staff, of this loss either. Even though the Cowboys put up 30 points (which usually should be good enough to win you an NFL game on any given Sunday), their offense stalled out in critical moments of the game. The Javonte Williams experience has been incredibly bipolar, and he has not produced the way they need him to this year. It seems like the Cowboys cannot generate any run offense (they are 22nd in the NFL in rushing yards per game per ESPN stats). Ultimately, opposing defenses know that Dak is going to have to throw the ball to one of his two Pro-Bowl caliber receivers. I don’t know whether to blame Dak for poor play when he had a chance to drive it down in overtime to win the game after a miraculous defensive stop, or if it was incredibly poor play-calling in a win-or-lose situation. It really just feels this is an incredibly poorly coached team.

Schottenheimer had this to say after the loss:

“There’s only one thing I know how to do, and that’s work. I’m a problem solver.”

Well Schotty, you better get to fixing this problem quickly. The division is still up for grabs, you have some really crappy teams left on your schedule, and you have all of the talent in the world. If he doesn’t win the division I really think Schottys gotta go. I don’t have hopes of that as Jerry hates to fire coaches whenever it needs to be done. I was at a loss for words. Onto the Colts, if the Cowboys lose that one- yikes.

---

J.A. Riley

Read it on jariley.com

This is not gambling advice nor do I promote gambling. I am not a good gambler and you should not take anything I say seriously. Please, be responsible. Spreads via DK

YTD on Spreads: 39-48-2, Week 8: 6-7, Week 7: 5-7-1, Week 5: 5-10, Week 4: 8-7-1, Week 3: 6-10, Week 2: 9-7

Jags @ Ravens: Jags -8.5 Who is starting at QB for the Ravens?

Bengals @ Falcons: Bengals -3 I don’t know what to do with either of these teams.

Browns @ Saints: Saints -2.5 Always fading the Browns.

Cowboys @ Colts: Cowboys -6 Sigh.

Broncos @ Panthers: Broncos -3 Is Bo Nix good?

Lions @ Dolphins: Lions -7 This line should be higher.

Rams @ Commies: Rams -5.5 This line should also be higher.

Giants @ Eagles: Giants +3.5 Shrug.

Jets @ Chiefs: Chiefs -9.5 Also shrug.

Texans @ Charges: Texans -4.5 Jim Harbaugh see you on FOX pregame here soon.

Cardinals @ Seahawks: Seahawks -11.5 Sigh.

Packers @ Pats: Pats -2.5 Are the Packers even good?

Raiders @ 49ers: 49ers -8.5 I could go either way on this one.

Bucs @ Bears: Bears -6 Can’t believe the stats from the Bucs game last week.

Bills @ Vikings: Bills -3 No way the Vikings are close on this one.

Let’s have a week.

J.A. Riley

Read it on jariley.com

This is not gambling advice nor do I promote gambling. I am not a good gambler and you should not take anything I say seriously. Please, be responsible. Spreads via DK

YTD on Spreads: 38-38, Week 7: 6-7 Week 5: 5-10 Week 4: 9-7, Week 3: 6-10, Week 2: 12-4

Panthers @ Packers: Packers -3.5 (I would also slam the total over)

Colts @ Jags: Jags -7.5

Ravens @ Bills: Bills -3.5

Titans @ Bengals: Bengals -10

Vikings @ Lions: Vikings +3

Falcons @ Bucs: Falcons +2.5

Raiders @ Jets: Raiders -1.5

Cardinals @ Cowboys: Cowboys -6

Charges @ Rams: Rams -6.5

Pats @ Dolphins: Pats -7.5

Chiefs @ Broncos: Chiefs -1.5

Eagles @ Commies: Commies -4.5

Bears @ Seahawks: Seahawks -3.5

Let’s have a week!

J.A. Riley

Read it on jariley.com

They finally did it. The Dallas Cowboys finally won a game that they would have had no business losing to a backup quarterback in Philadelphia. On Monday night, the Cowboys run game stole the show as they trampled all over what I thought was a pretty good Eagles defensive front.

I’m not going to go and recap stats in this column. You’re welcome to go to the box score and check the different stats that the Cowboys recorded. This one is going to be my pure, unadulterated thoughts on the Dallas Cowboys after seven weeks. They finally got their win in a game that they absolutely should have won. This Eagles team is decimated by injuries, starting with their QB Jalen Hurts in what has been an inexplicable story regarding Eagles doctors keeping him up for 36 hours before their London game, and then him subsequently being diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs the week following- sidelining him for the remainder of the NFL season. I hate the Eagles and I don’t like Jalen Hurts as a football player, but we at J.A. Riley industries are absolutely wishing him the best as a human being. I hope he manages to recover his health quickly and safely- and I will put out good Karmic vibes for his recovery. I may write something about the developing story of the Eagles handling the Jalen Hurts injury at a later date. Seriousness done, back to your regularly scheduled Eagles slander.

