NFL playoff odds: Dallas Cowboys would return $180 on $100 wager if they miss postseason

Monitor what the Dallas Cowboys do on Thanksgiving this year (vs. Washington) for a determination on whether or not they will make the postseason. In the past five seasons, the two times that Dallas won on the holiday it made the playoffs, and the three times it was beaten on Turkey Day it didn't. William Hill sportsbook has just released moneyline odds on every NFL team to make or miss the playoffs this year. Dallas is -220 to get in and +180 to miss (returns $180 on $100 bet).

NFL bettors need to keep in mind that the playoff field in each conference was extended to seven this season and going forward. In 2019, the Cowboys were upset at home by the Buffalo Bills 26-15 on Thanksgiving and would miss the playoffs at 8-8. They still would have missed if the additional Wild Card had been in place then. The 9-7 Los Angeles Rams would have been the NFC's seventh seed.

By all the expert accounts, the Cowboys had an excellent offseason. They appeared to upgrade at head coach in former Packers boss Mike McCarthy, who won a Super Bowl with Green Bay, over Jason Garrett, who was 2-3 in his postseason coaching career and never got Dallas to the NFC title game.

Dallas also re-signed top receiver Amari Cooper, even though the division-rival Washington Redskins offered him more money. Quarterback Dak Prescott was kept in two with the franchise tag. Jerry Jones also got a steal in the draft at No. 17 overall in the top-rated receiver on the CBS Big Board in Oklahoma's CeeDee Lamb. He's among the favorites at +1400 to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

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Jones signed some insurance for Prescott as well in former Cincinnati Bengals starting quarterback Andy Dalton, who took a below-market deal in free agency to return to his home in the Dallas area.

In terms of strength of schedule, the Cowboys have the third-easiest in the NFL by their opponents' combined winning percentage in 2019. That group went 117-131-1 (.459).

Dallas has opened as a 2.5-point favorite on the NFL odds in Week 1 at the Los Angeles Rams and projects as a potential underdog in five games: Week 3 in Seattle, Week 8 in Philadelphia, Week 11 in Minnesota, Week 13 in Baltimore and Week 15 at home vs. San Francisco. The Cowboys have an Over-Under win total of 9.5 at William Hill, and in the new format 9 wins probably is enough for the playoffs. 

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