After the Week 7 bye, Cowboys could become nearly unbeatable

There’s not a lot to complain about if you’re a fan of the Dallas Cowboys right now. Things are not only going smoothly during the 2016 season, but the team looks ready to dominate for years to come thanks to a rookie backfield of quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott. While the two-headed monster just ran over the Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers before their bye week, it seems as though things are about to get even scarier after the bye. According to Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News, the Cowboys will get back three of their key players against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8.

While Lawrence did return before the bye week, he suffered a shoulder injury against the Packers. The good news is, he’ll be back out there helping to bolster the Cowboys pass rush. Dallas currently sits tied for No. 19 in the NFL in sacks with 11 on the season, but the full return of a player in Lawrence who totaled eight sacks last season will be welcomed.

As for Scandrick, he was expected to come back in 2016 and make an immediate impact, but was dealing with sore hamstrings through the first two games and just didn’t look like himself. Fortunately, Scandrick sat out a few games in order to heal up and will now look to return back to his 2013 and 2014 form. The upside is there, and if completely healthy, Scandrick should be the Cowboys’ best cornerback.

Finally, there’s not much that needs to be said about Bryant. One thing that really stands out about his return is that with the emergence of Elliott and Prescott, as well as other key players stepping up, Bryant should be able to see fewer double teams moving forward. That’ll be huge, and a healthy Bryant with a more confident Prescott makes the Cowboys offense even more dangerous.

Fortunately, anything the Cowboys can add right now is just even scarier for opponents. Their defense ranks No. 7 in the NFL in points per game allowed at 17.8, and may very well be one of the most underrated units in the entire league. On the offensive side of the ball, the Cowboys have averaged 26.5 points per game (Noo. 8 in the NFL), while shockingly landing at No. 3 in the league in total yards per game (401.5) behind only the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints.

It’s hard not to love what the Cowboys are building right now, and with the return of a few key players, they’re going to be a tough team to beat down the stretch. With that said, they have some brutally tough games on the schedule ahead, including the previously-mentioned Eagles, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins, New York Giants and a final Week 17 bout with the Eagles to wrap up their season.

While much of the conversation has been about who the Cowboys’ starting quarterback should be, it may be time to shift the attention more towards the impressive all-around play from this team. Even more importantly, fans may want to seriously start considering the Cowboys as being legitimate Super Bowl contenders.