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The Cowboys had a seemingly open window in the NFC after clinching the NFC East in 2021, but their recurring postseason woes re-appeared in ugly ways against the San Francisco 49ers this past January in the NFC Wild Card Round. FS1's Speak For Yourself host Emmanuel Acho believes that things will only get more challenging for Dallas.
According to Acho, the Cowboys took a step back. Either that or the rest of the NFC East took a step forward. Acho used a Track and Field metaphor to tie it all together:
“[The Cowboys] took a step back. And if they didn't take a step back, everybody else took a step forward. Track and Field time, here we go. Favorite thing about tracking I spent probably 30 to 45 minutes discussing this concept yesterday. It's not about acceleration. It's about deceleration ... y'all gotta understand when you see Usain Bolt blaze a track, it's not that he was accelerating the fastest; he was decelerating the slowest."
The rest of the NFC East, Acho says, has closed the gap:
"Eagles, Giants Commanders (are) all getting faster. So it's not as big an issue that the Cowboys didn't get that great this offseason.”
The Cowboys could have difficulties with the rest of the NFC East in 2022
While Dallas are still the odds-on favorite to win the NFC East this coming season, it's possible that Las Vegas profit off those expecting the expected and the Eagles steal the division. If that were to happen, the defensive improvements of drafting Georgia's Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean in the 2022 NFL Draft would be meeting a leap from Jalen Hurts—delivered by a deadly AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith 1-2 punch—in perfect-storm fashion.
The Giants, who fortified an offensive line that badly needed it, and the Commanders, who finally have a capable quarterback in Carson Wentz, pose as dark horse threats that can steal a game during the 17-game slog.
That the Cowboys have lost Amari Cooper and several key pass-protectors of their $160 million investment Dak Prescott puts them in a precarious place in the NFC East, and Acho sees the rest of the division smelling blood.
