ESPN predicts Dallas Cowboys to win NFC East in 2021
The 2020 conference championships have yet to be played, but that won't stop us from looking ahead to the 2021 NFL season. ESPN recently released some of their predictions for the 2021 year, and Dallas Cowboys fans will like what the projections say. ESPN's Bill Barnwell had the difficult task of projecting all 16 teams […]
The 2020 conference championships have yet to be played, but that won't stop us from looking ahead to the 2021 NFL season. ESPN recently released some of their predictions for the 2021 year, and Dallas Cowboys fans will like what the projections say.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell had the difficult task of projecting all 16 teams to make the 2021 playoff field in 2021. He points out that, at the time of his writing, the Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans were still without a coach; therefore, that — and other obvious factors — will mean some of his predictions will be wrong.
That seems obvious, as it is challenging to correctly predict most of the next season's playoff field a year out — much less be 100 percent accurate. Still, Barnwell is one of the best in the industry, and it was a fun and informative read.
Cowboys predicted to be the 3-seed and win NFC East in 2021.
Barnwell predicts the Dallas Cowboys to bounce back from a disappointing and injury-filled 2020 season by winning the NFC East and finishing third in the NFC next year. A large part of that has to do with quarterback Dak Prescott, who was off to a ridiculous season before going down with injury.
3. Dallas Cowboys
Somebody has to win the NFC East, and if the Cowboys hadn't lost quarterback Dak Prescott to a gruesome ankle injury early in the season, it probably would have been them. Dallas also went without the three stars on its offensive line for most of the season and hired the wrong defensive coordinator in Mike Nolan, with previously talented Cowboys linebackers and linemen suddenly struggling to create reliable run fits or make tackles.
Health is another factor why Barnwell is high on America's Team for next season. Additionally, he writes that the Cowboys "have the highest upside of any team in the division":
The Cowboys should be healthier in 2021, and we saw their offense's upside while Prescott was in the lineup. They have the highest upside of any team in the division, and if they can fix the secondary this offseason, their ceiling might be as Super Bowl contenders. Of course, as we saw in 2020, few teams seem better at getting in their own way or creating their own problems.
In the end, like the beginning of Barnwell's writing about the Cowboys, it comes to Dak Prescott. Prescott has solidified himself as one of the best quarterbacks in all of football and is on the trajectory to be on the elite tier. It helps that offensive coordinator Kellen Moore will be back calling plays after drawing interest from multiple coaching vacancies.
Prescott hadn't ever missed a game before his freak injury, so if we expect him to play something close to a full season in 2021, the Cowboys should be in good shape to win their division.
It would obviously be difficult to complain about the Cowboys finishing third in the conference next season after missing the playoffs the past two years. We know how impressive this offense will be, but the biggest question will be the defense.
New defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has the task of improving that unit to the point where the offense does not need to score 30 or more points to win games. We wrote on four players that will be impacted by Quinn's hiring.
If the defense can take a step forward, that should mean very good things for Dallas. Barnwell is banking on Dak Prescott and overall health as to why the Dallas Cowboys will be much better in 2021.
Featured image via Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