The Eagles were also without WR1 Devonta Smith, and Saquon was on limited snaps (even though he was killing the Cowboys when he was in the game.) Ultimately though, I just want to applaud the Cowboys for winning a must-win game that they were favored in by a decent margin. Dak looked great once again, but did have a few errant throws including missing CeeDee for a touchdown (even though he ended up catching the ball.) The run game could not be stopped, Javonte had patience when hitting the gaps and the Cowboys ended up gashing the Eagles on the ground which is not something I have been able to say in a long time. Aubrey continued to be automatic from chip shots, Pickens had some spectacular plays, and Spann-Ford has cemented himself as TE1.

The defense held up well enough. They killed themselves with some stupid penalties that would have allowed them to get off of the field on critical third downs. Big Q was a monster in the middle, Overshown recorded the second interception of the year for the Cowboys (slightly dire stat), and Downs continues to get better and better week by week. Joey Porter Jr. showed off why the Cowboys traded for him, excelling in his press coverage and stopping some really good Eagles opportunities. The Boys still cannot get pressure consistently, only recording one sack this game with their fairly expensive defensive line.

Team discipline and penalties are of concern. A kick return touchdown ended up getting called back on a truly unnecessary hold. There was a roughing the passer call that kept an Eagles drive going where they ended up scoring. It really seemed like the refs were on my screen for half of the game. I also think the Cowboys need some sort of pass rusher that doesn’t need his defensive coverage behind him to hold in order to get pressure. I keep hearing Khalil Mack as an option, but they truly just need somebody who can get to the QB and put some fear into their hearts.

The Cowboys are now 1.5 games back from the Giants who I believe are on a bye this week. They have the Cardinals and Colts coming up these next two weeks, and will hopefully be over .500 after these two games.

J.A. Riley

Read it on jariley.com

486 days. 11664 hours. That is how long Tyrese Haliburton spent away from the game of basketball after tearing his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. The city of Indianapolis had to watch our team lose hope and eventually lose the closest opportunity to a championship that you can possible get to. We had to watch a 19-63 season where quite literally half the team was injured for the entirety of the year. We had to despair in losing a coin flip to lose our pick in a generational draft class and miss out on what will likely be a future All-NBA player from those top four picks. We had to watch our bitter rivals, the New York Fucking Knicks, trot to a championship with quite literally zero resistance in the East. We had to see the NBA completely disrespect us once again by scheduling Hali’s return back in fucking New Orleans on a god damn Wednesday. 486 days of nightmare for the city of Indianapolis and the Pacers faithful.

488 days later, which is tomorrow, Tyrese Haliburton makes his regular season home debut at Gainbridge Fieldhouse against the Dallas Mavericks. The King returns to his kingdom, and will sit back upon the throne that he has built brick-by-brick over the course of the last four years. Tears are going to be shed by both fans and players. The city of Indianapolis and the Pacers faithful will ensure that our beloved team in their iconic blue and gold jerseys know that we are here, we are ready, and that we know that we are so fucking back.

I’ve never had more promise for a professional sports team that I’ve followed. I’ve never experienced nearly 500 days of anticipation for the team’s lynchpin to return. I watched 79 Pacers games last year, sitting there stewing in misery hoping it would pay out in the lottery. It did not. Watching the Knicks win their title without having to go through the King of the East was despicable. I’m confident that Hali is going to make it all worth it during this 2026 campaign.

Let’s talk about roster moves since the 2025 Finals run. Myles Turn(coat)er notoriously left the offseason after the Finals to go to Milwaukee, and scorned the city of Indianapolis and Pacers fans as he left. He is now stuck in basketball purgatory after the Bucks traded away Giannis for measly returns from the Heat (they got blown out by the Wizards last night, Myles put up 11/5/3.) During the middle of the disastrous season last year, the Pacers traded away the beloved Bennedict Mathurin, Ivica Zubac, and two first round picks for Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown. In the offseason, they waived Tony Bradley and Micah Potter. The Pacers signed Kelly Oubre Jr. and Larry Nance, and drafted Braden Smith who will fill one of the two-way slots this year.

This Pacers team is better than the Finals run team. Zubac does everything we need- grabs boards, sets HARD screens, puts the ball back. He had a clearly average night last night and posted a 16/15 double-double in a close win at New Orleans. He had the team’s highest +/- at +11. Oubre had a rough first outing, but he is exactly the type of player this Pacers team will need going forward. He guards out from 40 feet, hustles through screens, and shoots well from beyond the arch. Nance Jr. will provide locker room guidance and will give Zubac some breathing room.

The Pacers offense showed flashes of greatness last night, and they are only going to get better. They had a poor outside shooting performance- shooting 30% from three. Pascal is still quietly incredible- 30/8/1 from our All-Star PF. Obi and Nembhard played fantastic with 20/3/1 and 18/2/9 respectively. Haliburton is king- posting a stellar 23/2/12 statline, scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter on 104% TS%. CLUTCH PLAYER OF THE YEAR. This team was missing out on a starter in Aaron Nesmith and an important role player in TJ McConnell too, and still came out in a tough game versus what I think will be a decent Pelicans squad.

