Dallas Cowboys 2026 NFL Season Preview, Betting Markets, Odds, Picks & Predictions
The Dallas Cowboys are a team on the rise. Brian Schottenheimer’s first season as the team’s head coach oscillated between excellent offensive performances and worrisome defensive showings. At their best, the Cowboys could hang with the best teams in the NFL thanks to the efforts of Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens. At their lowest—which was commonplace—the Cowboys were dead last in EPA per play allowed, per Sümer Sports. The defense almost singlehandedly killed any chance of a postseason berth as the Cowboys finished the season with a 7-9-1 record. The Cowboys haven’t tasted the postseason since 2023.
The hope and expectation in 2026 is that the defense can be better. The team hired former Eagles’ passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach Christian Parker to be the defensive coordinator—replacing Matt Eberflus—and he enters the building with promise. The Cowboys’ defense doesn’t have to be leaps and bounds better, but anything close to league-average is a win and a huge step in the right direction, so long as the offense can continue to hold up its end of the bargain. A host of new faces on the defense, from Rashan Gary to rookie first-round picks Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence, will give the unit the required edge to take a step forward.
Meanwhile, there should be little concern about the offense’s credentials. Now heading into his age-33 season, Prescott is still one of the league’s top seven or eight quarterbacks, and led the Cowboys to the seventh-best scoring offense in 2025. Success is no guarantee, especially in Dallas, but the Cowboys seem poised to be a better team in 2026.
2026 Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
The Cowboys’ Super Bowl odds represent a team with potential. It’s en vogue to claim that the Cowboys are a team unable to get over the hump, and historically that’s true—they haven’t competed in a Super Bowl since winning in 1995, and have yet to make it back to the NFC Conference Championship in that time—but from top to bottom, the Cowboys feel like a much stronger team on paper than the one that finished 7-9-1 a year ago. The list of teams to miss the playoffs only to win the Super Bowl a year later isn’t exhaustive, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2020) and Philadelphia Eagles (2017) both completed the feat in the last 10 years. Could a resurgent Cowboys be next on the list, getting over their major postseason success drought in the process? Maybe, but the NFC has too much talent in it right now to feasibly make the case. The Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, and San Francisco 49ers all have lofty ambitions in 2026, and the Cowboys might not even be the best team in their division.
Bet: No
2026 Dallas Cowboys NFC Championship Odds
A Super Bowl is an ask that might just be too big for the Cowboys, but reaching an NFC Championship Game feels a little more in reach. The Cowboys have the eighth-best odds to win the NFC heading into the preseason, lagging behind the Rams, Seahawks, 49ers, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, and Philadelphia Eagles. That’s a stacked conference to compete against, but if the offense can remain a close-to-elite unit, and the defense gets a boost from a change at defensive coordinator and a wealth of additions, there’s no reason to believe they could finally compete in the NFC Championship Game, and maybe even win it. The Cowboys probably pale in comparison to the three NFC West teams, but they’re right there with the Lions, Bears, Packers, and Eagles if things break the right way.
Bet: Yes
2026 Dallas Cowboys NFC East Odds
Predictably, the Cowboys are second-favorites to win the NFC East in 2026, just behind the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles have built a stronghold on the division in the last few seasons, winning three of the last four NFC East titles, with the Cowboys taking the crown in 2023. If the Cowboys have aspirations of winning the division, and they certainly will, they’ll need to have success against the Eagles. They’ve struggled to do that recently, losing five of their last eight games against their bitter division rivals. The Giants and Commanders will pose threats too, with the Commanders looking to bounce back from a poor 2025 season, but the division will likely come down to the Cowboys and Eagles for the sixth consecutive year. It’s no certainty, but it’s worth a punt considering the struggles the Eagles faced in 2025. The NFC East could be there for the taking.
Bet: Yes
2026 Dallas Cowboys Win Total Odds
The Cowboys’ win total sits at 8.5 heading into the 2026 NFL season, which speaks volumes about the jump they’re expected to make after a disappointing 2025 season. Prior to the Cowboys’ back-to-back seven-win seasons, they finished with a 12-5 record three years in a row. Their past success offers little relevance to the position they’re in now, but the Cowboys do have a similar core with Prescott, Lamb, and a strong offensive line. They’re also buoyed by the 13th-easiest schedule in the NFL in 2026, with games against the Giants (twice), Arizona Cardinals, and Tennessee Titans presenting the opportunity to stack up wins. Schottenheimer’s Cowboys are heading in the right direction, but betting on 8.5 is too expensive.
Bet: No
2026 Dallas Cowboys To Make The Playoffs Odds
The NFC is the more competitive of the two conferences in the NFL right now. Four of the last six Super Bowl champions have come out of the NFC, and the depth of quality in the conference is only growing. The Cowboys, like every other team, will have their work cut out for them, and currently have the eighth-best odds to make the playoffs in the NFC—meaning that if the odds played out in real time, they’d be on the outside looking in. However, the Cowboys will be aided by the fact that the NFC West and NFC North—two of the best divisions in football—have to play each other twice. That could be the difference in the Cowboys’ hunt for the postseason, so long as they continue to do their job.
Bet: Yes
2026 Dallas Cowboys MVP Award Odds & Contenders
- Dak Prescott
- CeeDee Lamb
- George Pickens
A non-quarterback hasn’t won the NFL’s MVP award since Adrian Peterson back in 2012, but with a changing landscape within the league, it isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility that Lamb or Pickens could win the MVP, but if they have monster seasons statistically, then there’s a good chance it’s because Prescott has one too. If that’s the case, the benefit of the doubt in MVP voting goes to the quarterback. Prescott currently has the seventh-best odds to win the 2026 MVP award and is coming off an excellent season in 2025, where he completed 67.3% of his passes for 4552 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions and was sixth in total EPA among quarterbacks. The return of Pickens and running back Javonte Williams to the team is a boost, and a strong offensive line, as well as competent offensive playcalling, could put Prescott in a position to win his first MVP award.
Bet: Dak Prescott
2026 Dallas Cowboys Schedule
- Week 1 – at NY Giants, 8:20 p.m. (SNF) – NBC
- Week 2 – vs. Washington, 4:25 p.m. – FOX
- Week 3 – vs. Baltimore (Rio), 4:25 p.m. – CBS
- Week 4 – at Houston, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 5 – vs. Tampa Bay, 8:15 p.m. (TNF) – APVO
- Week 6 – at Green Bay, 8:20 p.m. (SNF) – NBC
- Week 7 – at Philadelphia, 8:15 p.m. (MNF) – ESPN
- Week 8 – vs. Arizona, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 9 – at Indianapolis, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 10 – vs. San Francisco, 4:25 p.m. – FOX
- Week 11 – vs. Tennessee, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 12 – vs. Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m. – FOX
- Week 13 – at Seattle, 8:15 p.m. (MNF) – ESPN
- Week 14 – BYE
- Week 15 – at LA Rams, 4:25 p.m. – CBS
- Week 16 – vs. Jacksonville, 8:20 p.m. (SNF) – NBC
- Week 17 – vs. NY Giants, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 18 – at Washington, TBD
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