The Dallas Cowboys are beginning to make the oddsmakers open their eyes and start looking at them as legitimate Super Bowl contenders. As we enter Week 12 of the season, the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook puts them among the top teams in the league with the best chances of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
Currently, they sit at 20/1 odds to win Super Bowl LIV (ninth best in the league), and it comes off the heels of their 35-27 victory over the Lions. While Detroit isn't exactly a mega-force in the NFC, it was simply the dominance of Dallas' offense -- specifically quarterback Dak Prescott -- that is starting to move them up the ladder. Prescott threw for 444 yards in the win with three touchdowns. What was impressive about this particular display through the air for Prescott was that star receiver Amari Cooper wasn't his primary target. He completed throws to seven different pass catchers, and the two receivers that topped 100 yards were Michael Gallup and Randall Cobb.
Not only is Dak's stellar 2019 season thrusting the Cowboys into the Super Bowl conversation, but he's also starting to make some MVP noise as well. Not bad for a guy that's due a new contract by the end of the year.
Dallas' defense is, meanwhile, still a bit of a question mark, but the unit is only allowing 19.7 points per game this year. With an offense like theirs, that should be few enough to get them wins on most weeks.
Of course, what's looming over this current ranking for Dallas is the Week 12 date they have set with the New England Patriots in Foxborough. A victory could catapult them to even better odds to win the Super Bowl, but a loss would put the Philadelphia Eagles in spitting distance of the division lead. With the two wild card teams (Vikings, 8-3 and Seahawks, 8-2) at least two games above the 6-4 Cowboys, their path to the postseason almost solely relies on winning the division. That makes Sunday -- and pretty much every game from now until the end of the season -- must-win to fend off Philly, who is 5-5 on the year.
With that said, here's a look at the top 10 teams, odds-wise, following Week 11.
- New England Patriots - 14/5
- New Orleans Saints - 4/1
- Baltimore Ravens - 9/2
- San Francisco 49ers - 8/1
- Kansas City Chiefs - 9/1
- Green Bay Packers - 12/1
- Minnesota Vikings - 14/1
- Seattle Seahawks - 16/1
- Dallas Cowboys - 20/1
- Houston Texans - 40/1
The top four is unchanged from the previous week as the Patriots, Saints, Ravens and 49ers haven't done much to alter their standing in their respective conferences. Of course, if New England loses to Dallas this week at Gillette Stadium and the Ravens are able to beat the Rams on Monday Night Football, they'd almost certainly become the favorite (at least to win the AFC) as they'd take ahold of the No. 1 seed in the conference.
One team that regained its position in the top five, however, is the Kansas City Chiefs. Following that surprising loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 10, the Chiefs took a dip to 12/1 odds, which at the time ranked seventh-best in the NFL. After fending off the Chargers in Week 12, the oddsmakers are looking at them a little more favorably this week. That said, Kansas City's defense still poses some major questions going forward, which does make them a pretty risky bet at the moment.
What's going to be fascinating to watch unfold is how the oddsmakers make sense of whatever occurs in the Sunday Night Football showdown between the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers.
They're currently looked at as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the NFC, but a loss could conceivably see either club fall out of a first-round bye altogether. If the Packers are able to beat the 49ers and the Seahawks beat the Eagles, San Francisco would fall to the fifth seed in the conference, while Seattle is in line for a top-two seed. If Green Bay loses, they'd be tied with the Vikings in the NFC North. The Packers currently have the tiebreaker thanks to a win in Week 2, but would set up a potentially massive Monday night matchup in Week 16. The Saints, of course, are lurking as well.
To simply state it: Get your popcorn ready for this weekend.
