National Football League

Why the Cowboys are most bet team to fall short of win total in 2024

Updated Jul. 22, 2024 9:30 a.m. ET

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Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys are pegged at 9.5 wins for the 2024 NFL season, while also being the most bet-on team to finish under their win total.

Craig Carton opined that Dallas' underwhelming offseason, as well as many pivotal members of the franchise entering the final year of their contracts, have cast doubt on the team's 2024 prospects on Friday's edition of "The Carton Show."

"This is just the public telling you, ‘Look, we see what's happened here,'" Carton stated. "Despite [owner] Jerry Jones saying, 'I'm all in. I'm all in,' the reality is that they're not all in."

Head coach Mike McCarthy is entering the final season of his current contract and his fifth year in Dallas after speculation that he could lose his job following the team's wild-card round loss at home to the Green Bay Packers last season. 

Meanwhile, Prescott, wide receiver and three-time Pro Bowler CeeDee Lamb and linebacker and two-time All-Pro Micah Parsons are also entering the final season of their respective deals; Prescott, who threw for an NFL-high 36 touchdowns and posted a career best 105.9 passer rating last season, and the Cowboys are reportedly expected to play out the 2024 season without the quarterback receiving an extension.

On the roster front, Dallas lost a plethora of starters to free agency, including running back Tony Pollard, offensive tackle Tyron Smith, center Tyler Biadasz, wide receiver Michael Gallup, defensive end Dorance Armstrong and defensive tackle Jonathan Hankins, among others. Defensive backs Jayron Kearse and Stephon Gilmore remain free agents.

As for incoming players, the Cowboys signed linebacker Eric Kendricks, who has logged 100-plus combined tackles in each of the past eight seasons, and running back Ezekiel Elliott, who returns for his second stint in Dallas. In the draft, Dallas selected Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton (No. 29) and Western Michigan defensive end Marshawn Kneeland (No. 56).

Skip Bayless revealed how many games he believes Dallas will win next season in an improved NFC East on Thursday's "Undisputed."

"As soon as I saw this schedule, I went right down the line, and I concluded 8-9," Bayless said. "I thought I was being generous and optimistic at 8-9 given what [they] did not do in the offseason. There are a lot of 50-50 calls [on their schedule], and I just don't see it. They got worse."

Elsewhere in the NFC East, the Philadelphia Eagles lost six-time All-Pro center Jason Kelce and defensive tackle and six-time Pro Bowler Fletcher Cox to retirement, but they added running back and two-time Pro Bowler Saquon Barkley, linebacker Devin White and reunited with defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson in free agency, among other moves.

While they lost the aforementioned Barkley and safety Xavier McKinney, the New York Giants acquired linebacker and two-time Pro Bowler Brian Burns, while also adding offensive linemen Jon Runyan and Jermaine Eluemunor. The Washington Commanders selected 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels with the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Cowboys have strung together three consecutive 12-plus-win seasons but haven't reached the NFC Championship Game since the 1995 season.

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