Let’s talk about the bad. Ben Sheppard was bad- missing open shots and shooting them out of rhythm. Jarace Walker had a rough game, and really needs to show more promise in the coming weeks if he wants to keep his rotation as Johnny Furphy recovers from his ACL, and Jalen Slawson is hungry to prove himself at that position too.

488 days tomorrow. The King sits back on his throne. The hearts of millions of fans are finally ready to be free. Welcome back Tyrese.

J.A. Riley

Read it on jariley.com

This is not gambling advice. I am not putting money on any of these picks. I am a terrible gambler. Please be responsible. Lines via DK.

Over Unders:

Timberwolves:O47.5

Heat:O45.5

Raptors:U46.5

Boston:U51.5

76ers:O50.5

Clippers:U28.5

Thunder:U62.5

Nets:O24.5

Mavs:O33.5

Spurs:O60.5

Grizzlies:U29.5

Kings:U20.5

Rockets:U48.5

Warriors:O36.5

Hornets:U37.5

Nuggets:O48.5

Hawks:U43.5

Cavs:O47.5

Magic:U43.5

Knicks:U52.5

Suns:O39.5

Wizards:U34.5

Lakers:O45.5

Pelicans:U28.5

Bulls:O29.5

Jazz:U36.5

Blazers:U40.5

Pistons:U48.5

Bucks:U25.5

Pacers:O44.5

Awards:

MVP: Wemby @ +205

ROTY: Boozer @ +250

MIP: Harper @ +950

DPOY: Wemby @-360

COTY: Rick Carlisle @ +900

6th Man: Kelly Oubre @ +5000

Clutch: Haliburton @ +2200

East: Pacers @ +1200

West: Spurs @ +150

Champion: Pacers @ +3500

Pacers homer. This is a Pacers page. Go. Fucking. Pacers.

J.A. Riley

Read it on jariley.com

This is not gambling advice nor do I promote gambling. I am not a good gambler and you should not take anything I say seriously. Please, be responsible. Spreads via DK

YTD on Spreads: 32-31, Week 5: 5-10 Week 4: 9-7, Week 3: 6-10, Week 2: 12-4

Pats @ Bears: Pats +3

Steelers @ Saints: Saints +3.5

Colts @ Vikings: Vikings -6.5

Bengals @ Ravens: Bengals +3

Giants @ Texans: Texans -10

Browns @ Titans: Browns -1.5

Dolphins @ Jets: Jets -4.5

49ers @ Falcons: 49ers -3.5

Broncos @ Cardinals: Broncos -4.5

Rams @ Raiders: Rams -4.5

Packers @ Lions: Packers +3

Chiefs @ Seahawks: Chiefs +2.5

Cowboys @ Eagles: Cowboys -4.5

Godspeed everyone. Let’s have a week.

J.A. Riley

Read it on jariley.com

Well. Another week of questioning why I put myself through this pain and suffering every year of rooting for the Dallas Cowboys. We are officially in the area of despair in the annual Cowboys “It’s our year” cycle.

I don’t particularly think the Packers are a good team. They have absolutely no ability to run the ball. Golden dropped two different touchdowns after smoking Speed (I’m sure Speed is a super nice person, but damn he was getting killed last night.) Another week of this Cowboys defense making the opposing offense looking like the greatest show on Earth. However, the defense was not the problem last night. (Just to note that the Cowboys couldn’t catch a break with a Dee Winters pick-6 called back on the softest finger-tip down by contact I’ve ever seen.)

If you would have told me going in to Sunday Night Football that the Packers would end with 23 points, I would have COMFORTABLY said the Cowboys won by a full score. Obviously this was so completely wrong. Dak threw two interceptions (one of them being completely on the receiver again, surprise surprise.) CeeDee fell down and the Cowboys turned it over which killed a drive with scoring potential. The film through six weeks is concrete- blitz the fuck out of Dak and the Cowboys offense will completely stall. Schotty has the play calling looking as predictable as me running verts every play on Madden- they get some decent production out of Javonte, stop running the ball, and taking bad shots down the field. Dak has barely looked Pickens way this season, and Jake Ferguson is unfortunately still playing the game of football. I really hate saying it, but Schotty has to go.

Jerry Jones has invested tons of money into the Cowboys with paying premier prices for some great players, and some absolute mediocre players (e.g. Bland, Ferguson, Diggs.) He has cheaped out on the coach for my entire lifetime though. Jason Garrett lived in mediocrity. Say what you want about Big Mike, but he had this team winning 12 games a season before they flamed out in the playoffs. I’m not sure Schotty has a higher ceiling than 8-9 every year at this point. It’s clear and obvious that Schotty needs to be let go at the end of the season. I’m not going to have any hopes of that- Jerry likes to let coaches get two years too many after it is clear and obvious they need to be fired. At the very minimum, they need to hire a wonderkid offensive coordinator and remove playcalling privileges from Schotty.

