Game Of Throws: Cowboys fans hit with another cruel twist of fate

Dallas Cowboys fans were thrilled when they found out that the Mike McCarthy era was officially over. Imagine being able to go back in time to tell them that a few months later, the Micah Parsons era would end too.

The Cowboys had spent the McCarthy era trading division titles with the Philadelphia Eagles only to fall short when it mattered the most in the NFC playoffs.

There was certainly a sense of optimism that promoting Brian Schottenheimer to head coach, bringing in Matt Eberflus as defensive coordinator, and adding some key pieces on both sides of the football would help Dallas bounce back following a disappointing 7-10 season.

In fact, 82 per cent of the bets in the Cowboys regular season win total market were on the overs at FanDuel.

Of course, this was before Jerry Jones traded the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year favourite to an NFC rival that Dallas must visit on Sunday Night Football in Week 4.

Nearly one in every four bets on the DPOY award have been on Parsons at FanDuel.

I’m positive some of those bets came from Cowboys fans. Now those same fans will have to cheer for Parsons to succeed in Green Bay to cash those tickets.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for Dallas sports fans, they go ahead and trade an elite super star in the prime of his career to a conference rival and this time it’s only days before the regular season kicks off.

The pass rush was expected to be the strength of a defence that wasn’t very good at all last season.

Jones admitted that the team’s inability to stop the run was a big reason why they acquired Kenny Clark along with a pair of first round picks from the Packers.

Unfortunately, we still don’t know if the 29-year-old Clark will have as big of an impact against the run as he did in Green Bay, and now the Cowboys will need to figure out how to replace the league’s premier pass rusher.

Now football fans in Dallas are hoping nobody tells Jerry that they ranked 30th in the NFL in yards per rush attempt last season so that he won’t trade CeeDee Lamb for a running back and more picks.

The return of Dak Prescott and the addition of George Pickens should help an offence that was far too reliant on Lamb last season, but a tough schedule will make it that much more difficult for the Cowboys to contend for a playoff spot this season.

I’ve already told you all that the Eagles will repeat as NFC East champions, the Washington Commanders are still the second-best team in the division, and the New York Giants could be better than most expect them to be.

The loss of Parsons combined with a new coaching staff and a tough schedule make it difficult for me to believe that Dallas will be dramatically better than they were last season when they went 7-10. I’ll parlay the Cowboys and Chicago Bears to both miss the playoffs at -105 as a FanDuel Best Bet.