Will you take the over or the under?
The AFC has taken this offseason rather seriously. Just about every big-time move across the National Football League this offseason has seen the American Football Conference improve and the National Football Conference weaken. Thankfully the Cowboys play in the latter which theoretically improves their odds this coming season.
What exactly are their odds, though? Namely, what are the Cowboys odds relative to the conference?
This past week our friends at DraftKings released their over/under win totals for 2022 and the Dallas Cowboys are near the top of the group in the NFC. What would you take?
DraftKings has set the 2022 Dallas Cowboys over/under at 10.5 wins
The Cowboys are coming off of a season where they won 12 games and lost in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. So far their roster appears to be weaker than when they last took the field, but the 2022 NFL Draft still has yet to come.
Ideally the Cowboys will improve upon last year and therefore win more than 12 games; however, a 12-win season is a pretty impressive thing. What’s more is that while history isn’t necessarily an indication at how this current group will respond, the Cowboys franchise has had difficulty repeating success year to year.
Last time that the Cowboys were even just playoff teams in back-to-back seasons was 2006-2007. If we elevate our expectations to double-digit win season then the last time that Dallas did it in consecutive seasons was 1995-1996. Again this doesn’t mean that it is impossible for Dallas to have similar success in 2022 that they did in 2021, but history is not on their side.
NFC over/under win totals
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 11.5
- Green Bay Packers, 11
- Los Angeles Rams, 10.5
- Dallas Cowboys, 10.5
- San Francisco 49ers, 10
- Arizona Cardinals, 9
- Minnesota Vikings, 9
- Philadelphia Eagles, 8.5
- New Orleans Saints, 8
- Washington Commanders, 7.5
- Chicago Bears, 7
- New York Giants, 7
- Seattle Seahawks, 6.5
- Carolina Panthers, 6
- Detroit Lions, 6
- Atlanta Falcons, 5
At present time DraftKings has the Cowboys tied for the third-highest over/unders when it comes to projected wins in 2022. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers sit at the very top while Dallas is tied with Bobby Wagner’s new team in the Los Angeles Rams.
The Cowboys are fortunate that they play not only against NFC East competition but that they draw the AFC South this year. They should theoretically be able to mine out at least eight or so wins from there which decreases the need to find others elsewhere simply in the name of hitting the over here.
But again, this is a team that generally disappoints when expectations are put on their shoulders. Will this year be any different?