NFL 2025: Dallas Cowboys Over/Under For Wins

• According to oddsmakers, the Dallas Cowboys’ over-under wins for the 2025 NFL season sits at 7.5
• The Cowboys were a disappointment in 2024, largely due to injuries, and it cost head coach Mike McCarthy his job
• New head coach Brian Schottenheimer is under the gun from the start, with a young, talented, and injury-plagued team and veteran QB Dak Prescott returning from season-ending surgery
• Owner/general manager Jerry Jones will soon be 83, is impatient, and desperately wants another Super Bowl

Dallas Gets a New Head Coach and Key Coordinators

Brian Schottenheimer has been working his way up the coaching food chain since 1997. Despite being something of a princeling as longtime NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer’s son, it can’t be said that he’s getting coaching opportunities due to his last name. He’s waited a long time.

Jerry Jones is giving him his first head coaching job, replacing the fired Mike McCarthy. He’s been the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator for the past two seasons. Suffice it to say that if quarterback Dak Prescott didn’t want him as the HC, he wouldn’t be the HC.

Former Cardinals offensive line coach Klayton Adams replaces Schottenheimer as the offensive coordinator. Last season’s defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer, retired. He will be replaced by former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus.

Dak Prescott Returns From Injury With New Weapons

Prescott injured his hamstring in Week 9 and needed season-ending surgery, but is expected to be fully healthy for 2025.

It’s important to remember, when looking at the Cowboys’ final 2024 record of 7-10, that they were 3-5 with Prescott under center. In those eight games, he threw 11 TD passes and 8 picks.

Dallas has myriad threats to push the ball down the field. Top receiver CeeDee Lamb is a given. They added mercurial former Steelers receiver George Pickens. Pickens can make spectacular plays, but he complains a lot and disappears for stretches.

Parris Campbell comes over from the Eagles. Jalen Tolbert and KaVontae Turbin return. At tight end, they retained Jake Ferguson and Luke Schoonmaker.

Running back Rico Dowdle was allowed to leave as a free agent. He signed with the Panthers. To replace him, Dallas signed Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders from the Broncos and Panthers, respectively. In the draft, they took Jaydon Blue in the fifth round out of the University of Texas. In the seventh round, they selected Phil Mafah out of Clemson.

Tyler Booker was taken in the first round (12th overall) out of Alabama to bolster the offensive line.

As training camp beckons, the Cowboys do not have an experienced backup. Cooper Rush left for the Ravens, and behind Prescott, they have untested former Patriots backup Joe Milton III and longtime practice squad journeyman Will Grier.

Future Pro Football Hall of Famer and Cowboys offensive line linchpin Zack Martin retired after the 2024 season.

The Young Defense May Be the Key to the Season

Game-wrecking linebacker Micah Parsons is the most important player on the Cowboys’ defense. He is still waiting for his contract extension, and it may become more complicated after what the Steelers just gave to T.J. Watt.

With Trevon Diggs, DeRon Bland, and Malik Hooker, their secondary is filled with ballhawks. They selected All-American defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku from Boston College in the second round of the draft.

Longtime Cowboys defensive star DeMarcus Lawrence was allowed to leave for the Seahawks.

Eberflus’s defensive style is aggressive, so expect them to pressure the quarterback and trust their secondary to make big plays. They have the talent to do it.

Their 2025 Schedule Is Somewhat Difficult

In the NFC East, the Cowboys will contend with the Super Bowl champion Eagles and their NFC Championship Game opponents, the Commanders. And then there’s the Giants. They play two games against each.

They travel to play the Bears, Jets, Panthers, Broncos, Raiders, and Lions. At home, they play the Packers, Cardinals, Chiefs, Vikings, and Chargers.

The Cowboys Need to Win This Year

As stated earlier, Jones wants another Super Bowl while he can enjoy it. If he doesn’t get it with this template, with this coach, with this quarterback, then changes need to be made. As good as Prescott has been during the regular season, he’s won two playoff games in his career and has never advanced past the Divisional Round.

If he gets hurt, the season is over right there and then. It’s unconscionable that their backups are so inexperienced with Prescott returning from season-ending surgery. The running back room does not have an obvious number one guy. They have improved the receiving corps.

On defense, Parsons wants his money, and they are moving forward with a new system under Eberflus.

When trying to gauge how many wins the Cowboys will manage in 2025, it’s a matter of deciding whether Prescott will be healthy or not. Based on that, it’s safer to say he will be since he’s been so historically durable.

The Cowboys will win more than 7.5 games.