The Dallas Cowboys need to go all in and prove to their fans that a Super Bowl title is in the near future by taking a big leap in the NFL Playoffs.
It’s been 25 years since the Dallas Cowboys advanced further than the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs and the patience within the fanbase is wearing mightily thin. Now that quarterback Dak Prescott is set to become the second-highest-paid player in the entire league, it’s time for him and the Cowboys to take a leap in the playoffs this upcoming season. And it all starts with winning the NFC East title.
The 2020 NFL season was a major fumble by the organization as they were the laughing stock of the league because of an abysmal defense. In the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the Cowboys were handed a gift in the name of Micah Parsons, stud inside linebacker out of Penn State, at No. 12 overall.
In addition to a potential Pro-Bowl-caliber player added to the front-seven, their young secondary gets a full offseason of training and preparation for the new year, while also having a new defensive coordinator in the mix, former Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn.
Not only is the defensive side of the football improved, but the Cowboys are expected to have one of the most powerful offenses in the entire league. Prescott missed most of last year’s campaign due to a fracture in his ankle but, with some much-needed R-and-R, he’s expected to pick up where he left off prior to the injury.
In the five games Dak started last season, he averaged an astounding 371.2 yards per game, 68 percent completion rate and a quarterback rating of 99.6. For a defense that allowed anyone and everyone to get by them, Prescott kept them in every game. He is going to come back with a vengeance and could be a darkhorse candidate for MVP.
Though Prescott is not the only player who will bounce back in the upcoming season. Ezekiel Elliott, one of the game’s household names at running back, has been more of a liability when it comes to production on the field. He will look to silence his doubters and critics and show that he deserved the six-year, $90 million contract extension he signed in 2019. And if he doesn’t have a bounce-back year, there’s no doubt that his time in Dallas will come to an end.
Owner Jerry Jones loves running backs, but you can only have so much patience for mediocrity. Zeke will have no other choice but to ball out of his mind. His money is at stake now, and there’s no doubt he’s going to protect it at all cost.
Every year, the fanbase of the Dallas Cowboys always takes to the fabled “This is our year!” mindset. However, the franchise needs to give the fans proof that their time is coming. They can bring in an Amari Cooper or draft a Micah Parsons, but if they don’t succeed past their own division, how can anyone take this team seriously?
They struggle to defeat a New York Giants team that shares an identity with the New York Jets, a Philadelphia Eagles team that chased their starting quarterback out of town, and a Washington team that doesn’t even have a name. It’s time for the Dallas Cowboys to show that they mean business and they do so by advancing to the NFC Championship for the first time since 1994.