2020 NFL record projection has Cowboys winning weak NFC East, exiting playoffs early

In a little less than a month, on September 13, the Cowboys will kick off the regular season against the Los Angeles Rams. And USAToday’ Nate Davis already knows how that regular season will end.

According to his projections, the Cowboys will win the NFC East with a 10-6 record, finishing ahead of the Eagles (8-8), Washington (5-11), and the Giants (2-14). That’s 25 combined wins for the NFC East, the lowest of any division in the NFL, at least in this projection.

Here’s how Davis explains his projection for the Cowboys:

They’re under new (middle) management with coach Mike McCarthy returning to the NFL after a one-season sabbatical. But the retention of coordinator Kellen Moore, who oversaw 2019’s top-ranked offense, should provide a dose of continuity for a club that appears to have a significant talent gap – veteran DE Everson Griffen joins first-round WR CeeDee Lamb as major additions – on the rest of this division. And if you’re a fan of trivial trends, the last time Dallas didn’t finish in first place in an even-numbered year … was 2012. A hot start seems reasonable given they’ll face just two 2019 playoff teams prior to their Week 10 bye.

So the Cowboys may have a leg up on a weak NFC East, but apparently their talent won’t take them far in the playoffs; Davis has the Cowboys losing to the Bucs at home in the wildcard round.

Offseason projections and rankings mean very little when teams haven’t played a single snap of competitive football and the nation has a pandemic to deal with. Still, it’s nice to see a projection that has the Cowboys comfortably taking the NFC East. But an early playoff exit ... really?!

Your thoughts?