Dallas Cowboys' 2022 NFL betting win total plummets to NFC's second-lowest after Week 1 Dak Prescott injury
The Dallas Cowboys' season win total plummeted in the wake of the Dak Prescott injury.
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The Dallas Cowboys might have had the worst Week 1 of any team in the NFL. Not only were they dominated at home in a 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but they also lost starting quarterback Dak Prescott for anywhere from 4-8 weeks. No team's season win total changed more at BetMGM from Week 1 to Week 2 than the Cowboys'. They dropped from 10.5 to 6.5 – although a lot of other books, including Caesars, have it at 7.5. The Over is a -185 favorite at BetMGM.
The initial timeline for Prescott to return from Monday's surgery on his right thumb was 6-8 weeks, but owner/GM Jerry Jones said the report following the surgery was more favorable, and it's possible he could miss only three games – back Oct. 9 at the Rams in Week 5 -- instead of seven. The team has not put Prescott on injured reserve because that would mean he must miss at least four. Prescott had a plate inserted into the thumb Monday to stabilize the joint.
"If we thought he wasn't going to be ready to go until after four games, we would put him on IR. We're not doing that," Jones said Tuesday. "We think he can come in and play, so we don't want to not have him out there practicing. We want him getting prepared and we'll see how he handles this thing, how it heals, mainly his strength, how he can grip the ball, [will determine] what his status is. That's not [being] an optimist. The proof is that we got a good surgery, got good technique and feel better about it than we did Sunday night."
Only the Atlanta Falcons (4.5) have a lower win total in the NFC than Dallas now. The Cowboys went 4-7 without Prescott two seasons ago with a point differential of -61 in those 11 games when Andy Dalton was his primary replacement. Last year, Prescott missed one game and backup Cooper Rush, who will start this Sunday vs. the Bengals, led a comeback win at Minnesota. Dallas is now +270 to make the playoffs and -350 to miss them.
Three other teams saw their win totals shrink after Week 1, but only by a game. The Rams moved from 10.5 to 9.5 after a lopsided home loss to Buffalo, the Cardinals moved from 8.5 to 7.5 after a blowout home loss to Kansas City, and the Bengals moved from 9.5 to 8.5 after an overtime home loss to Pittsburgh.
Six teams had their win totals increase by a game: Buffalo from 11.5 to 12.5, Minnesota from 9.5 to 10.5, Philadelphia from 9.5 to 10.5, Miami from 8.5 to 9.5, NY Giants from 7.5 to 8.5, Washington from 7.5 to 8.5 and Chicago from 5.5 to 6.5.
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