The Cowboys are getting preseason buzz again. One handicapper says this time feels different

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The Cowboys are getting preseason buzz again. One handicapper says this time feels different

2026-09-03 06:08 Last Updated At：06:21

LAS VEGAS (AP) — No NFL team receives more hype on a regular basis than the Dallas Cowboys, at least in relation to their lack of success over the past three decades.

So it's not a shock there is some preseason commentary that the Cowboys could be in line for a strong season.

Longtime handicapper Bruce Marshall is one of those who argue this season is indeed different, saying the NFC East shapes up well for “America's Team” as well the New York Giants under new coach John Harbaugh.

Philadelphia won the division at 11-6 last season while the Cowboys (7-9-1) and Giants (4-13) struggled.

“Maybe this is the year Dallas does something because I think the Eagles are very vulnerable and Washington was sort of proven a one-year fluke,” Marshall said. “I think the NFC East could almost be turned sort of upside down. I have a lot upside, I think, in (Giants quarterback) Jaxson Dart, but (the) Giants (are) interesting and Dallas (is) kind of interesting.

“Dallas almost fits the Seattle thing.”

The Seahawks went 10-7 in 2024 and then went 14-3 last season and won the Super Bowl.

Bookmakers aren't quite buying the Cowboys yet. They are 20-1 at Caesars Sportsbook to win the Super Bowl and 25-1 at BetMGM Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook.

The Eagles remain in the favorites in that division to go all the way, receiving 17-1 odds at Caesars and DraftKings and 18-1 at BetMGM.

Bookmakers and handicappers had already counted on defensive tackle Aaron Donald returning to the Los Angeles Rams, so his announcement Sunday didn't change the odds because it already was priced in.

The Rams remain substantial, consensus favorites at 5-1 to win the Super Bowl, and much of that has to do with the arrival from Cleveland of pass rusher Myles Garrett, the AP Defensive Player of the Year last season.

Given that LA also has the reigning MVP in quarterback Matthew Stafford as well as a strong roster and one of the game's most creative coaches in Sean McVay, it's hardly a surprise the Rams are such big favorites.

“They deserve to be the favorite,” said Johnny Avello, director of race and sports for DraftKings. “They have the quarterback, they have the running back, they have the defense. Now, are they a shoo-in to get there? No, they are not. Last year, they could've won it all with the team they had.”

Since 1996, according to Pro Football Reference, the Rams are the 29th team with 5-1 odds are better. The previous 28 failed to win the Super Bowl.

“I'm a Rams fan, so I'm usually going to be negative going into a season,” said Joey Feazel, head of football at Caesars. But he added, “They do look from top to bottom like one of the most impressive teams on paper.”

Depending on the sportsbook, the defending champion Seahawks have 11-1 or 12-1 odds to win the Super Bowl. That puts them behind only the Rams in the NFC.

But the Seahawks were 80-1 at one point last season at BetMGM.

“They're similar to the Ravens, where they've taken action, of course, but not to the degree that some of these other teams have,” BetMGM sports trader Christian Cipollini said.

Baltimore and Buffalo, as usual, are expected to contend to come out of the AFC and win the Super Bowl.

Both teams have new coaches, but they bring back franchise quarterbacks: Josh Allen for the Bills and Lamar Jackson for the Ravens.

The Bills are 10-1 across the board and the Ravens are 10-1 to 13-1, which includes 11-1 at BetMGM

“Similar stories, but the betting public at least likes the Bills a lot more than the Ravens this year,” Cipollini said. “A lot of these teams are kind of in the same range, but we're protecting ourselves a bit just because of the amount of action that we've taken on the Bills. So we'd rather be a little bit longer on the Ravens.”

Kirk Cousins will start at quarterback for Las Vegas, but it seems a matter of time before No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza gets his chance.

The uncertainty of when Mendoza will play has hurt his odds for rookie honors. He is +550 at DraftKings, 6-1 at BetMGM and 7-1 at Caesars for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Arizona running back Jeremiyah Love is favored at all three books.

“I would think it's Love ... because you know he's going to be the guy,” Marshall said. “I don't know how much Mendoza's going to play. ... Mendoza hasn't looked that great. Quarterbacks, it's hard to make an impact like that, especially coming into a bad team.”

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Trump promises to campaign for Republicans and says they have a winning midterm message

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Republican lawmakers facing tough reelection campaigns to run on his record in the White House despite his sagging popularity, and he pledged to campaign in all of the roughly three dozen contests that are likely to determine control of Congress.

Voters' dim views of the economy and the war in Iran have put Republicans in a tough spot as the midterm election season enters its final stretch. But during a dinner in the Rose Garden, one of the spaces he has controversially renovated since returning to office last year, the president told his party's most vulnerable lawmakers that they had a triumphant story to tell voters.

“All you have to do is talk about it, and you’re going to win and you’re going to win big,” Trump said a week before the party gathers in Dallas for an unusual midterm convention.

The audience of Republican lawmakers listened quietly to Trump through his speech, occasionally offering applause as many sipped on cocktails ahead of their dinner. Menus checkered in yellow gingham called it an “end of summer BBQ" featuring cheeseburgers.

Trump talked up economic investment in the United States and lower drug prices, using significantly inflated figures, as well as diminished border crossings.

Control of Congress will come down to about 35 races, Trump said. He pledged to spend the 30 days before the election campaigning hard in those battlegrounds, recalling his aggressive travel schedule ahead of his own White House victory two years ago.

“I’m going to go to every one of those 35 places, and we’re going to see if we can get everyone elected,” Trump said. His focus, he added, would be on House and Senate races.

He specifically listed Senate races in Alaska, where Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan faces Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola, and Texas, where Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton is running against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico.

Trump backed Paxton in this year's primary despite a scandal-plagued past, but he poked fun at his style of dress and presence on the campaign trail on Monday.

“You might not love his look. You might not love his television interviews," he said. "But he was the best attorney general in the country, perhaps. He was one of the best in the entire country. And that speaks a lot louder than the suit he’s wearing that doesn’t look so great.”

Republicans' midterm struggles, he suggested, were simply following a pattern that virtually all modern presidents have faced.

“Whether you’re a good president or a great president, you lose the midterms,” Trump said. “We’re going to turn that around because there’s no reason for it.”