Don't look now, but the NFC is changing.
In one season, a conference that boasted true Super Bowl contenders suddenly seems muddled. The defending NFC champions are 1-4 and the team they beat to get there is 2-3. Even the once scary Green Bay Packers are still winning games, yes, but lacking that level of dominance we're accustomed to seeing from them over the years.
New names, faces, and teams are making a name for themselves this season. The Dallas Cowboys find themselves right in the mix.
Raise your hand if you had Dallas, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Atlanta Falcons all at one loss through five weeks of the season.
I know I didn't.
And how about the Minnesota Vikings? Yes, this group was a playoff team from a season ago, but they appear to be arguably the best team in all of football at the moment. This, all without star running back Adrian Peterson and their starting quarterback.
So how exactly do the Cowboys fit into all of this?
When I look at the AFC, I see a conference dominated by three teams. The New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, and Pittsburgh Steelers are all powerhouses in their own ways. One has the best offense in the league, the other has a championship defense, and the third has the greatest head coach/quarterback duo of all time. Enough Said.
But the NFC is much different.
The Seattle Seahawks are the one true team right now that is what we thought they were. They struggled early on, but have appeared to have gotten back on track in the past two weeks. They are a championship team that can be trusted, and remain a big threat in the conference. But the level of trust should end there in the NFC.
The Minnesota Vikings are looking spectacular, but they will be tested when their offense is needed to win games for them. Is Sam Bradford truly good enough to take this team to the promised land? It is fair to question whether or not that is the case.
The Atlanta Falcons are 4-1 and rolling offensively, but we may have already seen this song and dance from them last year with their hot start and drastic collapse. A win at Denver a week ago cannot be ignored though. Will their offense be able to keep up this pace and will their defense continue to surprise?
And then we have the NFC East surprises of the Eagles and Cowboys. Carson Wentz looks like the real deal, and their defense, led by Jim Schwartz, is nothing to scoff at. Can the new-look Eagles keep it up?
The bottom line here is that for the first time in years, the NFC doesn't appear to truly have the brick wall of perennial powers that the AFC has.
All of these question marks listed here benefit a young, up and coming team like the Cowboys. That's not to say the team doesn't have its own fair share of questions, but the unexpected NFC landscape plays right into the Cowboys' hands.
It's early still, but 2016 could be the year of a surprise team emerging from the conference. If this NFC landscape remains as such, Dallas fans can start asking themselves, why not us?
