ODDS TO WIN THE DIVISION (Bovada sportsbook)
Dallas Cowboys -120
Philadelphia Eagles +145
New York Giants +1000
Washington Football Team +1600
The name of the team in Washington has changed for the upcoming season and that’s not the only part of this division to see some significant changes. There is a pattern from last season to 2020 however, as there appears to be a large gap between the top two teams in the NFC East and the bottom two teams. Even though the East was truly the “least” a year ago with some less than competitive football, there was no shortage of excitement within the division. Will a new regime in Dallas help lead them to the title as slight favorites?
Dallas Cowboys
2019 Record – 8-8
2019 Record Against the Spread – 9-7
The Mike McCarthy era begins in Dallas as the Cowboys look to move from paper champions to on the field winners. With a coaching change can come a period of learning, particularly in a shortened preseason, however the Cowboys are one of the teams in the league that have played together quite a bit and know each other well. Owner/GM Jerry Jones who is no stranger to taking heat for his questionable moves, by all accounts had a phenomenal offseason. The Cowboys who started fast a year ago could benefit from one of the better homefield advantages in 2020 as they’re looking to fill up JerryWorld as much as possibly allowed by law.
Quarterback Dak Prescott remains a big story as he wasn’t able to work out a long-term deal that met his needs and will play this year on the franchise tag as a result. With salaries ever increasing that could actually play in his favor as this Cowboy offense is loaded. Here’s the quick skinny: The offensive line should be strong once again anchored by the tackles. We know what Ezekiel Elliott can do at RB and first round pick CeeDee Lamb has the raw talent to be the best of the wide receiver group that includes Amari Cooper. Perhaps the best news for this offense was the addition of backup quarterback Andy Dalton. In a season where there is a lot of uncertainty on player availability, having a capable veteran backup could be huge if Prescott misses any time.
Defensively the Cowboys were solid in 2019 and should be improved in the upcoming season. The cornerback position could be the achille’s heel, but that could be masked if the defensive line can get after the quarterback. The return of Randy Gregory and chance number three for Aldon Smith should give this line the depth and speed needed to make life miserable for opponents in the passing game. The linebacker group is strong and despite the loss of Gerald McCoy at DT before the season, this group should be stout enough against the run.
2020 Strength of Schedule – 30th (.459)
Team Win Total Odds – 9.5 Wins (over -120, under +100)
BetCrushers Projected Record – 11-5
This season win total prop seems too low at 9.5 and and we’ve already locked that over in. 11-5 or even 12-4 seem very plausible. Barring substantial injuries, this team should absolutely be in the hunt for the playoffs.
Possible to Wagers To Play – Against the Spread, Team Totals
For the better part of the past decade the Cowboys have been a team that can get the public destroyed in backing. Last year they finished 9-7 against the spread and despite being the divisional favorite, this team may still be undervalued due to missing the playoffs with a pedestrian 8-8 record. Early in the season, particularly at home, look to play them and look to play their team total over.
Fantasy Players To Watch – Ezekiel Elliot (RB), Blake Jarwin (TE)
Ezekiel Elliott rarely seems to have that “monster” type fantasy performance of 200 yards and 3 touchdowns, but he’s about as consistent as you can hope for in this era of fantasy football. If you want an RB1 you can lock in every week and know you’ll get some points from he’s your guy. It may seem crazy to list Blake Jarwin as a player to watch, but it’s a pure numbers game of opportunities. He will be on the field a lot, and defenses will not be paying him a ton of attention with Elliott and a trio of wide receivers to keep an eye on. He could be a sneaky fantasy player.
Philadelphia Eagles
2019 Record – 9-7
2019 Record Against the Spread – 7-9
If you made a habit of betting on the Philadelphia Eagles last year you were probably disappointed more than you were pleased. This team underachieved for much of the regular season before getting it together just in time to upend the Cowboys and take the NFC East title. This team was one of the hardest hit by injuries in 2019 and unfortunately they’re starting 2020 out in a similar fashion. They still look like contenders that have a legitimate shot as they’ll likely be battling the Cowboys again for a shot at the postseason.
