Los Angeles Chargers and Dallas Cowboys will meet in Week 2 of the NFL.
Both teams played solid soccer in the opening games of the season, only the results were completely different.
The Chargers and their young quarterback are doing well
The big question for the upcoming season was whether young Herbert would lead the Chargers. Yes, last year was phenomenal. The quarterback won the title of best rookie of the season. But there’s always room for improvement, both for him and his team. They need to get to the next level, and the first championship game showed that the Californians are quite capable of it.
Herbert had 31 of 47 passing with 337 yards and a touchdown.
The young talent, however, had one interception. That led to drama at the end of the game against Washington, but still, the Chargers won (20-16).
Keenan Allen, Herbert's top receiver, had a great game, too. He accounted for a grandmaster 100 yards on 9 receptions.
The team's defense is at a decent level, and in the game against the Dallas Cowboys, Derwin James will return to the team.
Dallas lost to the reigning champion
- You know you're going to face the king, right? - DeMarcus Ware (a Dallas legend) asked one of the Texans' rookies before the start of the season.
In their very first championship game, the Cowboys had to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, triumphant in last year's Super Bowl. And the Dallas defense was challenged by Tom Brady himself, the greatest player in history.
We should note, however, that Dallas put up quite a fight. There was suspense until the very end of the game, and the champions had to work hard to win the game.
Sometimes losses are worth more than victories. That was the Cowboys' last game.
Dallas showed their best in every quarter of the game. The defense was the foundation of the team. Yes, they missed big plays a few times from Brady to Brown. They couldn’t gold Gronkowski in the scoring zone (and who could?). But in general, the Texans' defense seemed to be on point.
So was the offense. Dak Prescott was back in the lineup. Everyone remembers his horrible injury last season, how the team fell apart after he was out for the rest of the season. A full year of doubts about the talented quarterback's future. And he's back on the field. 403 yards passing, 3 touchdowns -- remarkable comeback stats.
But there are problems, too. First of all, DeMarcus Lawrence, one of the main defenders, is injured. Randy Gregory is dealing with the same problem. It's almost impossible to imagine the Cowboys' front line without these two!
Head-to-head encounters
Dallas Cowboys managed to lose all preseason games as well as the first match of the championship. So, the team hasn't seen a win since last year. They lost to Pittsburgh (3-16), Arizona (16-19), Houston (14-20), Jacksonville (14-34), and Tampa (29-31).
Their opponents are doing much better. There is a win to start the season and two wins (over the Rams and Chiefs) in preseason games with two losses.
Expert Betting Tips
It is very difficult to determine the favorite for the upcoming game. Let's try to push back against the Dallas Cowboys. On the one hand, there’s the return of Prescott and a hard-fought game against the reigning champion. On the other, there are defensive leaders with injuries. Add to that the likely injury to star running back Ezekiel Elliott and the offensive line's injury problems (and that's with the mighty Joey Bosa in the lineup, who dreams of getting to Prescott).
The Chargers have plenty of problems, too, but not so many. And, of course, the return of Derwin James will affect the team, both mentally and game-wise.
That being said, we’d consider the California team the favorite, though that's a tough choice to make.
Other predictions
