Cowboys Super Bowl Odds Plummet After Prescott Injury; Can Anyone Stop the Eagles in NFC East?

• The Cowboys Super Bowl odds have been lengthened to +4500 following Dak Prescott’s thumb injury
• Prescott is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks while recovering from surgery
• Read below for analysis on whether the Cowboys are worth a flier in the Super Bowl and NFC East futures markets

The Dallas Cowboys are in trouble. Dak Prescott is out with a thumb injury and it’s now up to Cooper Rush to help them tread water until their star QB returns.

Prescott suffered the injury to his right thumb in the fourth quarter of Sunday night’s embarassing 19-3 loss to the Buccaneers, and will undergo surgery this week. The expected recovery time is six to eight weeks, and his absence has torpedoed the Cowboys’ price tag to hoist the Lombardi Trophy this season.

Super Bowl 57 Odds

All odds as of September 12 at FanDuel Sportsbook

Dallas’ Super Bowl odds have been lengthened from +2100 to +4500. That puts them well behind fellow NFC teams like Arizona and San Francisco who also suffered humiliating Week 1 defeats. However, given the current state of their quarterback position, you could argue that oddsmakers probably should have made their championship odds even longer.

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Cowboys a Fade Regardless of their QB

Injuries are nothing new to Prescott. He’s missed 12 games over the past two seasons and is likely slated to miss seven more. The Cowboys have a bye in Week 9, before a huge NFC tilt with the Packers in Week 10. It would make sense to keep Dak out until then to give him an additional week or two to heal.

A timeline from overnight: Cowboys’ QB Dak Prescott is scheduled to have surgery on his right thumb today and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks, multiple sources told ESPN’s @toddarcher.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 12, 2022

Given his injury history, it’s somewhat surprising Dallas didn’t actively pursue a more proven backup. Rush has just one start in five career NFL seasons, and the Cowboys thought so little of him that they cut the 28-year-old at the end of training camp. Rush was later resigned to the practice squad and eventually elevated to backup Prescott, but clearly, Dallas doesn’t love him.

The drop-off from Prescott to Rush is significant, but the Cowboys looked putrid in Week 1 even with Dak under center. Prescott completed less than half of his 29 attempts for only 134 yards. Number one wide receiver CeeDee Lamb caught only two balls, and the wide receiver cupboard is virtually empty behind him.

All offseason, Dallas promised to get Tony Pollard more volume, but he wound up with only six carries and two receptions. Pollard led all running backs in yards per touch last season but continues to sit behind a less explosive Ezekiel Elliott.

No Michael Gallup. Amari Cooper in Cleveland. Noah Brown at WR2 and Dennis Houston at WR3.

Yet Tony Pollard ran just 16 routes on 46 dropbacks (34.8%), similar to his 2021 route participation (31.1%). Had quite a few pass blocking snaps after only getting 36 all of last year.

— Jack Miller (@JackMiller02) September 12, 2022

The offensive line, which is supposed to be a strength, lost All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith to an injury last month and was wrecked by the Bucs’ D-line on Sunday. Tampa Bay recorded four sacks and was in Prescott’s kitchen all game long.

The icing on the cake is Mike McCarthy’s dreadful coaching. Everyone knows he’s just keeping the seat warm for Sean Payton, and game after game he gets out schemed by the opposing head coach.

It’s Week 1 and Cowboys fans booed and threw trash at Dak Prescott as he headed back to the locker room with an injury pic.twitter.com/h98iAOZoXc

— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) September 12, 2022

Add it all up and the Cowboys are a fade in all futures markets regardless of their price, and regardless of who’s playing quarterback.

Eagles Odds-on Favorites to Win NFC East

While Dallas fell flat on its face in Week 1, all three of its NFC East rivals were victorious. The Cowboys’ NFL Division odds fell from +140 to +350, but they still remain a top-two contender.

NFC East Odds

From an offensive standpoint, the Philadelphia Eagles looked like a juggernaut, moving the ball up and down the field at will versus the Lions. Philly put up 455 yards of total offense, while offseason mega-addition AJ Brown made the Titans instantly regret moving on from him.

A.J. Brown in his Eagles debut:

🦅 155 REC yards (2nd)
🦅 42 REC yards after contact (1st)
🦅 4 REC of 15+ yards (T-2nd)

(📸 @Eagles) pic.twitter.com/V4JQS3ANxW

— PFF (@PFF) September 12, 2022

The Eagles are a deserving favorite in the divisional futures, but there’s little value on them now seeing how their price was shortened from +130 to -140. The New York Giants on the other hand, are interesting.

New York shocked Tennessee with a come-from-behind victory, going for two in the dying seconds instead of settling for OT. New head coach Brian Daboll has the G-Men playing some inspired football, and they’re a worth sprinkle to win the division at +600.

I like it, I love it, I want some more of it 🎶 pic.twitter.com/KmzdxweAJF

— New York Giants (@Giants) September 11, 2022

Saquon Barkley looked the offensive rookie of the year version of himself, accounting for 194 total yards and a score. The defense meanwhile, held Derrick Henry to just 82 total yards and kept the Titans’ passing game in check.

Per SBD’s NFL strength of schedule metrics, New York has the second softest set of opponents in the league, and have the potential to surprise a lot of teams this season.