Sunday Night Football in Week 8 has a matchup straight out of the ‘90s with the Dallas Cowboys taking on the struggling San Francisco 49ers (-3.5). San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan has his work cut out for him, as a completely depleted wide receiver core sees Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings out and Deebo Samuel questionable, while George Kittle should be play — but seeing Kittle’s name on the injury report doesn’t make you feel good. The Cowboys are coming off their bye week but will still be without Micah Parsons on the defensive side. It’s worth mentioning that Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy is 12-5 for his career after a bye.
Here is my favorite prop bet.
Brock Purdy (SF) Under 31.5 pass attempts (-120)
Line available on FanDuel Sportsbook at the time of publishing.
As mentioned in the opener, the 49ers’ receiving core is hurting. Kittle and Deebo may play with rookie Ricky Pearsall making an appearance, but I have to imagine Shanahan is going to focus on the ground game this week. When you consider they are playing the Cowboys, it further adds to that notion. They rank dead last in rush defense according to PFF, 30th in opponents rush attempts per game, 28th in opponents rush yards per game and 32nd in rushing 1st downs per game. I was expecting this number to be at 29.5 given that’s his median pass attempts on the season. For Purdy, the game will dictate how this line plays out. In all 3 of his wins, he is well under this number. In 3 of his 4 losses, he has become a gunslinger. After seeing the Cardinals and Rams win in primetime, I have to imagine the 49ers come out hot at home and run the ball down McCarthy’s throat.