There isn’t a more enigmatic, fascinating and potentially volatile team in the NFL in 2024 than the Cowboys.
This is a talent-loaded team that’s won 12 games in each of the past three seasons, and yet is one more disappointing postseason away from being blown up.
Teams such as the Jets, who haven’t been to the playoffs in 13 years, and other NFL bottom-feeders like the Panthers, Commanders and Cardinals should have such problems.
Yet, unless the Cowboys not only make the playoffs but make a deep run in the postseason (a first NFC Championship game appearance in 30 years), there’s a high likelihood their head coach, Mike McCarthy, and quarterback, Dak Prescott, will be goners.
That’s a strong statement considering that McCarthy is 41-25 as the Cowboys coach, having led them to the playoffs in the past three seasons and winning the NFC East twice. And considering Prescott owns a 73-41 career record as the Dallas starter and led the league with 36 touchdowns to just nine interceptions last season.
Only Andy Reid has more wins in the past three regular seasons, with 37, but the difference is Reid has led the Chiefs to two Super Bowl titles in that span.
As for Prescott, who has thrown 96 touchdowns to 34 interceptions in the past three seasons, the list of quarterbacks who have been more productive than him in that span is very short. The problem is, Prescott, for as prolific as he’s been in the regular season, owns a 2-5 postseason record.
This postseason situation is getting very old for team owner Jerry Jones. Remember the famous words late former Jets owner Leon Hess delivered the day he hired Rich Kotite?
“I’m 80 years old and I want results now,’’ Hess crowed that day, January 1995, which happened to be the last year the Cowboys were in a Super Bowl.
Well, Jones is 81 years old and demands results ***** now *****.
He hasn’t given Prescott a contract extension despite the fact the QB has been the face of the franchise since he was drafted in 2016 and went 13-3 as a rookie.
Jones, too, hasn’t given McCarthy a contract extension. That leaves the starting quarterback, the head coach and his staff all in the final years of their respective contracts entering this season — as lame ducks.
Jones, by his own admission, is still smarting from the Cowboys’ 48-32 home loss to the Packers in the wild-card round last season. Jones told Clarence Hill from DLLS that the loss to the Packers has “got the attention of everything we do.”
The Cowboys, who open the season Sunday at Cleveland, did very little in the way of changing their team from 2023, essentially running the same core group back for ’24.
That has left questions with the offensive line, which lost left tackle Tyron Smith and center Tyler Biadasz to free agency. There, too, are questions at running back, with an aging Ezekiel Elliott back for a second stint in Dallas and unproven Rico Dowdle sharing carries.
Jones, who also serves as the team’s general manager, has essentially left the burden on McCarthy to right what went wrong last year.
“Everybody has stewed in what happened against Green Bay,” Jones told DLLS. “We will stew right up until probably kickoff against Cleveland.’’
McCarthy said he has put together a 21-game plan for the team, which means he’s planning for the 17 regular-season games and a potential four more in the postseason, the Super Bowl being the 21st.
It’s likely the Cowboys are going to have to make it at least to the 20th game in that plan or McCarthy, Prescott and any others will be gone, and Jones will be essentially starting all over entering his 82nd year.
It figures to be a compelling next several months in Dallas.
