By Blake Hollingsworth | Reporter
“Dumb and Dumber” had just been released, the average gallon of gas cost $1.15 and “Creep” by TLC was the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 list. This is what life was like on Jan. 29, 1995 when the Dallas Cowboys last won a Super Bowl.
Since then, the Cowboys have won just five playoff games and have yet to appear in a conference champion game.
In the Dak Prescott era — spanning eight seasons — Dallas has only won two playoff games, and only two of their first-round picks have been inside the top 20 since 2016. This is evidence of the the organization’s recurrent theme of being stuck in no man’s land — being good enough to contend for the playoffs, but never elite enough to do damage in January.
Now, Jerry Jones and company have done everything they can to continue this tradition of mediocrity.
The first step they took was signing Prescott to a four-year, $240 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid player in NFL history.
In 2025, Prescott’s cap hit is set to be an eye-popping $89,882,647 according to Spotrac, taking up roughly a third of the Cowboys’ total cap.
For context, the only quarterback to win a Super Bowl with a cap hit percentage of over 13.1% since 1994 is Patrick Mahomes (twice), according to Bookies.
Not only does Prescott’s enormous contract stack historical odds against Dallas, but it also greatly restricts their ability to address other positions of need. This was evident in their near-silent offseason last summer, highlighted by the signing of 32-year-old linebacker Eric Kendricks.
Dallas’ greatest need was a running back after former Cowboy Tony Pollard left for the Titans in free agency. But all owner Jerry Jones did was re-sign Rico Dowdle and bring back a washed-up Ezekiel Elliott. As a result, the Cowboys rank dead last in rushing yards per game.
Another reason for Dallas’ disappointing 2024 start is, surprisingly, their defense.
Mike Zimmer, Dallas’ new defensive coordinator, was supposed to keep it afloat after former Dan Quinn left. However, the defense has underperformed thus far, particularly against the run. According to Team Rankings, Dallas has given up an atrocious 145.8 rushing yards per game, the seventh most in the league. Additionally, their thin secondary has looked suspect at times, giving up a mediocre 209.5 receiving yards per game, putting them at 19th.
Key defensive players are missing, contributing to these struggles. Defensive end Sam Williams is out for the season with a torn ACL, star DE DeMarcus Lawrence is currently on injured reserve and all-pro linebacker Micah Parsons is dealing with an ankle injury, as well.
Perhaps Dallas’ secondary can return to its elite form with the imminent return of Bland. However, I’m not buying that the return of Parsons and Lawrence will be enough to shore up a defensive line that just allowed Derrick Henry to run for 151 yards, averaging six yards per carry.
Although I’ll never give up on the Cowboys, all signs are pointing to another disappointing playoff run.
Our passing game is still good enough to win us games against inferior teams, and if we’re lucky, sneak us into the playoffs. Our below-average defense and non-existent run game will ultimately be our demise this season when the playoffs roll around. I predict another first-round exit this year, along with many more for years to come.
