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So much was different a week ago. People all over the media landscape were picking the Dallas Cowboys to compete in, and in some cases win, Super Bowl LV. Hope reigns eternal before any balls are kicked off in the NFL.
Nobody is trying to overreact here as football still has 15 games to go and this season will include plenty of ups and downs, but after the Cowboys lost their opening game of the season there were more than a handful of people who swung to the other side of the pendulum and now believe this is a group that is simply average. Time will tell.
It will be interesting to see how the Cowboys finish the season out and if that is in Tampa Bay or not, but the ride there will nonetheless be fun and exciting. If you thought that everybody had bailed on Cowboys hype, well, think again.
Oddsmakers are still fairly high on the Dallas Cowboys
No conclusions can be drawn in the NFL after Week 1 just like no proclamations can be etched in stone. Dallas may not have looked as good as say the New Orleans Saints or Seattle Seahawks (who they’ll visit after the next game), but they are still regarded among the best in the conference.
Just how highly thought of are the Cowboys, you ask? Our friends at BetOnline have them tied for the seventh-best odds to win Super Bowl LV after Week 1, tied with the ascending Buffalo Bills, and still as the favorite to win the NFC East.
As far as NFC contenders, the New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Seattle Seahawks are all still more highly-regarded than the Cowboys. It’s been noted here that Dallas will visit Seattle after they play the Falcons, and they still have to play San Francisco later in the season. Perhaps the NFC South division rivals can take each other down a few pegs to open the door for the Cowboys.
Of course, winning your division is the easiest way to get into the playoffs in general, and while the Washington Football Team is currently in first place in the NFC East, it still does feel like this is Dallas’ to lose. Philadelphia figures to be the primary challenger to that seat and they are a mess of their own. The NFC East is back, baby.