2022 Dallas Cowboys win total: Are the Cowboys the most overrated team in the league?

Dallas is always one of the most talked-about teams in the league and that is good for bettors, as their lines are usually inflated. The last we saw of them they were losing in the playoffs (again) and they did not have a great offseason. Some (though not me) see them as the favorite to win their division.

With QB Dak Prescott leading the offense, the Cowboys have a disturbing trend of putting up good numbers against bad teams but struggling against the good ones. They have been fortunate over the last few seasons to be in one of the worst divisions in football and this season the NFC East is once again not going to be very strong. 

The Cowboys are frequently in the headlines, but it is hard to find where this team has improved from last year to this unless you think Prescott is going to be more comfortable out there being another year removed from his major injury. I get the argument but see that as a marginal improvement at best. They just seem seems to be a little less talented across the board with the losses of WR Amari Cooper and DE Randy Gregory.

If you have read some past pieces you know that I am hot on the Philadelphia Eagles heading into the season. Their rise is not helping Dallas, nor is the fact that the Cowboys will have to play a tougher schedule after their NFC East crown a year ago. 

Dallas Cowboys Win Total

Over 10.5 (+105)
Under 10.5 (-125)

Best Bet: Under 10.5

I am with the markets here and have a hard time seeing the Cowboys as more than a .500 team this season. 

They have a very tough start to the schedule even though they are at home. I expect them to lose games against Tampa and Cincinnati over the first couple of weeks and that is going to really ratchet up the heat on head coach Mike McCarthy, who might not make it through the season.

Back-to-back games at the New York Giants and then home against Washington might stop the bleeding, but then back-to-back road tilts against the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia look like losses. 

Dallas does appear to have a few gimmes on their schedule with home games against Detroit, Chicago, and Houston, but even though they get the AFC South, their game against Jacksonville is late enough in the season to allow for improvement, and a visit to Tennessee is going to be no picnic in the penultimate week of the season. 

They are playing the NFC North too and it probably would have been more advantageous to get one of the top teams in that division (Green Bay and Minnesota) at home instead of on the road in back-to-back games in November. 

The schedule from Thanksgiving on might present some hope, but that is when the health of the team is even more likely to be compromised and every week could be an emotional roller coaster as the team disappoints. 

9-8 would be a successful season (though three wins less than a year ago) and maybe a backdoor into the playoffs, but 11 wins are not probable.