Sean Payton, Eagles, Tony Pollard figure into 2022’s bold predictions for Cowboys
If you’re going to call your shot, you might as well go big.
That’s what Connor Orr has done at Sports Illustrated. It’s easy to make a bold prediction or two and see if they pan out, but going on the record with 100 of them is a different kind of endeavor. (The list celebrates 100 days until the start of the 2022 season.)
Sure, he picks a Super Bowl matchup (Bills over Packers) and tabs certain players to lead key categories (sacks: Joey Bosa; rushing: Najee Harris; QB rating: Matt Ryan). But he also gets into plenty of off-the-field plotlines, too.
As expected, the Cowboys figure into a handful of Orr’s 100 bold predictions. Only none of them are all that crazy. If even a few of his prognostications come to fruition, the season figures to be a bumpy ride for Cowboys Nation.
7. Sean Payton doesn’t make it a full season in the booth before jumping back into coaching
Sep 29, 2019; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, center, talks to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and head coach Jason Garrett before their game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
When Payton suddenly stepped down as head coach in New Orleans, it kick-started a wild flurry of speculation that he would be coming to Dallas. Even after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones confirmed that Mike McCarthy was staying put, many outside observers have been treating Payton’s ascension to the throne in Big D as a matter not of if, but when. Orr predicts Payton’s name will become part of the leaguewide conversation before Halloween, as foundering teams launch “epic and borderline public overture”s to woo him, even before the actual hiring widow opens. If Jones regards Payton as a stand-by candidate, he may have to compete early to land him.
16. The Eagles will win the NFC East
Dallas Cowboys line of scrimmage during an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Monday, Sept. 27, 2021, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson)
Philadelphia spent the offseason doing some serious retooling, addressing major roster needs with big-time talent in free agency and the draft. Dallas, meanwhile, largely sat on their hands, watching several notable names walk out the door while doing very little to restock the shelves. The Cowboys are coasting; the Eagles are standing on the gas. Orr forecasts “a year of reckoning” for the Cowboys as the Eagles overtake them in the divisional standings.
37. CeeDee Lamb will be one of the three most productive receivers in the NFL (in terms of total receiving yards)
Oct 17, 2021; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) makes the catch and runs the ball for the game winning touchdown in overtime at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
How Lamb responds to the absence of Amari Cooper and handles being the undisputed top pass-catching option in Dallas will be among the top storylines of the team’s 2022 season. All signs point to the 23-year-old taking “aggressive” leaps and bounds toward bona fide superstardom. “I’ve been ready,” Lamb said recently. “I want to be that guy.” Orr says Lamb may be hard-pressed to catch the Rams’ Cooper Kupp in receiving yards, but he believes No. 88 will put up one heck of a chase.
40. Ezekiel Elliott won’t lead Cowboys running backs in touches
Dallas Cowboys’ Tony Pollard and running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) celebrate Pollard’s touchdown run in the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Houston Texans in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Roger Steinman)
The decline in production is well-documented. An apparent upgrade has been waiting in the wings. Tony Pollard’s offensive touches have gone up every year he’s been in the league; Elliott’s touches have dropped each year since Pollard has been around. But Pollard’s yards-per-touch has beaten Elliott’s each season. Last year, he was 1.7 yards-per-touch more effective. Orr thinks 2022 will finally be the year that the Cowboys ride the hot hand at running back and give Pollard more work than the two-time rushing champ and $12.4 million man.
66. The Cowboys’ coaching situation will reach a theatrical peak on Christmas Eve after the Eagles game
Nov 25, 2021; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy walks on the field before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
See Nos. 7 and 16 above. If the Cowboys are underwhelming in 2022- Orr calls an 0-2 start to the season “not unfathomable”- and still hovering right around .500 at the end of December, things could indeed get a little nuts on Christmas Eve. Imagine a nationally-televised loss at home to a surging Philadelphia squad, the Cowboys losing the division just as stockings are hung by the chimney with care. There may not be a lot of glad tidings around Dallas. “With Sean Payton a free agent,” Orr notes, “Jerry Jones’s press conference will be popcorn material.”
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