Dallas Cowboys Prediction 2017: How Far Will ‘America’s Team’ Go In The NFL Playoffs?

The Dallas Cowboys haven’t been champions in 21 years, but they could be on the verge of bringing the Vince Lombardi Trophy back to Texas. Entering the 2017 NFL playoffs as the NFC’s No. 1 seed, “America’s Team” has its best chance to win a Super Bowl since Dallas last did it in 1996.

Only the New England Patriots are given a better chance to win Super Bowl 51, and Dallas is the clear favorite in the conference. Their +150 betting odds to win the NFC are twice as good as the No. 2 seed Atlanta Falcons’ odds, and the road to the NFL championship game goes through Dallas.

Dallas tied a franchise record with 13 wins, finishing two games ahead of the New York Giants for first place in the NFC East. They have home-field advantage until Super Bowl 51, and they haven’t lost at AT&T Stadium since Week 1.

Some of the teams with the best chance to win Super Bowl 51 have made the playoffs by excelling in one area. Teams like the Atlanta Falcons and Pittsburgh Steelers are in the postseason because of their ability to score, while the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks have defenses that rank in the top five. But what makes Dallas so dangerous is their prowess on both sides of the ball.

The Cowboys’ offense is certainly their strength. Ezekiel Elliott had arguably the best season for any rookie running back in history, and quarterback Dak Prescott played so well in Tony Romo’s absence that he remained the starter even when the veteran became healthy. Having the league’s leading rusher and the third-highest rated passer put the Cowboys fifth in points scored and total yards.

Defensively, however, the Cowboys can more than hold their own. Thanks to a much improved secondary and the NFL’s top run defense, only four teams allowed fewer points than Dallas in the regular season.

That balance is what might make Dallas the team most equipped to upset the Patriots in a potential Super Bowl matchup. Few teams were able to stop New England’s offense in a regular season that saw Tom Brady have the best touchdown-to-interception ratio ever, and no team gave up fewer points than the Patriots. Dallas has the offense to keep up with New England, and their defense is good enough to get late stops against the Patriots when needed.

The one thing that could derail Dallas is a difficult early-round matchup. It depends on how Wild-Card Weekend shakes out, but the Cowboys are likely to host either the Giants or Green Bay Packers in the divisional playoffs. Green Bay and New York are the NFC’s hottest teams, and they could give the Cowboys more trouble than anyone.

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offense is running on all cylinders, though Green Bay’s defense is below-average and Dallas already won by two touchdowns in Lambeau Field this season. The Giants, however, offer the Cowboys an extremely difficult matchup.

New York beat Dallas twice in 2016, and they enter the playoffs with the NFL’s best defense. The Cowboys have totaled just 26 points in two games against their NFC East rivals, and Eli Manning is a proven postseason quarterback. As good as Prescott has been, he’s never taken the field in an NFL playoff game.

Still, Dallas can face the Detroit Lions if they upset the Seattle Seahawks, and the Cowboys would be favored over either Green Bay or New York. A potential NFC Championship matchup with the Falcons or Seahawks wouldn’t be easy, but Dallas has the edge over any conference opponent because they are so well balanced.

Having a bye doesn’t guarantee a team a conference title, but it certainly helps. In each of the last three seasons, the two No. 1 seeds have met in the Super Bowl

Dallas has as good of a chance as anyone to defeat New England, and they would be favored over any other AFC opponent. For the first time in more than two decades, this might just be the Cowboys’ year.

Playoff Prediction: Super Bowl champions