NFL Predictions 2011: Game by Game for the Dallas Cowboys

While most teams in the NFC East are facing pressure to succeed this year, the Dallas Cowboys always have that national spotlight on them. A handful of nationally televised games along with a brutal NFC East schedule makes for an interesting season.

What will happen? How many games will it take to win the division? Can the NFC East send three teams to the playoffs?

Let's wait and see!

Here are some detailed predictions for the Dallas Cowboys this year:

Week 1: at New York Jets - Rex will have his team very prepared to man-handle a young Dallas offensive line and a relatively week set of cornerbacks; Loss 0-1

Week 2: At San Francisco - An unstable set of superstars for the 49ers will pave the way for Dallas’s first win of the season. Romo will begin trusting his offensive line as Felix Jones proves his worth as the lead horse in the backfield; Win 1-1

Week 3: Washington - Fortunately, Alex Barron is not playing in this game and therefore, Dallas should have little problem in their home opener; Win 2-1

Week 4: Detroit - Hometown wonder-kid Matthew Stafford and maybe the best defensive line in the league come into Dallas, but fall short due to a lackluster secondary. Romo and the boys take control with an impressive victory; Win 3-1

Week 5: Bye Week

Week 6: At New England - Similar to the 2007 battle where the Cowboys lead at halftime, the Brady Bunch will overwhelm the Cowboys in the second half and cruise to victory albeit without Randy Moss and a relatively weak secondary; Loss 3-2

Week 7: St Louis - Felix Jones and Dez Bryant will be on display as the Cowboys easily roll through an inexperienced Rams bunch; Win 4-2

Week 8: At Philly - An early-season statement game that can go either way that will serve as a barometer for each team. In the end, Romo leads a game-winning drive to a slanting Jason Witten to escape Philly with a huge win; Win 5-2

Week 9: Seattle - A trap game after last week’s big division win that brings back dirty memories of Romo’s botched snap in the 2007 playoffs. In the end, the Cowboys do pull through and take the division lead; Win 6-2

Week 10: Buffalo - The last time these teams played in 2007 it involved Romo throwing five interceptions and relying on a rookie Nick Folk to kick a pair of 50+ yard field goals in order to escape in Buffalo. This time around, the path will be less difficult, but will still require a rookie field goal kicker to come through in the clutch; Win 7-2

Week 11: At Washington - A desperate and severely under-performing Redskins team pulls a big division upset and beats the surging Cowboys. Orakpo, McIntosh and Hall give Romo fits all game; Loss 7-3

Week 12: Miami - The Dolphins (widely considered Dallas 2.0) use trickery and the option playbook to perfection but ultimately get held up because of their poor defense. Miles Austin has a career game; Win 8-3

Week 13: At Arizona - At this point, Kevin Kolb and Larry Fitzgerald are considered one of the top tandems in the league. The weak Dallas secondary does not have enough skill to stop them or the other Cardinal speed demons; Loss 8-4

Week 14: New York - The start of a very rough four game schedule for the Cowboys ends up in a loss due to Eli’s continued mastery of the Cowboys in Dallas; Loss 8-5

Week 15: At Tampa Bay - After last week’s debacle at home, Romo and the boys quickly jump on a young Buccaneer team to setup an epic final two weeks of the season; Win 9-5

Week 16: Philly - Memories of DeSean Jackson’s 91 yard touchdown last year still linger in the Cowboys mind, this game further proves that speed with McCoy, Vick and Jackson simply overpowers anything that Dallas has to offer; Loss 9-6

Week 17: At New York - This game will mark a new tradition of Cowboys/Giants ending the season. Although this game will be in a snowy MetLife stadium, Jason Garrett will prepare his Cowboys for an upset and playoff-clinching victory against the G-Men; Win 10-6