Mark Franco

Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys still are in the mix in the mediocre NFC East, but they’ll need to snap a three-game skid against the host Atlanta Falcons on Sunday to avoid losing ground. The Cowboys are two games behind first-place Washington in the division while the Falcons, who have a matching 4-5 record, trail NFC South-leading New Orleans by four contests.

Elliott is coming off one of the best games of his young career as he recorded 187 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in last week’s 27-20 win at Philadelphia.

The defense has been solid in every aspect except forcing turnovers, as the Cowboys have only nine takeaways.

Take the Cowboys plus the points

Texans

The Houston Texans bid to match a franchise record by winning seven in a row for the first time since 2011 on Sunday when they face the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field. The well-rested Texans hope to continue their magic following their bye, led by a determined defense that has not allowed more than two touchdowns in five consecutive contests.

Deshaun Watson has thrown seven touchdown passes with zero interceptions during the last two contests of the six-game winning streak, while DeAndre Hopkins has found the end zone five times in his last four.

While Hopkins leads the team in receptions (63), receiving yards (894) and touchdowns (seven) by a wide margin, new acquisition Demaryius Thomas brings a wealth of experience and provides Watson with yet another large target on the outside. The bye week afforded Houston additional time to get the 30-year-old up to speed after he grabbed all three of his targets for 61 yards in a 19-17 win against his former team (Denver).

Look for the Texans to get the job done on the road.

Giants

Manning showed he still has more in the tank on Monday when he threw three touchdown passes -- including one to Sterling Shepard in the final minute -- as New York snapped a five-game losing skid with a 27-23 victory over San Francisco. The win guaranteed Manning the start versus the Buccaneers' 29th-ranked pass defense and nothing more from coach Pat Shurmur, although he has tossed at least two scoring strikes in his previous four encounters with Tampa Bay.

Odell Beckham Jr. has made himself at home in the end zone with four scores in his last five games after being held without a touchdown reception in each of his previous four. Rookie Saquon Barkley has reached 90-plus scrimmage yards in all nine games this season and faces a Tampa Bay defense that has yielded at least 99 scrimmage yards to running backs in each of the past four weeks. A revamped offensive line paid dividends for both Barkley and Manning on Monday, as the former had a season-high 15 carries in the first half while the latter was sacked just once as opposed to 31 times in the previous eight contests.

The Giants have a big day on offense and win going away.

Chargers -7

The Los Angeles Chargers look to extend their winning streak to seven games when they host the AFC West-rival Denver Broncos on Sunday. The Chargers' first contest at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. in 42 days will be against a Denver team that has suffered six setbacks in its last seven games.

Los Angeles has allowed an average of 13.2 points over its last five games while the offense has scored at least 20 in all nine contests this year. Veteran quarterback Philip Rivers (21 touchdowns, four interceptions) is enjoying a stellar campaign, but he also is highly wary of Broncos pass rushers Von Miller (nine sacks) and Bradley Chubb (eight to lead all NFL rookies).

Star defensive end Joey Bosa (23 sacks in 28 NFL games) will be a game-time decision as he hopes to make his season debut after suffering a foot injury in August.

I’ll lay the touchdown with the much better team.