Miami Dolphins @ Dallas Cowboys Thurs. Nov. 24, 2011 4:15 p.m. EST

The Dallas Cowboys are arguably one of the most popular football teams in the NFL today with a huge fan base and an enormous amount of pressure to make the playoffs every single season. Not only is there a lot of pressure on America’s Team to break into the postseason every year, but the expectations of contending for a Super Bowl title is also something expected on an annual basis.

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Despite having one of the most talented rosters in the league, the Dallas Cowboys have really struggled to become one of the elite teams in the NFL once again with superstar quarterback Tony Romo under center. There is no doubt that Romo is a talented quarterback with a potentially bright future ahead of him, but with no running game over the past few years, the three-time Pro Bowler hasn’t been able to do the job all by himself on offense.

Fortunately, this season has started to look up for Romo and the Cowboys as Dallas has finally become a legitimate threat in the ground game with the emergence of up-and-coming running back DeMarco Murray. With five straight games of 73 rushing yards or more, Murray has quickly become one of the rising stars in the NFL coming out of the backfield. Murray has only reached the endzone twice this season, but his impact has been huge for the Cowboys as this offense is finally reaching its potential.

Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys

Not only is the team starting to come together offensively with Tony Romo and DeMarco Murray leading the way, but the Dallas Cowboys have won four out of the last five games and are in the hunt for the NFC East division title. After beating the division rival Washington Redskins in overtime last week (27-24 OT), the Dallas Cowboys have moved into first place in the NFC East and seem to have the edge in the division moving forward.

In Week 12, the Dallas Cowboys will continue the annual tradition of playing on Thanksgiving Day as they will host the resurgent Miami Dolphins. Even though the Dolphins were considered to be one of the frontrunners for the first pick in the 2012 NFL draft and in the race for Stanford’s Andrew Luck about a month ago, things have started to turn around for the struggling NFL franchise as Matt Moore and company will come into this game having won three straight.

With a disappointing record of 3-7, the Miami Dolphins are basically out of the running for a playoff spot in the AFC Conference, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be giving it everything they have on Thanksgiving Day against the Dallas Cowboys.

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As of right now, the Dallas Cowboys have the edge in this matchup with a -7 point spread. Even though the Miami Dolphins might be able to make this game competitive, the Cowboys should come out on top and cover the spread.

Take the Cowboys at -7.