Carson Wentz continues to be a polarizing figure as people either tend to fully support him or really pile on. We’ve been supportive and aren’t going to give him any flack for taking an unfortunate hit in their wild card game ending his and the team’s season. After all did you see what he did playing without his top 4 pass catching targets? With that being said, Wentz will need to play more consistently this season if the Eagles are going to repeat as champs in the division. There are already some injury concerns on the offensive side of the ball as top rookie wide receiver Jalen Raegor is going to miss some time. The bigger concern is has to be on the offensive line which first saw guard Brandon Brooks go down with an injury only to be followed by Andre Dillard. The team brought back veteran Jason Peters to help shore thing up, but their line play will definitely be something to keep an eye on early in the season.
The defense will once again lean on Fletcher Cox and the D-Line to carry the load both against the run and in the passing game. In typical Eagle fashion, the team did not invest or put much emphasis on the linebacking corp which could prove problematic in the front four struggle at all. Getting some guys in the secondary healthy should help and the addition of Pro Bowler Darius Slay at the right corner spot are encouraging. If things fall the right way this defense can be a plus for this team, injuries and linebacking play could certainly pose a challenge however.
2019 Strength of Schedule – 25th (.486)
Team Win Total Odds – 9.5 Wins (over -105, under -125)
BetCrushers Projected Record – 9-7
The Eagles find themselves in a somewhat perplexing spot as they’ve got some veteran talent mixed with youth and question marks. It’s hard to know if the puzzle pieces will all fit together to make this machine go in the right direction. Ultimately this season looks like a bit of a repeat of a year ago that will find Philly battling with the Cowboys for supremacy in the East or possibly looking for a Wild Card spot.
Possible to Wagers To Play – Over Totals
Early in the season we’ll be looking closely at both the Eagles team over point total as well as the game over point totals. This group should be able to put up points at a higher pace than they did a year ago and the questions in the defensive back seven could lead to quite a few shootouts.
Fantasy Players To Watch – Miles Sanders (RB)
Carson Wentz has enough weapons to be a viable QB1 in fantasy football if his receivers can stay on the field. The Eagles offer two tight ends worth a look, with Ertz commanding early draft selections. The running back position is really where you may find some value on this roster with second year man Miles Sanders. Even though the Eagles like to rotate their backs, Sanders should see good volume and really ended up putting together a nice rookie campaign. He’s still slightly under the radar in comparison to some of the other big names and even rookies.
New York Giants
2019 Record – 4-12
2019 Record Against the Spread – 7-9
After a tumultuous 2019 season the New York Giants head into the upcoming season with a good news and bad news outlook. The good news is this team is improving and there seems to be a clear sense of direction for the organization. The bad news is they are still a year away from really making some serious noise within the conference. New head coach Joe Judge is excited about the future in NYC and even marginal improvement should revitalize a beaten down fan base.
Daniel Jones made a splash when he took the reins from Eli Manning and showed the spark that the team hoped for when they drafted him in the first round. He came back down to earth as the team struggled to win, but you can’t discount the quality experience that he gained in his playing minutes. The skill positions are strong led by Saquon Barkley, a trio of capable wide receivers and Even Engram at tight end. The question mark continues to be the offensive line which will need to play well for Jones to progress and this team to win. If this offense gets off to a slow start things could get ugly fast for new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.
With the offense seemingly at least headed in the proper direction the not so pretty piece of this team appears to be on the other side of the ball. The defense is somewhat overhauled, which needed to happen, as last year’s version seemed to quit on the team often in the latter half of the season. The challenge this year will be whether or not there is enough talent and experience to go along with what they hope is a renewed fight and energy? The big names in Leonard Williams and Markus Golden need to provide more production and Jabril Peppers needs to make the jump from potentially great player to actually great player. This team isn’t quite there yet, but it’s at least headed in the right direction.
