It has been 19 years since an NFC East team won back-to-back division titles.
The 2024 Dallas Cowboys have a chance to end that streak.
Despite an off-season that disappointed many fans and pundits, the ingredients are in place for the Cowboys to repeat as division champions.
In the 2023 season, we saw a young and talented roster put up a 12-5 record.
They did fall short in heartbreaking fashion in the playoffs, but the regular season featured an MVP campaign from Dak Prescott, record-breaking years from CeeDee Lamb and DaRon Bland, and dominance from Micah Parsons.
While Dallas did lose some key players in free agency, the core of that team is still intact.
At the most important positions, the Cowboys have some lethal weapons.
For all the understandable gloom and doom, we can’t ignore how talented this roster is.
This is not just in my view either; the Cowboys are either the betting odds favorite or tied with the Eagles to win the division by virtually all sportsbooks.
It will take a big effort, but they are firmly in a position to take the NFC East crown in the 2024 season.
Let’s get into detail on some of the reasons why.
The Quarterback Advantage
Let’s push narratives and personal feelings to the side for a moment.
Prescott is undoubtedly the best quarterback in the NFC East, and the statistics, records, and film show that.
Jalen Hurts, Daniel Jones, and now Jayden Daniels are his competition for the title, and they don’t stack up.
Of those three, Hurts is the closest, but I have major questions about him.
Last season, the Eagles’ front-man had 23 passing touchdowns to 15 interceptions, and 9 fumbles.
Keep in mind, that’s with a supporting cast of A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, and a nasty offensive line.
Performance-wise, there’s no debate between Prescott and Hurts.
Jones is potentially on his way out of New York, and Daniels is unproven in the NFL.
Whenever you have the advantage at the quarterback position, you have a chance to win your division.
This stands true for the Cowboys in 2024.
NFC East Dominance
There is no way to mince words here.
The Cowboys have completely dominated their division rivals in recent years.
In the last 10 years, Dallas has a 42-19 record and a 70% winning percentage against NFC East teams.
Keep in mind, that includes abysmal 2015 and 2020 seasons where they were without their starting quarterback.
In the Prescott era alone, he holds a 32-8 record in division games.
You can try to attest that to the Commanders and Giants’ lack of success, but Philadelphia fits in the boat too.
Prescott has a 9-4 record against the Birds, including just one loss since 2020.
These numbers are substantial, and they show another major reason why Dallas could repeat as division champs this season.
The Cowboys have had the Commanders, Eagles, and Giants’ numbers for a while.
If they repeat that kind of success this season, it will give them a major leg-up in the standings at the end of the year.
The Dallas Star Power
We’ve talked about Prescott, but we need to show the other stars some love too.
Last season, 7 Cowboys were named to the Pro Bowl roster, 3 were added as replacements, and 5 were named as NFL All-Pro’s.
That is just about as good as it gets in the league.
And as rough as the off-season was, they did not lose any of the players that received those achievements in 2023.
This means Dallas has an elite nucleus of talent that is returning this season.
Teams like Washington and New York, while they may have bright futures, do not come close to Dallas and Philadephia in that regard.
When we’re talking about proven talent heading into 2024, it is a two-man race in the East.
That does not mean it will be easy, but having players like Bland, Zack Martin, Lamb, Parsons, Prescott, and more is special.
Off-field acknowledgments are not the true measure of a team’s ability.
But they do show us which organizations have collected the most on-field talent, and Dallas is leading in that category.
Whether they can put it together to win the division again is the question.
However, there is no debate about whether or not they have the roster to do it.