The Cowboys have some serious soul searching to do because they can’t give up on the season given the circumstances. They don’t have control of their own pick (they give the best option of themselves and Green Bay to New York for the Big Q trade.) The NFC East is a joke- and we could easily see the Cowboys sitting at 6-4 given their next stretch of schedule coming up. I’m not certain what the solution could be, but my hopes are official crushed and I will wake up upset each and every Sunday coming up knowing I have to watch this absolute disgrace of a team.

J.A. Riley

Read it on jariley.com

Daron Bland should never play another down in the NFL ever again. He has given up 182 yards on 15 completions with a passer completion rate of 71.4% through five games. He has given up two touchdowns and only has two pass deflections so far. Every time I see a wide open reiever- there is Daron Bland stumbling on the ground and trying to catch up to a reciever that has already burned him. Last night he had one of the most embarrasing ankles broken clip I’ve ever seen to let a Bucs reciever be literally wide open with no Cowboys defender within 15 yards of him. Bland is terrible, and he will assuredly be cut by March 17th with the out in his contract. I really believe he should not play again in the NFL after these first five weeks of disgrace. He had the easiest pick-six I’ve ever seen to potentially set up a game tying two-point conversion (FOR SOMEONE WHO HOLD THE FUCKING PICK SIX RECORD) and it slipped right through his hands.

What do we do with Christian Parker? This is the historically worst defense in NFL history through five games. He inherited a historically bad defense, he had five defensive starters injured last night- including the former green dot and also their new premier corner they spent significant draft capital on. How do we evaluate the Cowboys inability to stop anything on defense? In theory, the run stoppage should be better, but is the lack of any sort of secondary pressure harming the defense’s ability to lock in the run? I’m still optimisitic they will get better. Better enough to actually compete? That’s where I’m souring.

Dak had another incredible game with really two bad throws (and neither of them were the interceptions.) Flournoy and Jake Ferguson gave the Twitter haters skimming the box score another opportunity to slander one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Jake Ferguson had a dart fly right through his hands and popped up in the air to ultimately lose the game. This is the second game we can attribute a massive Ferguson mistake to contributing to the loss with the first being the fumble versus the Ravens. Turpin fumbled the ball giving the Bucs more points in plus field position. SOMEBODY NEEDS TO HELP DAK. Schotty isn’t helping with the play calls and there were three dumbass drives in the first-half where they tried to get too cute.

I just don’t know anymore. That was one of the most devastating regular season losses I can remember. Do we blame coaches? Players? Ownership? I have no clue. The playoffs are still in play, the division is winnable, but the team is going to have to muster up some nuts to get together and find a way to put together a competent team on all three segments of the game.

J.A. Riley

Read it on jariley.com

Alright folks. It’s finally here. It is time for me to obnoxiously shout from the heavens that our very own Dak Prescott needs to be getting significantly more MVP looks than he is already. He is currently sitting at a solid +1000 (10/1 for my Euros or non-degenerate gamblers out there.) Dak is leading a historically good offense and seems to make all of the right decisions on every drop back he does.

Dak currently sits in seventh place in passing yards, eighth in completion % (min 30 attempts), and tied for seventh in passing touchdowns. The Cowboys offense is absolutely humming along: second in PPG, fourth in third down conversions, third in redzone scoring, and first in points per drive. They’re third in turnovers with only two turnovers in four weeks. CeeDee Lamb has had some absolute monster games, Javonte is running the rock well, O-line play has been solid (and will get significantly better with All-Pro Tyler Smith slated to return here soon.) This team has all of the makings of a championship caliber offense. If the defense was just marginally better, the hype around the Cowboys would be significantly higher.

Dak has turned into a quarterback where I’m not really nervous when he chucks the ball downfield. It seems like he is always making the right and smart read on every play (except for a few goal line audibles that are slightly difficult to explain why.) There is not another quarterback in the league I trust more in a two-minute drill than Dak (maybe Stafford), and he looks comfortable with complete control over the field. His defense is giving him no favors and is allowing tons of fast scoring drives that is forcing the offense to go back out and get back on the board.

It’s early, but Dak Prescott will be the league MVP this year. Just you all wait. I’ll have more to say on the Boys later, but this is your public announcement that the Dak MVP train is officially leaving the station.

J.A. Riley

Read it on jariley.com

This is not gambling advice nor do I promote gambling. I am not a good gambler and you should not take anything I say seriously. Please, be responsible. Spreads via DK

YTD on Spreads: 27-21, Week 4: 9-7, Week 3: 6-10, Week 2: 12-4

We generally know and have a feel on the different teams in the league now. Time to really push ahead with some good picks.

Bucs @ Cowboys: Cowboys -9.5 Jaylon Daniels may look like Patrick Mahomes with this Cowboys defense though

Eagles @ Jags (London Game): Jags -7.5 Eagles throwing in the towel already?

Bengals @ Fins: Bengals -6.5 No Jamarr, no problem

Bears @ Packers: Bears -2.5 Ben Johnson hates the Packers so I’ll take them here

Texans @ Titans: Titans +7.5 Jeez can we skip this one?

