by AAA Sports
Thursday, Aug 29, 2024These two records stand in stark contrast and pretty much tell the story of the Super Bowl-starved Dallas Cowboys:
36-15 – Dallas’s record in the regular season over the last three seasons.
1-3 – Dallas’s playoff record over the last three seasons.
Put differently, of all the teams that have won Super Bowls, only three – the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings, and Miami Dolphins – have gone longer without winning than the Cowboys have since their last title in 1995. The pressure is on this season. Then again, when is the pressure NOT on in Dallas?
Oddsmakers figure that the Cowboys have more than a puncher’s chance at ending their three-decades-long drought and winning their sixth SB. They’re at around +1800 in most books, behind nine other teams. No one has to tell Dallas fans, or owner/GM/showrunner Jerry Jones that it’s been a long drink of water since coach Barry Switzer got the job done in the mid-1990s.
Since Switzer, six head coaches have tried to get the Cowboys over a very large hump. Only Dave Campo, in the early 2000s, had a losing season record, but exactly zero have winning playoffs records. Chan Gailey, Bill Parcells, Wade Phillips. Jason Garrett and current on-field boss Mike McCarthy have a combined playoff mark of 4-12. Of those four wins, two belong to Garrett – who needed a full decade to get them.
All of which brings up the sensitive topic of whether Jones, at 81 years old, is still the right person to handle things off the field, or is Jones the Owner doing the Cowboys a disservice by continuing to employ Jones the General Manager? Would the Cowboys’ chances of getting back to the Super Bowl be better if Owner Jones took a back seat?
Jones the Owner addressed that issue a few days ago and left no doubt where he stood. The F-words said it all: “I have an ordinate amount of confidence that [expletive], if anybody can figure out how to get this [expletive] done, I can figure out how to get it done,” Jones was quoted as saying. “Hell no, there’s nobody that could [expletive] come in here and do all the contracts … and be a GM any better than I can.”
Ok then.
Like with all 32 teams in the league, whether the Cowboys can climb their way back to the Super Bowl depends on the play of quarterback Dak Prescott, and the news there isn’t good. Jones has tossed cold water on the possibility that Prescott will be signed long-term, and Prescott doesn’t seem bothered by that at all. The franchise QB and Jones the Owner both appear willing to let 2024 play out. If the Boys get to the Super Bowl, Prescott can cash in big-time either in Dallas or elsewhere as a free agent. If Dallas falls short again, Jones the Frustrated GM might be unwilling to go through another contract battle with Prescott and could be ready to cut bait.
Dallas does have one ace in the hole as it attempts to at least get back to the playoffs – namely, the NFC East is terrible. The Eagles are solid, but Philadelphia is the only problem for Dallas in the division. The schedule early on is not very taxing, and the Cowboys should at least be in the mix when they meet the Eagles for the first time, at home on Nov. 10. They square off again on Dec. 29 in Philly in what could be the game of the year. Philly is -140 to win the NFC East; the Cowboys are +170.
Having Dallas back in the Super Bowl would be electric. And the Cowboys actually winning it might motivate Jones the Owner to bask in glory again and finally find a replacement for Jones the General Manager.
Then again, who are we kidding?
36-15 – Dallas’s record in the regular season over the last three seasons.
1-3 – Dallas’s playoff record over the last three seasons.
Put differently, of all the teams that have won Super Bowls, only three – the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings, and Miami Dolphins – have gone longer without winning than the Cowboys have since their last title in 1995. The pressure is on this season. Then again, when is the pressure NOT on in Dallas?
Oddsmakers figure that the Cowboys have more than a puncher’s chance at ending their three-decades-long drought and winning their sixth SB. They’re at around +1800 in most books, behind nine other teams. No one has to tell Dallas fans, or owner/GM/showrunner Jerry Jones that it’s been a long drink of water since coach Barry Switzer got the job done in the mid-1990s.
Since Switzer, six head coaches have tried to get the Cowboys over a very large hump. Only Dave Campo, in the early 2000s, had a losing season record, but exactly zero have winning playoffs records. Chan Gailey, Bill Parcells, Wade Phillips. Jason Garrett and current on-field boss Mike McCarthy have a combined playoff mark of 4-12. Of those four wins, two belong to Garrett – who needed a full decade to get them.
All of which brings up the sensitive topic of whether Jones, at 81 years old, is still the right person to handle things off the field, or is Jones the Owner doing the Cowboys a disservice by continuing to employ Jones the General Manager? Would the Cowboys’ chances of getting back to the Super Bowl be better if Owner Jones took a back seat?
Jones the Owner addressed that issue a few days ago and left no doubt where he stood. The F-words said it all: “I have an ordinate amount of confidence that [expletive], if anybody can figure out how to get this [expletive] done, I can figure out how to get it done,” Jones was quoted as saying. “Hell no, there’s nobody that could [expletive] come in here and do all the contracts … and be a GM any better than I can.”
Ok then.
Like with all 32 teams in the league, whether the Cowboys can climb their way back to the Super Bowl depends on the play of quarterback Dak Prescott, and the news there isn’t good. Jones has tossed cold water on the possibility that Prescott will be signed long-term, and Prescott doesn’t seem bothered by that at all. The franchise QB and Jones the Owner both appear willing to let 2024 play out. If the Boys get to the Super Bowl, Prescott can cash in big-time either in Dallas or elsewhere as a free agent. If Dallas falls short again, Jones the Frustrated GM might be unwilling to go through another contract battle with Prescott and could be ready to cut bait.
Dallas does have one ace in the hole as it attempts to at least get back to the playoffs – namely, the NFC East is terrible. The Eagles are solid, but Philadelphia is the only problem for Dallas in the division. The schedule early on is not very taxing, and the Cowboys should at least be in the mix when they meet the Eagles for the first time, at home on Nov. 10. They square off again on Dec. 29 in Philly in what could be the game of the year. Philly is -140 to win the NFC East; the Cowboys are +170.
Having Dallas back in the Super Bowl would be electric. And the Cowboys actually winning it might motivate Jones the Owner to bask in glory again and finally find a replacement for Jones the General Manager.
Then again, who are we kidding?
