Despite being on a bye week this past week, Week 7 solidified why the Dallas Cowboys are clearly the favorite and on path to finish first in the NFC. They're the hottest team in the NFL as they've won their last 5 games, and they're the only undefeated road team in the NFC. While taking a look at the rest of their schedule compared with other top teams in the NFC, it isn't hard to see why Dallas will finish with the best record. Here are three reasons why the Cowboys will be the best team in the NFC come January.
1) The Cowboys have the best running game and offensive line in the NFL (which obviously includes the NFC).
The number one rushing team, by 9 yards per game, is the Dallas Cowboys as they have averaged 161.2 yards per game this season on the ground. Dallas is tied with Buffalo in rushing touchdowns at 11. Ezekiel Elliott is leading the domination as after Week 7 he is still the number one back in rushing yards in the NFL at 703 yards (22 yards ahead of David Johnson who has also played in 7 games). Elliott is averaging 117 yards per game on the ground, 20 yards per game ahead of Johnson.
With Dallas' domination of the run, there is no other team in the NFC aside from Arizona who can even come near to the Cowboys production on the ground. Dak Prescott has been sacked only 9 times in 6 games this season, only two shy of Oakland's Derek Carr who has been sacked just 7 times. This not only shows Dallas' ability to protect Prescott, but also their success offensively in showing balance with the run and pass.
The ability to run the ball as successfully as Dallas has showcased will take them a long way in the NFC, especially later in the playoffs.
2) The rest of the NFC is a big mess.
Aside from Dallas, after Week 7 it's hard to give a strong identity to every top team in the NFC. Each team aside from the Cowboys has glaring problems. The Vikings were the only undefeated team up to Week 7, but Philadelphia did a great job exposing that when they shut down the running game and disrupted Sam Bradford big time. Minnesota gave up 6 sacks and Bradford threw an interception, as the Vikings offense was simply non-existent until the last second of the game.
It doesn't get better for their opponent Philadelphia as the Eagles QB Carson Wentz started to show his rookie flaws as he tossed 2 interceptions and didn't put on his best showing exactly. Thanks to a big special teams play, Philly was able to escape with this one. However, after suffering close losses to Detroit and Washington in the previous two weeks, it's not surprising to be hesitant about the Eagles.
The Seahawks have only suffered one loss, but they also now have one tie to add to that. Their wins haven't been impressive exactly as three of the four wins came against the Dolphins, 49ers, and Jets. In the tie game against the Cardinals in Week 7 doesn't support their case, as if anything it makes one really worry about this Seattle offense. There's absolutely no running game and the passing game is also not a pretty sight. Doug Baldwin seems like the only wide receiver existent in Seattle, but even his production has been inconsistent.
The only other noteworthy team thus far would be the Green Bay Packers. But even they have only had victories over teams including the Jaguars, Lions, Giants, and Bears. Aside from the Lions/Giants, I'm not really sure if the other wins are any indications. Currently, the biggest indication of Green Bay is that they're good enough to beat the mediocre teams but far from the top of the NFC.
Looking ahead for these four teams, it's not hard to see them be competing for the top of the NFC, but with their inconsistencies it seems unlikely they'll be there to challenge the Cowboys. Unless Dallas takes after these teams modes of inconsistency, the Cowboys will be number one thanks to the weakness of their conference.
3) Dak Prescott seems to have won the job (for now) and he's the right quarterback to lead this team to the NFC's top record.
With Romo still not being cleared for practice, not only will Prescott continue to start but he will get the chance to continue to prove why he should remain as the starter. In a big showdown with the division-rival Eagles on Sunday Night Football in Week 8, if Prescott is able to lead Dallas to a win, that would be another indication for why he should stay in.
Prescott doesn't turn the ball over, he's an accurate thrower, and he has turned into a strong leader for Dallas. It would be a mistake to mess with the vibe he is creating in Big D, as his style of football is also exactly what Dallas needs. The Cowboys have always been known to be that chaotic team on offense where no one can predict what the next play will be, but with Dak it's almost a shock when he doesn't hit the wide receiver right in their hands. He's always making the right reads and hitting the "open man," while Dallas is continually showing a balance with run and pass.
His ability to be a dual-threat QB will go a long way in the playoffs as teams will begin to adjust to the play-action fakes and downhill running Dallas has implemented, so as a result Dallas can get more creative with Prescott down the road.
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The chance to be the best team in the NFC is there for the Dallas Cowboys. Heck, they can even be the best team in the NFL. There are a lot of factors and obviously injuries can always deteriorate a team's playoff run. But with what they've been producing on the field through six games this season and who they're going up against, the Cowboys are in perfect shape led by the right quarterback and running back.