Colts @ Steelers: Colts +2.5 I’m really cognizant and concerned about the lighting here.

Raiders @ Pats: Raiders +3.5 Let’s get Kirkin weird

Browns @ Jets: Browns +2.5 I don’t get this one

Vikings @ Saints: Vikings -2.5 This is going to be the most painful 11-6 season ever from the Vikings

Giants @ Commies: Giants +4.5 Can we skip this one too?

Broncos @ Chargers: Broncos -3.5 Way too generous of a line

Lions @ Cards: Lions -5.5 No explanation needed

49ers @ Seahawks: Hawks -3 Don’t feel great about this pick

Ravens @ Falcons: Falcons -3 Is Michael Penis actually good?

Bills @ Rams: Rams -3 I don’t think this Bills team is amazing.

Let’s have a week.

J.A. Riley

Read it on jariley.com

The Cowboys sit with a disappointing record of 1-2 going into their Week Four showdown with the Texans. After a gutting Week Three loss in Rio with a historic collapse to give up a field goal with just seven seconds left on the clock, the Cowboys of Dallas had some soul searching to do in order to figure out a way to get into the driver’s seat in what is appearing to be another weak NFC East.

Dallas lost in the classic Dallas heartbreaking fashion by the offense stalling on the goal line to go up by four (with some questionable play calling and game management by Shotty), settled for the field goal to tie, and gave up the exact play they couldn’t give up with seven seconds to go. Brandon Aubrey should’ve kicked the kick off in the field of play to draw time off of the clock, the Cowboys should have been covering the middle of the field, and ultimately giving a kicker a chance to win on a 56 yard field goal is unacceptable for a team that is clearly trying to win-now. Now, I want to acknowledge the fact that the Cowboys have guys playing meaningful minutes in the secondary right now who were probably doing Doordash a few months ago. I mean this with no disrespect for those guys, but a litany of injuries to the secondary has completed decimated any ability to defend.

This defense has problems. They have 2 total sacks through three games which is absolutely unacceptable. They only have 7 pass deflections and 0 interceptions. They’ve forced 7 fumbles and recovered 2 of them. Holistically, it’s difficult for the defensive line to get to the quarterback when they have nobody pressuring in the secondary. The two arguably starting caliber guys in Downs and Bland have been a tale of two DBs. Downs has been very solid, and like I’ve mentioned before- he will be very, very good once he gets fully up to speed. Bland, on the other hand, needs to be cut from this team immediately when it makes sense business-wise to do so. I don’t know what the curse of paying DBs has been for Dallas with Diggs and Bland, but they’ve swung, missed, and fell flat on their ass with both of those contracts. However, the Cowboys soul searching led to them realizing one thing- go get Joey Porter Jr.

Dallas traded for Joey Porter Jr. just as the clock brought us in to October 1st EST. They gave up a second round, conditional third (if they don’t pay him), and a late round pick. Joey Porter Jr. has been a highly coveted player that has some project elements to his game that I’m hoping the Cowboys can unlock. He was fantastic in coverage last year, mediocre in the pass rush, and bad at run defense (according to PFF). He was graded as the 36th best CB of 114 last year. Honestly, I’ll take that. If he wants a big ass contract, hopefully he plays his ass off this year and really shows that value. People are talking about how the Boys likely won’t have the capability to pay both Pickens and JPJ which I don’t believe is true. With them set to release Bland when the dead cap numbers fall off before next season. I’m quite excited to get some help in the secondary. Barham is only getting better, and again, I truly believe this young defense will figure out how to be average by the end of the season (which is all they need to be.)

I don’t feel a big need to talk about the offense. Dak is playing at an MVP contender caliber, the WRs are playing great, Javonte is consistent, etc. Should this team be able to win 10-12 games and make the playoffs, I’m still exceedingly hopeful that they have a chance to compete with anyone in the league.

There’s a solid chance everyone in the NFC could be 2-2 at the end of this week. Let’s see what happens.

J.A. Riley

Read it on jariley.com

This is not gambling advice nor do I promote gambling. I am not a good gambler and you should not take anything I say seriously. Please, be responsible.

YTD on Spreads: 18-14 Week 2: 12-4 Week 3: 6-10

I am finally writing this after the Thursday night game. I promise I made the pick before the game, and it is evident by the fact that I was wrong.

Steelers @ Browns: Steelers -2.5

Colts v. Commies (London): Colts -3.5

Pats @ Bills: Bills -7 (Can Drake Maye get right? Prob not.)

Titans @ Ravens: Ravens -11.5 No clue on this spread, Cam Ward sucks

Jets @ Bears: Bears -3.5 I don’t know who is starting but I’ll take either of the Bears QBs over the Jets

Jags @ Bengals: Jags +2.5 Jags are really good, keep up the good work

Cowboys @ Texans: Cowboys +3 Homer pick again but we got reinforcements on the way with Joey Porter Jr.

