While last season was a success for the Dallas Cowboys, the franchise was unable to get over the hump. Dallas has not made it past the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs since winning Super Bowl XXX, and that failure has led to Jason Garrett continually being on the hot seat. The Cowboys are the reigning NFC East champions, but this team has not made consecutive playoff appearances in 11 years. If they fail to do so this year, Garrett is likely out of a job.
2019 NFL Season Win Totals
Dallas Cowboys
Over 9 Wins +108
Under 9 Wins -130
The early action has been on the under. Even though Dallas won 10 games last season, the Cowboys finished with a scant +15 point differential, and their lackluster offense has sharps doubting their chances of finishing above .500 this year. Two of their division opponents (Washington and New York) might start the season with rookie quarterbacks though, giving their chances a boon.
Dallas Cowboys 2019 Schedule
|
Week
|
Date
|
Opponent
|
|
1
|
September 8, 2019
|
New York Giants
|
|
2
|
September 15, 2019
|
@ Washington Redskins
|
|
3
|
September 22, 2019
|
Miami Dolphins
|
|
4
|
September 29, 2019
|
@ New Orleans Saints
|
|
5
|
October 6, 2019
|
Green Bay Packers
|
|
6
|
October 13, 2019
|
@ New York Jets
|
|
7
|
October 20, 2019
|
Philadelphia Eagles
|
|
8
|
BYE
|
|
|
9
|
November 4, 2019
|
@ New York Giants
|
|
10
|
November 10, 2019
|
Minnesota Vikings
|
|
11
|
November 17, 2019
|
@ Detroit Lions
|
|
12
|
November 24, 2019
|
@ New England Patriots
|
|
13
|
November 28, 2019
|
Buffalo Bills
|
|
14
|
December 5, 2019
|
@ Chicago Bears
|
|
15
|
December 15, 2019
|
Los Angeles Rams
|
|
16
|
December 22, 2019
|
@ Philadelphia Eagles
|
|
17
|
December 29, 2019
|
Washington Redskins
|
There’s a good chance the Cowboys start the season 3-0. Dallas is likely to be favored by a touchdown or more in their first two home games, and Dwayne Haskins is probably going to be playing his second game for Washington in the first road game.
Facing teams from the AFC East will help Dallas significantly. Every team except the Patriots is expected to finish at .500 or below, so the Cowboys will be gunning for a 3-1 record in those games. However, Dallas’ other cross-divisional foes are from the NFC North, and that’s a substantially tougher challenge.
Dallas Cowboys 2019 NFL Draft Picks
|
Round
|
Pick
|
Player
|
Position
|
College
|
|
2
|
59
|
Trysten Hill
|
DT
|
UCF
|
|
3
|
90
|
Connor McGovern
|
G
|
Penn State
|
|
4
|
128
|
Tony Pollard
|
RB
|
Memphis
|
|
5
|
158
|
Michael Jackson
|
CB
|
Miami (FL)
|
|
5
|
165
|
Joe Jackson
|
DE
|
Miami (FL)
|
|
6
|
213
|
Donovan Wilson
|
S
|
Texas A&M
|
|
7
|
218
|
Mike Weber
|
RB
|
Ohio State
|
|
7
|
241
|
Jalen Jelks
|
DE
|
Oregon
|
There have been years where you could feel Jerry Jones was having a significant influence in the draft room. This wasn’t one of them. Dallas drafted for need, and the Cowboys didn’t take players from Texas schools or Arkansas like they had in the past when Jones asserted his authority. The team didn’t have a first round pick as a result of the Amari Cooper trade; and that move paid enormous dividends after being sharply criticized.
Dallas Cowboys 2019 Prediction
Move over Joe Flacco. The new favored debate among sports talk radio pundits is whether or not Dak Prescott is elite. Prescott is entering the last year of his rookie deal, and there has been a raging discussion regarding whether he deserves max money or not. He has been a solid quarterback during his time in the league, but there are concerns about whether or not he can take Dallas to the next level.
To his credit, Prescott doesn’t turn the ball over, and he completes a high percentage of his passes. However, he checks down a little too much and better defenses have crowded the line and punished him for that. He only threw for more than 300 yards twice last season, and those games were against injury-riddled defenses. He must make the next step for Dallas to seriously contend.
The running game will be one of the best in the league once more. Tyron Smith and La’El Collins are a fantastic tackle tandem, and the interior of the line could be great again if Travis Frederick has no lingering effects after being sidelined for all of last year by Guillain-Barre syndrome. At the running back position, Ezekiel Elliott is one of the three best running backs in the league. He has led the league in rushing yards per game in each of his three seasons.
This receiving corps is interesting. Cooper was better than anyone believed, and he gave the Cowboys the No. 1 wide receiver they had been missing. Dallas’ success in this facet depends on Michael Gallup and Jason Witten though. Gallup needs to emerge as a deep ball threat in his second season, while the franchise is hoping for one more good year out of Witten.
DeMarcus Lawrence got paid this offseason, and he makes this defensive line respectable. However, none of the other three starters inspires fear up front.
The linebacking corps is the strength of the team. Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch both had great seasons, and they are looking to build off that this season. Unfortunately, the secondary is likely to be an issue. Byron Jones is a very good cornerback, but the rest of the unit can be exposed.
Of all the teams I’ve previewed so far, I think the Cowboys have the most potential variance. If everything goes wrong, this could be a five to six win team, but if everything goes right, Dallas could win 12 games. I’m more of the mindset that they’ll overachieve than underachieve, so that’s my play.
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