Dallas Cowboys’ Betting Odds: Dallas Should Lead NFC East
Is this (Finally) the Big Year for the Cowboys Since Super Bowl XXX?
The Dallas Cowboys pulled off one of the NFL’s biggest turnarounds from 2020 to 2021, going from a playoff-loss 6-10 campaign to a 12-5 season in which they won the NFC East and had the league’s best offense. But, they faced a quick playoff exit as they lost to the San Francisco 49ers at home in the Wild Card round. So, Dak Prescott and a revamped wide receiving core will look to finally get the Cowboys over the proverbial hump. The Dallas Cowboys betting odds like their chances to be a legitimate contender but the top of the NFC is crowded which makes things difficult.
For the most part, the Cowboys return the same team that was far and away, the best in the NFC East a year ago. But, they did lose pass-catchers Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson and brought in former Steeler James Washington, so Prescott will have a new-look group of weapons to turn to.
Other than Cooper and Wilson — as well as offensive guard Connor Williams and pass-rusher Randy Gregory — Dallas is pretty much intact. That’s a good thing, particularly on offense where the Dallas Cowboys team stats were gaudy. The major concern for Mike McCarthy’s team in 2022 will be on the defensive end, as the Cowboys were merely in the middle of the pack in a lot of categories.
Can Dallas Keep Forcing Turnovers?
The single most impressive aspect of the 2021 Cowboys’ season was how good Dallas was at forcing turnovers on defense. Much of that success could be attributed to Trevon Diggs, whose legendary interception season, 11 in 16 games – was a big reason why Dallas led the NFL in turnovers forced, interceptions, and was third in turnover rate. As a result, the Cowboys’ defense managed to allow the seventh-fewest points despite being 19th in points allowed.
What Would Be Great: Leading the league in turnovers would be fantastic for the Dallas Cowboys betting odds this season, however, it’s not likely to repeat itself. Turnovers tend to fluctuate from year to year and it would be nearly impossible for Diggs to come close to replicating his historic 2021 campaign from a ball-hawking perspective. Also, his performance cooled down as the season dragged on and he committed plenty of blown coverages that allowed opposing wide receivers to post big gains.
If the Cowboys’ turnover rate drops without an overall improvement on the rest of the defense, like with rushing the passer or stopping the run game – Dallas was 23rd in the NFL in opposing rush yards per carry – then Dallas could be in some trouble. The good news is that the {Micah Parsons/Leighton Vander Esch} duo is one of the best linebacker duos in the league; and with plenty of talent spread across the defense, the Cowboys should still be fine.
Dak Must Stay Healthy
Even the most pessimistic Cowboys fans couldn’t complain about Prescott’s play in 2021. Dallas’ star signal-caller tossed 37 touchdowns compared to just 10 interceptions, had nearly 4500 passing yards, and was the focal point of the NFL’s top offense both in terms of points and yards. It’ll take an adjustment for Prescott to get used to not having both Cooper and Wilson on the outside. James Washington hasn’t produced at the same level as Cooper and Wilson to this point in his career but he has talent. Washington should be healthy for the NFL preseason despite dealing with a foot injury.
The Dallas Cowboys betting odds seem to like Dallas’ chances to win the NFC East reflected by its +125 divisional odds and could possibly win 11 or more games yet again. The Cowboys’ regular-season win total has consistently been at 10.5 wins even though the price for the over has moved down from -115 to -105 since April. Still, the Cowboys’ odds to make the playoffs currently sit at -290. There’s plenty of optimism surrounding them despite Dallas’ odds to notch another division title being +125 now, after being -120 in April.
The major reasons for pessimism about the Cowboys is health. Prescott has dealt with plenty of injuries throughout his career, Michael Gallup is coming off a torn ACL and Ezekiel Elliott hasn’t been at 100% in a while. So, there are valid concerns and if Prescott, Gallup, Elliott, and/or CeeDee Lamb miss significant time, Dallas could be in serious trouble on offense.
The NFC Is Tough
The other reason to be down on the Cowboys is that they’re in a very difficult NFC, which features the reigning champion Los Angeles Rams, the always-tough San Francisco 49ers, the Aaron Rodgers-led Green Bay Packers, and Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So, there’s a lot of competition that could stand in Dallas’ way as the Cowboys try to make their first Super Bowl since 1995.
Dallas has the fifth-best conference odds at +850Â while possessing +1800 Super Bowl odds. Of course, those odds aren’t exactly low nor do they make the Cowboys anything close to a presumptive favorite. But, considering that the NFC is so loaded, it helps that Dallas is in what looks to be one of the worst divisions in the NFL even if the Philadelphia Eagles are a bit improved.
So, Dallas should be able to escape the NFC East but things will get much harder from there. The Cowboys saw that first-hand in 2021 when they laid an egg against the 49ers, with home field advantage to boot. Another solid regular season won’t end up meaning much for Dallas if the Cowboys can’t get it done in the postseason.
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