Rams @ Eagles: Rams -3.5 Shrugs

Packers @ Bucs: Packers -3.5 Something has to give

Cards @ Giants: Cards -2.5 El Assico. Is EIGHTEEN starting or Jameis?

Fins @ Vikings: Vikings -10.5 We stay betting against the Fins

Chiefs @ Raiders: Chiefs -4.5 A true test of what the Raiders are made of

Chargers @ Seahawks: Hawks -7 Shrugs x2

Broncos @ 49ers: 49ers -3 I don’t think this Broncos team is good

Lions @ Panthers: Panthers +3.5 I’d take the line on this one too

Falcons @ Saints: Falcons +2.5 Penix is good? So is Shough though. Shrugs x3

Let’s have a week.

J.A. Riley

Read it on jariley.com

THIS IS NOT GAMBLING ADVICE NOR DO I GIVE ADVICE. Just because I had a good start does not mean it will continue. I may or may not bet these lines- probably won’t bet most of them. This is simply for fun to track myself. Lines via DK as of Wednesday night

Last week’s picks: 12-4

Falcons @ Packers: Packers -5.5 This Falcons team is mega ass. Pitts laughing his ass off when they’re asking him how happy he is to be getting a starting QB back.

Chargers @ Bills: Bills -7 Slam, this Chargers team sucks

Seahawks @ Commies: Hawks -7 Mariota stinks. Drew Lock is electric.

Jets @ Lions: Lions -6.5 Bounce back game. I will believe in the Jets if they cover here though.

Chiefs @ Dolphins: Chiefs -11.5 Yeah, duh. Betting against Fins covering for the end of time

Bengals @ Steelers: Bengals -3.5 This is surprising. Steelers suck I think.

Panthers @ Browns: Panthers -2.5 I’m slamming alt spreads on this too. Thank you Browns for giving us another week to bet against you

Texans @ Colts: Colts +2.5 No clue on this one. I think the Colts are better than their record.

Pats @ Jags: Jags -3 Iffy on this one too. I want to say Pats but my mind thinks this Jags team is good

Titans @ Giants: Titans +3 Sorry Jameis

Cards @ 49ers: 49ers -8.5 I think the Cards suck and the Chargers suck more

Vikings @ Bucs: Bucs +1.5 Still don’t believe in a Wentz led team, sorry.

Raiders @ Saints: Saints -3 I will be betting the Saints to cover the rest of the year.

Ravens @ Cowboys (Rio game): Cowboys +3.5 Homer pick, Cowboys chance to prove themselves early

Rams @ Broncos: Rams -2.5 Slam, holy shit I can’t believe they’re giving us a price this good

Eagles @ Bears: Eagles -4.5 Without Caleb yeah I’m taking them to cover.

Let’s have a week

J.A. Riley

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The Cowboys course corrected in week two with a 37-20 win against the Commanders at home. This comes on the heels of an infuriating week one loss at the Giants where they made the Giants offense look like the greatest show on Earth. There were a lot of promising notes from this game with a still strong amount of question marks that will need to be answered in the coming weeks.

Dak Prescott became the Cowboys all-time leading touchdown passer, passing Tony Romo’s previous mark of 249 touchdowns. For a franchise with legends such as Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, and (not as legendary but still great) Tony Romo- Dak now sits alone at the top of greatness in his 10th season as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. We have been blessed with almost 25 years of strong quarterback play- and I sincerely hope Dak comes home with a Lombardi before his career is all said and done so we don’t forget his greatness in the sport.

The Cowboys passing game hummed along- Dak threw completed 26 passes on 31 attempts for 279 yards and four touchdowns (and one “Absolute piss missle” according to Tom Brady.) CeeDee had eight catches for 153 and two tuddies, Ferguson had four catches, 43 yards, and the other two touchdowns. This was the Cowboys football we all expected to see this season. The running game struggled though- the team rushed for 66 yards on 21 carries. Javonte couldn’t get his feet underneath him- totaling 30 yards on 12 attempts. There were real struggles here, and hopefully the Cowboys can stick to the run and really establish themselves on the ground. The Boys are still missing their All-Pro Guard Tyler Smith, and will undoubtedly get better whenever he returns to action (estimated in October.) Overall, the Cowboys offense showed a lot of promise this game and can hopefully continue to find more and more rhythm and comfort.

The defense wasn’t great, but were much better than last week. Had Jayden Daniels not gone down at the end of the second half- this game would have likely been significantly closer of a contest at the end of the 60 minutes of regulation. The Commies completed 23 passes on 35 attempts between Daniels and Mariota, totaling 207 yards and two touchdowns. Without a terrible drop by McLaurin in the endzone and an inexplicable no-catch, this should have been four touchdowns on the day. They marched all over the Cowboys- rushing for 182 total yards led by Jayden Daniels’ 69 yards in the first half. The Cowboys did not record a sack which is a troubling pattern through two weeks- Caleb Downs is the only Cowboy with a recorded sack this year. Even more dismaying- the Cowboys will have to be without starting cornerback Cobie Durant after a really unfortunate situation where his teammate stomped on his testicles on accident. Jaishawn Barham is an absolute bright spot on this defense- being ranked 3rd for LBs on PFF. They did this all without highly rated LB Demarvion Overshown This is a really young defense, and I really believe they will continue to get better and better throughout the season. Downs will hit his stride, Barham will continue to get better, and as coverages get better- this very expensive defensive line will hopefully be able to get to the quarterback with a higher frequency.