2020 Strength of Schedule – Tied 26th (.482)
Team Win Total Odds – 6.5 Wins (Over – Even, under -120)
BetCrushers Projected Record – 6-10
A two game improvement may not seem like a lot during the 2020 NFL season, but that’s realistically what this team is looking like. One year from now it wouldn’t be shocking if this squad’s win total was set closer to the 8 or 9 win mark, however pencil them in for a pedestrian 6-10 mark this season.
Possible to Wagers To Play – Against the Spread
It’s tough to imagine this team being much better or worse than what the books are predicting them to be. The lack of surprises should make playing this team for or against the spread pretty do-able depending on their opponents and of course key numbers. If you have a number that lines up the way you need it to, or a feeling in a game it’s probably best to roll with it ATS with or against this bunch.
Fantasy Players To Watch – Saquon Barkley (RB), Evan Engram (TE)
Saquon Barkley is a no-brainer but Evan Engram might be the value guy to grab at TE if you aren’t fortunate to land one of the elite tight ends early. Be very wary of taking the familiar names in Sterling Shepherd and Golden Tate too early, particularly if you’re not in a PPR format. Expect a fairly even distribution between these two and Darius Slayton in terms of targets.
Washington Football Team
2019 Record – 3-13
2019 Record Against the Spread – 6-10
Whew, where do you even start with the Washington Football Team? They have no official name, their new head coach is unexpectedly battling cancer, and their owner is under fire for a culture of sexism and negativity. It will likely be another very long season in D.C. as no team needs a complete transformation more than the former Redskins. We’re hoping Ron Rivera heals up quickly and can begin the arduous task of reshaping the once proud franchise.
Let’s first start with the positives as there certainly are a handful to talk about. Second year quarterback Dwayne Haskins showed some signs of improvement at the end of last season and fellow rookie Terry McLaurin was a bright spot throughout his first campaign. One of the feel good stories of the recent offseason was veteran QB Alex Smith being cleared to resume football activities after a horrendous and potentially catastrophic leg injury. It will be interesting to see how the QB room plays out throughout the year as one of the big question marks in the teams rebuild is determining whether or not Dwayne Haskins is the guy they want leading the organization. The team parted ways with Derrius Guice which basically leaves future HOFer Adrian Peterson sitting in the driver seat at running back. Disgruntled left tackle Trent Williams is no longer there and this offensive line has some question marks. Top to bottom it’s just really difficult to see this team sustaining offense consistently with the roster it currently has in place.
It’s a completely different story for the defense which has the potential to be sneaky good if they can get any help from their offense staying on the field. Chase Young has impressed in the limited camp, and with Ryan Kerrigan and Jonathan Allen this could be one of the better defensive lines in the league. There is both talent and leadership with the linebackers and in the secondary. Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio is the perfect guy to lead this defense and should at least keep this team competitive.
2019 Strength of Schedule – 28th (.465)
Team Win Total Odds – 5 Wins (over -110, under -110)
BetCrushers Projected Record – 4-12
The offseason was rough in Washington and it’s probably not going to get better when things kickoff on the field. You can expect a scrappy bunch, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, and that culture will have to change for the better. Once Ron Rivera puts his stamp on this team and they get the quarterback position figured it, they should have enough pieces in place to get things turned around, just don’t expect too much in 2020.
Possible to Wagers To Play – Over/Unders – Under
Because this team won’t win many games they’ll be catching a lot of points most of the season. You’ll want to wait to see how the offense can stack up before betting before or against this team. What you can feel good about wagering with this group is the game or team totals as unders. The defense should be good and the offense could struggle. Expect this team to play in a lot of 17-10 type ballgames. It may take the books a few weeks to catch up with low-bar totals so if you’re ok with betting unders, this is the team to do it with.
Fantasy Players To Watch – Terry McLaurin (WR)
The only real name recognition on this roster is future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson, but despite his continued grind, he’s definitely not someone you want to bank on. McLaurin on the other hand is coming off a strong rookie campaign and clearly has some chemistry with Haskins. This offense may struggle which is always a red flag in fantasy land, however McLaurin is a guy that could end up putting up some solid numbers throughout the course of the season.
