Bucky Brooks of NFL.com believes the Dallas Cowboys are true Super Bowl contenders this season. And Jerry Jones, head cheerleader for the Dallas Cowboys, is confident the Cowboys can compete for a Super Bowl in 2026.
“I feel like we’ve got a chance to really be good,” Jones said. “It’s going to be hard… Bottom line is, I love the excitement. [The media], for all practical purposes, don’t expect us to be a contender in the Super Bowl. Y’all don’t. Why would you? I like that, I do. I like that, and
I like what we’ve put together to show you that we can do it.”
The Cowboys hype has even prompted Adam Schefter to issue a warning to Stephen A. Smith.
I got some bad news for Stephen A. Smith: The Dallas Cowboys are coming.
They are coming this year and Stephen A. is gonna be tested. I’m telling you right now, it’s gonna be a long, anxious, nervous year for Stephen A. Smith. Be ready.
Be that as it may, the Super Bowl is still far away, but the journey starts in Week 1. And for the season opener, the Cowboys are clear favorites against the Giants, at least according to NFL.com. All but one of their 10 panelists are projecting the Cowboys to win their season opener.
Expectations are high for Dallas, and not just for the season opener.
NFL.com gathered 19 of their analysts to predict this year’s division winners, and they have the Cowboys taking the NFC East.
NFC EAST CHAMPS: Dallas Cowboys
1) Dallas Cowboys | 12 votes: Abdoo, Bergman, Ely, Filice, Gordon, Kownack, Okada, Patra, Shook, Smith, Umerani, Yam.
2) Philadelphia Eagles | 7 votes: Band, Cersosimo, McWilliams, Parr, Reuter, Rosenthal, Zierlein.
Hype is never hard to find with the Cowboys, but this offseason has been different. They’ve been relatively drama-free, all the while making it clear a Super Bowl is the goal and they’re not shying away from it. So, why not the NFC East? The defense has been overhauled — including the addition of a Defensive Rookie of the Year front-runner in Caleb Downs and defensive coordinator Christian Parker. Dak Prescott’s offense is loaded and healthy and has finished as a top-five scorer in four of the past five seasons. Dallas is coming off back-to-back seven-win seasons. The last time Dallas had consecutive non-winning campaigns, it went 12-5 the following year and won the division in Mike McCarthy’s second year at the helm. Brian Schottenheimer is in Year 2 and has Texas-sized aspirations.
Dan Parr, also of NFL.com, predicts the Cowboys will again have a top 5 offense this year.
This is standard territory for the Cowboys. They have finished among the top five teams in OPPG in four of the past five seasons, with Dak Prescott’s injury-shortened 2024 campaign the lone deviation. Prescott seems to still be in his prime after ranking among the top five quarterbacks in QBR and passing EPA last season. Dallas boasts the game’s top wide receiver duo, with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens performing at an All-Pro level. RB Javonte Williams kicked the injury bug that bit him earlier in his career and broke out in his first year in Big D, ranking ninth in the league with 1,201 rushing yards. If there’s one potentially fatal flaw, it’s at offensive tackle, with Dallas trading for Steelers castoff Broderick Jones, who is coming off a neck injury, in an attempt to shore things up at the position before the season begins. Barring pass protection on the edges becoming a thorn in its side, Brian Schottenheimer’s crew should be slicing through defenses again.
And the defense? That’s where the optimism gets a little more complicated.
The Athletic’s Mike Sando spoke with six NFL executives about their rankings of the top NFC teams, and wonders how much can the defense improve?
“Anything is better than what they did last year on defense,” the voter placing Dallas second in the NFC said. “They shocked the system by trading Micah Parsons, and I just think generally speaking, new coordinators on defense create variance.”
The voter ranking Dallas fifth thought the Cowboys’ defense might outrank the Packers’ defense, notable in light of the Parsons trade last year. “I like the coordinator,” this voter said of Parker. “He is going to help maximize what they have. The secondary is still not a strength, but they have an impressive front seven.”
“Quinnen Williams is good, and they have a little more girth up front, so it should be better, but they’ve got some unknowns there too with coaches and philosophy,” the voter ranking Dallas eighth said.
“I have defensive concerns, for sure,” one said. “Do they have enough pass rush? How healthy is Overshown? How good are the corners? But they did address the interior with Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark, and I like Caleb Downs. They will be better up the middle.”
But everything starts in Week 1. A convincing win against the Giants would be a good first step toward validating all this optimism. And while the offense is expected to carry its share of the load, all eyes will be on the defense.
Can Christian Parker’s unit improve just enough to turn the Cowboys from an intriguing team into a true contender?