With Dart and Daniels out for the foreseeable future, the East will likely be a two-team race with Philly and the Boys. Philly narrowly escaped disaster in an extremely hot game in Nashville this weekend.

Eagles 2-0 Giants 1-1 Cowboys 1-1 Commies 0-2

The Cowboys will face the Ravens in Brazil this coming weekend in what promises to be a shitshow of a game. Reports are that the Brazilian field is not great for play- so hopefully they can come out unscathed and with a winning record.

J.A. Riley

Read it on jariley.com

Undoubtedly, after the Lions/Bills game last night, the NFL MVP race is already over barring some catastrophe. It hit me yesterday that we are truly witnessing an all-time great with him in the league. I’ve been so focused on the old guard retiring that I have ignored what has been in front of me. I believe Allen will win a ring before his career ends, but we can’t get caught up in ring-culture with him- he should be mentioned alongside Peyton and Brees when his career is all said and done.

Allen has 92 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns through two games. He has thrown for 582 yards (291 a game), has a 66.7% completion rate and an average YPA of 9.7. He’s thrown for five touchdowns and has a QBR of 125.8. Don’t get me wrong, there is a whole lot of season left- and the week two games haven’t even occured except for last night- but I truly believe Allen has the MVP in hand. His odds on DK currently sit at +350- an absurdly low number for someone to already have.

We will see how the rest of the season plays out, but we are witnessing an all-time great who has likely already locked up his next MVP trophy.

J.A. Riley

Read it on jariley.com

This is not gambling advice nor do I promote or recommend gambling. Spreads are aggregated by Claude through multiple books. I may or may not hammer some of these lines. I am not a good bettor.

Lions @ Bills - Bills -4.5 I think this Lions team has some swiss cheese holes in their defense and the Bills offense is just too talented to not win by a full touchdown.

Panthers @ Falcons - Panthers -1.5 I like this Carolina team and think the Falcons have a serious QB problem.

Saints @ Ravens - Saints +8.5. I’m a big Shough fan. I think this Saints team is fun and can stay in games.

Vikings @ Bears - Bears -6.5. Fluke game from the Vikings. Bears are just better. Easy spread.

Bengals @ Texans - Bengals +2.5. Don’t believe in this Houston team. CJ Stroud isn’t a winning NFL QB.

Steelers @ Pats - Pats -5.5. Rebound game for the Pats. They win by more than a touchdown.

Packers @ Jets - Packers -4. Same logic here. Vegas is overrating Jets. Rebound game by the Packers.

Browns @ Bucs - Bucs -8.5. Hammer this. Terrible Browns team.

Eagles @ Titans - Eagles -7. Also a surprising spread. Eagles win by more than 10.

Jags @ Broncos - Jags +2.5. Don’t sleep on this Jacksonville team.

Raiders @ Chargers - Chargers -7. Rebound game. Easy spread.

Seahawks @ Cards - Seahawks -5. Can’t believe this line isn’t higher.

Commies @ Cowboys - Cowboys -4. Homer pick, I will crash out if they don’t cover.

Fins @ 49ers - 49ers -13.5. Huge spread. Don’t feel great about it but this Fins team is really bad.

Colts @ Chiefs - Chiefs -6.5. Sorry to my hometown team- this Chiefs team is good.

Giants @ Rams - Rams -7.5. Vegas knows this Rams team is better. They won’t let the Giants run the same three plays in a row like the Cowboys last week.

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Ah, week one of the NFL has come and passed. I spent the weekend ignoring most of my substantive adult responsibilities to watch uninterrupted football for 12 hours straight on both Saturday and Sunday. Absolute bliss. As discussed in my Cowboys column, I don’t like overreacting to week one, but here are some of my unbridled thoughts about what we saw this NFL week.

First and foremost, I want to complain about a YouTube TV feature that most customers probably don’t run in to. I watch football almost exclusively on my desktop at home with my triple monitor setup. For some inexplicable reason, YouTube TV on the computer doesn’t allow you to multi-box games. You can on your phone, but the computer doesn’t allow you to. Very annoying!

Also, not NFL related but bad game management and a wide left kick is the story of Ryan Day’s career. I’ve seen him lose that exact same game probably five times throughout the years.

I have no desire to discuss Jets/Titans, Steelers/Falcons, and Dolphins/Raiders. We have nothing to learn from any of those except that Cam Ward is running out of time to show us something, Bijan is really, really good, and that I will likely fade the Dolphins until the spreads get to double digits.

