Let's not forget that this past January, the Dallas Cowboys were just over four minutes away from advancing to the NFC Championship Game for first time since 1995. If it wasn't for the near-superhuman efforts of Aaron Rodgers, who knows if the New England Patriots might have faced a different opponent in Super Bowl LI.
After all, the Cowboys finished the 2016 season with a conference-high 13 wins, losing only two games in which quarterback Dak Prescott — winner of the 2016 NFC Rookie of the Year award, and the long-term answer at quarterback for this storied organization — started in last year.
Running behind what's easily the best offensive line in the NFL, rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott — whom the Cowboys took with the 4th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft — led the entire NFL in rushing yards as a rookie, and even earned six MVP votes.
During the offseason, the Cowboys continued to allocate precious assets towards rebuilding a defense that seemingly isn't quite as stout as their offensive counterparts.
Via the 2017 NFL Draft, the Cowboys added three players who could become immediate contributors to this team: defensive end Taco Charlton (who could easily play all three downs), Chidobe Awuzie (a physical corner who could present some interesting looks as a Safety), and Jourdan Lewis (a feisty but undersized cornerback who has all the makings of a stud player in the slot).
But was all of that enough?
The Cowboys still play in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL (the NFC East), where it's certainly no foregone conclusion that last year's champion will repeat. And the top teams in the NFC, like Atlanta, Green Bay, and Seattle, haven't exactly gotten markedly worse.
So, if the Cowboys are going to finally break through, they're going to have to improve on what was already a phenomenal campaign last year.
Many of the online and brick-and-mortar sports books have already established betting lines for individuals to make wagers on the Cowboys' performance this year. You can make bets on whether they'll once again win the NFC East, if they'll make it to — or win — the Super Bowl, and/or whether one of their young studs will win the MVP award. While you can find many different sites that allow you to make such bets, one of the best sites where you can place sports wagers and play casino games is at the New Jersey Betfair site.
The biggest question mark for this team remains: can it get out of its own way?
They continue to find ways to lose games in the most heartbreaking fashion. With the suspension to pass rusher David Irving, and the looming suspension of Elliott, legal troubles never seem to be far away from a team that's long been associated with run-in's with the law.
As much as this team's leadership has eschewed building this team for media glamour versus on-the-field substance, they seem to revert back to their old ways when the pressure is at its highest.
Is 2017 the year the Cowboys finally return to the mountaintop they once dominated?
