For the first time in the Dak Prescott era, the Dallas Cowboys are not expected to make the playoffs. Most sportsbooks have the Cowboys' win total set at 7.5, with a few moving that number up to 8.5 over the last months. After finishing 7-10 during the 2024 season, most national experts believe Dallas could be one of the league’s worst teams this year.
The expectations are low for the Cowboys, and there are some valid reasons, including a first-time head coach and several major injuries on defense to star players (Trevon Diggs, DeMarvion Overshown). The lack of a star running back and a young offensive line could all be reasons why they fail to make it back to the postseason this year.
However, there are still a lot of reasons to be excited about this team going into 2025. The main reason is that Dak Prescott is healthy again, and the addition of George Pickens could give Dallas one of the league’s best passing attacks.
In a recent article by Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus, he explained why the Cowboys are one of the most overlooked teams this season, pointing to the passing game as a reason for optimism.
The Cowboys are being slept on ahead of the 2025 NFL season
"The primary issue for the Cowboys’ passing game is that there wasn’t a legitimate complementary receiving threat to CeeDee Lamb. They may have solved that problem recently by acquiring former Steelers wide receiver George Pickens. Pickens was one of five qualified receivers who posted a perfect 99.9 deep PFF receiving grade last season. That makes him a perfect pairing with Lamb’s ability to create explosive plays underneath."
Dalton Wasserman, Pro Football Focus
While it’s fair to say that Prescott isn’t Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, or Joe Burrow, it’s hard to deny that the Cowboys have always been an elite offense with him under center. That’s been the case for most of his career, and now that he has an adequate number of weapons in the passing game, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if this were one of the league’s highest-scoring units during the 2025 season.
The Cowboys will need their offense to click on all cylinders until the defense is healthier and ready to go. Matt Eberflus is the new defensive coordinator, and he’ll be tasked with improving one of the league’s worst run defenses.
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If the offense can take some of the pressure off the defense early in the season, that should allow the group to survive until Diggs and Overshown return to the lineup.
No one is expecting the Cowboys to win the Super Bowl this year, and it sure seems like the playoffs are a lofty goal. But for a team that should have one of the league’s best offenses and an elite pass-rushing unit, they are flying a little too under the radar at this point.
Don’t be surprised if the Cowboys are right back into the playoffs, assuming Prescott can stay healthy for a majority of the season.