Drake Maye looked bad on Wednesday. Doubs didn’t help with some really critical drops, but Drake Maybe threw multiple five-dollar footlongs in super critical moments. Drew Lock is absolutely electric. That dude is one of the most exciting players in the league- I hope Darnold is okay but I love watching Drew Lock. The Rams punted on the Aussie game. I faded them knowing they were doing so, but their true week 1 starts this next week. The Niners likely will be suffering for their week in Australia this upcoming week.

Cinci looked good, but Baker had some really bad turnovers in the Bucs/Bengals game. I’m not certain we will see the early MVP Baker hype this year- and too early to tell how good this Cinci team will truly be. The Lions should have lost that game. I have never in my life heard of that bullshit rule bringing the Goff fumble back to an “incomplete pass.” Shough is super exciting and I think that Saints team will be pretty damn fun to watch this coming year. Gibbs is obviously the most explosive player in football at this point- but I think Campbell is fighting for his job this coming year. The Colts are off to an absolutely brutal start. Their offense looked constipated for much of the game and the Ravens trampled all over their defense. I think they’ll find rhythm after week 1. 96 points for Bears Panthers. Both quarterbacks looked very good, and shoutout Ice Man complementing Dave Canales’ defense after dropping 59 points on them- absolutely hilarious little quip. Ben Johnson’s squad needs to average 34 ppg for the rest of the season to break the team point total record.

Josh Allen is so good, but there just seems something wrong with that team- can’t put my finger on it. Houston’s defense is one of the best I have ever seen, but Stroud really is struggling to be good enough to support their excellence. Brutal Green Bay loss to Carson Wentz after Kyler takes a devastating hit to the head in the first quarter. I won’t overreact week 1 though. Same thing for the Eagles with the Commies, that game was closer than it should be. Jim Harbaugh- first coach to be fired this year? Justin Herbert- hypothetical man? “We give that grace to young players. You’re supposed to be our number 1, and you’re playing like a bum.” I already discussed Cowboys/Giants in detail- go to my other column to see my unadulterated thoughts about this disgrace of a football team over there.

Finally, how has Patrick Mahomes not had a 1000 season rusher? That’s absurd. Kenny looked so good, but I don’t think Pat played particularly well. Broncos looked rough, but I think they’re probably still going to be a very good team when they get into rhythm.

We will see how week two looks. I’m expecting a bounce-back for most of the teams that we think are legitimately good.

J.A. Riley

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I thought it could be our year. I was probably wrong.

This was the quietest offseason the Cowboys have ever had in my 28 years on Earth. Everything lined up- Caleb Downs fell down from the heavens to fall to the Boys, Pickens gracefully accepted the franchise tag, Rashan Gary could provide some d-line support, Von Miller (!!!) could potentially provide double digit sacks on important downs. Jerry appeared to have swallowed his ego to make moves that would provide for the team. If Dak could play as his MVP fringe candidate self and this team could have an AVERAGE defense they could likely be in title contention. It was a nice dream that all came crashing down on Sunday night at 8:20PM.

I want to first and foremost iterate that I refuse to overreact to week 1. Defenses haven’t been allowed to hit going full-speed yet and are getting up to speed and into rhythm. However, this effort on the defense transcended some minor kinks that need to be worked out in the coming weeks. This game was one of the worst efforts I have ever seen from a defense in the National Football League. Guys were wide open in the second level. Isaiah Likely is a good player, sure, but he looked like prime Gronkowski versus the defense. There was one sack in the entire game by (would you have guessed this?) Caleb Downs. The Giants possessed the ball for 36:40 compared to the Cowboys 23:20. They were 9/11 (kind of poetic) on 3rd down. They had 29 (!!!!) first downs and had an even turnover ratio with each team giving up 1 turnover. The Giants offense, which I think is going to be a very mediocre offense this year, marched down the field consistently with little to no resistance. The Giants ran the SAME PLAY to Devin Singletary THREE plays in a row to give up 30 yards and a touchdown. If I ran the same play in Madden three times in a row the defense would stop it at some point. Schotty had this to say in the postgame presser:

“Not an excuse, guys: we did not play well but you’ve got young players. A young player closes and Jaxson Dart boots and gets outside. We don’t push three different times to the fucking flat route, excuse my language. Those are going to happen, and we have to coach the young players better. But when you play young players, it’s part of the deal. And they need to learn quickly.”

You have young players, but they need to be better if you want to compete.

It’s hard for me to even talk about the offense in this game because they didn’t have a fighting chance. They only possessed the ball TWICE in the second half. Dak played pretty well except for an inexplicable Italian Club sandwich interception at the end of the first half. Javonte rushed for 3.4 YPC. Dak had two TD passes and passed for 175 yards. Pickens drew his classic pass interferences. The offensive line held really well against a truly terrifying Giants defensive front. Lots of positives that will probably work themselves out on this side of the ball- if their defenses give them a chance going forward. Dak is the best QB in Cowboys history- the numbers support this.

Again, I refuse to overreact to a week 1 loss. If they make Jayden Daniels look like Tom Brady next week, we will be having a different conversation, but I think this team will likely be fine going forward.

J.A. Riley

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