Is This The Year For The Cowboys?

This question seemed far-fetched, even to the most optimistic fans after Dak Prescott fractured his hand in Week 1. Cooper Rush was in line to take over an offense that struggled against Tampa Bay. Then, Week 2 happened. The Dallas offense racked up over 300 yards and the defense stifled the Super Bowl 56 runner-up Cincinnati Bengals.

So, the question remains: Is this the year for the Cowboys? Let’s look at what’s coming up for Dallas and how sportsbooks are viewing the team’s chances for the rest of the season.

Cowboys Remaining Schedule

At the beginning of the season, Dallas had the 10th easiest schedule by way of looking at their opponents’ projected win totals. The Cowboys’ upcoming schedule is quite favorable, as there are only five remaining games against 2021-2022 playoff teams, with two of those being divisional tilts against Philadelphia.

The other remaining games are all away games, as Dallas will travel to Los Angeles, Green Bay, and Tennessee.

The Cowboys’ chances at the postseason could be aided by their weak schedule coming out of their Week 9 bye week. Weeks 10 and 11 present their toughest matchups with NFC North games against the Packers and Minnesota Vikings.

After that? The schedule sets up beautifully for the ‘Boys with games against the Giants, Colts, Texans, Jaguars, Eagles, Titans, and Commanders. Do any of those games jump out to you as definite losses? Because I’m having trouble finding any reason to be pessimistic looking at those teams.

Also working in the ‘Boys’ favor is the fact the NFC in general is weaker this year compared to last season. There were massive shakeups with trades and free agency signings during the offseason that struck significant blows to teams like Green Bay and Tampa Bay.

Cowboys Injury Updates – When Will Dak Prescott Return?

Prescott’s return is something that has been weighing on the minds of Cowboys Nation and there’s already good news on that front. Both Jerry and Stephen Jones have recently made statements saying there’s a possibility the Cowboys’ signal-caller could return as early as Week 4.

Since Prescott was never placed on injured reserve, there is no minimum number of games he is required to miss.

If this timeline holds true, Prescott would potentially return for a home matchup against the Washington Commanders.

The Cowboys could be getting another key offensive piece back as it appears Michael Gallup is nearing a return. With Dalton Schultz suffering a knee injury during Week 2’s win that could sideline him 2-4 weeks, Dallas needs all the offensive help they can get.

Dallas Cowboys Futures Odds

How are sportsbooks viewing Dallas in light of their current situation? Here are the Cowboys’ odds across three different futures markets, courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

NFC East Division Odds

Philadelphia is currently in the driver’s seat and it’s easy to see why. Their offense is firing on all cylinders and although it’s early, it appears as though Jalen Hurts has taken the next step in his development as a quarterback.

We can convert Dallas’ odds into an implied probability, which comes out to an 18.18% chance the Cowboys win the NFC East.

2022 NFC Conference Odds

As of this writing, the Cowboys have the seventh-shortest odds to win the NFC. With no clear-cut favorite, we could see these odds shift dramatically as the season progresses. The Cowboys’ implied probability to win the NFC is just below 5%.

Cowboys Super Bowl 57 Odds

Dallas currently sits in the middle of the pack, tied for the 14th-shortest odds to win the Lombardi Trophy this year.

Listed in the table are the six teams with the five shortest odds for reference, with the Packers and Eagles tied at +1200. As things stand today, +4000 odds translate to a 2.44% implied probability of Dallas winning Super Bowl 57.

This means if you placed a $100 bet on Dallas to be Super Bowl champions, your wager would return you a total of $4,100 if they pulled it off. Whenever Super Bowl 57 markets first opened in February 2022, Dallas was seen as a top-five betting favorite with odds around +1400 depending on where you shopped.

Is Sports Betting Legal in Texas?

Sports betting is currently illegal in Texas but lawmakers are expected to bring forth legislation in 2023 to try to bring sports wagering to the Lone Star State.

If you want to get in on the action during Cowboys games, there is an option, however.

Fliff Sportsbook allows you to place real wagers on sports using “Fliff Coins”. Since there is no purchase necessary and the coins themselves have no monetary value, it’s a perfectly legal way to play. If you play long enough and earn experience points, there are real-money prizes you can earn.

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