Cowboys vs. Seahawks Betting Preview

This Cowboys vs. Seahawks betting preview is brought to you by the folks at Sportsinteraction.com

Romo is back. Owens has decided to grace us with his presence on the field. And Dallas is only one spot out of the playoff picture and tied with Atlanta in wins and losses for the sixth spot.  And it terms of talent, Seattle and Dallas don't even compare, especially with a Dallas home field advantage in the mix.

But Seattle is playing for dignity. Does it matter?

At 2-10 and with no playoff hopes, this isn't the season that the Seahawks were expecting. In a division where two out of their three division opponents are sporting losing records (San Francisco at 3-9 and St. Louis at 2-10), the Seahawks should have been able to at least take advantage of weakened two-game opponents to support a winning record. But that wasn't the way the season played out, and now the Seahawks are on the outside looking in. Could a high profile Thanksgiving game give them a spark to show what they can do against erratic Dallas and its erratic players?

Probably not. And the reason is that Romo and Owens respond well to motivation. Romo's all-American ethos means that he wants to achieve, especially on the most American of holidays, for the fans and the family. Owens isn't quite that selfless. He likes to achieve so that later, when the media complains about his personality or temper tantrums, he can remind us (again) that he's one of the best players to ever play the game. Better than Randy Moss, if you believe the words out of Owen's mouth.

Dallas knows that in the eyes of media, fans and the rest of the NFL, their season will not only be a colossal waste of talent and skill if they don't, at a minimum, make it into the playoffs, but it will also be used by the media to create even more headline stories about the "character" of the Dallas team. From Romo's dating life to Owens hubris to Pacman Jones behavioral problems. If Dallas can't find a way solidly into the playoff picture, it's going to be a media field day pointing out all of the reasons why.

And you have to think that Dallas is tired of that. And, whether they say they care or not, motivated to keep themselves out of the spotlight in a bad way. They'd all rather be hearing about the Thanksgiving Day blowout highlights than how the Dallas Cowboys are the new Oakland Raiders.

So, while there are grumblings out there that Seattle is a better team than their record reflects, with stronger individual players than the team's performance reflects and the potential to surprise Dallas on a big game day, there's one more important reality. Dallas has more to prove, more on the line, and plain old better players playing on their home field (which is even more important given the short rest week). This isn't just going to be a win, it's going to be a trouncing.

Sportsinteraction.com has the early line posted at Dallas at -13. We think that's an easy cover. Plus, Sportsinteraction.com is such a fan of the traditional Thanksgiving Day Dallas game and T.O., that they're offering a limited time 20% bonus on any deposit over $81 (in honor of T.O.'s jersey). Whether Dallas wins or not may not be an exciting game to care about, but adding the action of the spread could make your Thanksgiving day exciting enough to counteract the sleepy effects of turkey.

Sarah Payland, Gambling911.com