Niner Noise
FanSided

3 NFC sleeper teams who contend with 49ers for playoffs

By Peter Panacy

Quarterback Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings congratulates Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
Quarterback Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings congratulates Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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Dallas Cowboys, Dak Prescott
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports /

49ers Threat No. 2: Dallas Cowboys

2020 Record: 6-10, 3rd Place in NFC East

There’s one big reason why the Dallas Cowboys could contend in the NFC this season: quarterback Dak Prescott.

Prescott’s absence because of his serious leg injury last year was the insult stamp on what was otherwise an abysmal campaign under then newly minted head coach Mike McCarthy. The defense was atrocious, too. And while Dallas spent considerable effort reinforcing this side of the ball via the NFL Draft, if there’s one element necessary to any success the Cowboys have this year, it’s Prescott and the offense.

The Cowboys still have an array of offensive weapons to support Prescott, namely running back Ezekiel Elliott and the wide receiver tandem of CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper.

True, Dallas’ offensive line remains a work in progress. And that alone might be a reason why any Cowboys climb gets no higher than an 8-8 record.

Yet the NFC East remains the league’s weakest division, meaning Dallas could easily wind up stealing four or five inter-division games to go along with some upsets outside of the division, too.

And when one looks at the Cowboys’ second-easiest strength of schedule (opponents’ 2020 win percentage at .452, it wouldn’t be totally crazy to think Dallas and San Francisco could both be looking at one of those coveted Wild Card berths by the time Weeks 17 or 18 roll around.