The Jacksonville Jaguars and Dallas Cowboys will kick off their 2023 preseason on Saturday afternoon at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
Last season was considered a success for both teams despite losing in the playoffs. The Jaguars won the AFC South for only the second time since the 1999 season. The Cowboys went 12-5 and won only their fourth playoff game since 1996, and their first since 2018.
Do not expect to see much — if any — of the big names you know from both sides, but this could still be an entertaining game. Jacksonville and Dallas will both be looking to get some of their new starters some game action. This includes the returning Calvin Ridley.
I analyze the NFL odds and give my best NFL picks and predictions for Jaguars vs. Cowboys on Saturday, August 12 below.
Jaguars vs Cowboys odds
Jaguars vs Cowboys predictions
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson is a big believer in playing starters at least a little bit throughout the preseason. He came out on Monday and said he feels they need that energy of starting a game and expects the full starting unit to play a series or two. Last year, Trevor Lawrence played a total of seven series in the preseason.
Calvin Ridley will be making his first return to game action since October 24, 2021. All reports from camp are that he looks in better shape than ever and is making sharp cuts in his routes. It will be fascinating to see him in game action with Lawrence passing him the ball.
Once Ridley and the starters are off the field, some more fireworks will spark with rookie running back Tank Bigsby. The third-round pick from Auburn has already worked his way into likely seeing some playing time in the regular season behind Travis Etienne, but he should get a decent workload on Saturday.
On the Cowboys side, they will not be playing any of their key starters, including Dak Prescott. This means Cooper Rush will get the start at quarterback with Will Grier in reserve. The big story to watch will be at the running back position for Dallas. Tony Pollard is the clear starter, but the reserve roles and roster spots are completely up for grabs.
Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis, and Deuce Vaughn will likely split time on Saturday to get a good feel on who performs best in similar situations. My personal favorite is Vaughn, and I would love to see the rookie succeed despite his small stature. I believe he will make some big plays in this game.
This line is a bit inflated in my opinion just because the Jaguars will be playing their starters. However, one or two series will not be the difference in this game. I will take the team playing the same players for a full half or more to find their rhythm and win the game. I also like the Cowboys reserves more than I do the Jaguars reserves.
My best bet: Cowboys +4.5 (-109 at UniBet)
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