The Dallas Cowboys will look to bounce back from a disappointing end of their 2007 season when they had a terrific regular season at 13-3 but were upset in the playoffs by the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants. Wade Phillips returns as head coach but finds himself on the hot seat with the brilliant minded Jason Garrett waiting in the wings.
The Cowboys had six draft picks in the 2008 NFL draft. They used their No. 22 overall pick on the running back from Arkansas, not Darren McFadden but Felix Jones who will spell Marion Barber and replace Julius Jones as the 1-2 punch in Dallas. Other draft picks include M. Jenkins (25), M. Bennett (61), T. Choice (122), O. Scandrick (143) and E. Walden (167).
Dallas also brought in linebacker Zack Thomas who was released from the Miami Dolphins. Thomas was recently voted the smartest defensive player in the NFL by his peers and will be looking to rebound from an injury filled 2007 campaign which saw him miss most of the season with a concussion. The other big move on the defensive side of the ball was trading for the controversial corner/return man, Adam "Pacman" Jones from the Titans.
Dallas was 13-3 overall in 2007 with a 4-2 record against the rest of the NFC East. Dallas was 9-7 against the spread. They were 5-3 ATS at home and 4-4 ATS away. The Boys covered well as a favorite going 8-5 ATS and they were an underdog three times, covering one of them. Dallas went over the total 10 of 16 times in 2007. Dallas failed to cover their last 5 games including the playoff loss to the Giants.
Statistically the Cowboys were the second best team for point scored at 28.4 ppg. They were third overall in total yards with a 365.7 average, 17th overall with a 109.1 rushing yards average and forth overall with a 256.6 passing yard average. On the defensive side of the ball, Dallas was 13th overall in points against (20.3), 9th overall with 307.6 total yards against, 6th with 94.6 rushing yards against and 13th overall with 213.1 passing yards against.
In week one, the Cowboys open up on the road against the Cleveland Browns. Oddsmakers have installed Dallas as a 3-point road favorite. After Cleveland, the Cowboys will have a divisional home game against the Eagles before traveling to Green Bay to face the Packers. They'll then come home for another home division game against the Redskins and another home game against the Cincinnati Bengals. After their first six games, they will play four of the next five on the road before playing four of their final six at home.
Vegas has set their season win total at 10.5 wins this year and Dallas is 10/11 to win the NFC East, 10/3 to win the NFC Championship and 8/1 to win the 2009 Super Bowl.
| 2008 Game Schedule - Dallas Cowboys | ||||||
| WK | DATE | OPPONENT | TIME (ET) | |||
| 1 | Sun, Sep 7 | at Cleveland | 4:15 PM | |||
| 2 | Mon, Sep 15 | Philadelphia | 8:30 PM | |||
| 3 | Sun, Sep 21 | at Green Bay | 8:15 PM | |||
| 4 | Sun, Sep 28 | Washington | 4:15 PM | |||
| 5 | Sun, Oct 5 | Cincinnati | 4:15 PM | |||
| 6 | Sun, Oct 12 | at Arizona | 4:15 PM | |||
| 7 | Sun, Oct 19 | at St. Louis | 1:00 PM | |||
| 8 | Sun, Oct 26 | Tampa Bay | 1:00 PM | |||
| 9 | Sun, Nov 2 | at NY Giants | 4:15 PM | |||
| 11 | Sun, Nov 16 | at Washington | 8:15 PM | |||
| 12 | Sun, Nov 23 | San Francisco | 1:00 PM | |||
| 13 | Thu, Nov 27 | Seattle | 4:15 PM | |||
| 14 | Sun, Dec 7 | at Pittsburgh | 4:15 PM | |||
| 15 | Sun, Dec 14 | NY Giants | 8:15 PM | |||
| 16 | Sat, Dec 20 | Baltimore | 8:15 PM | |||
| 17 | Sun, Dec 28 | at Philadelphia | 1:00 PM | |||
