NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Dallas Cowboys are the biggest conundrum in sports.
And it’s not close.
Never has team won so much and fostered so little confidence.
But here we are and with a good reason following Thursday’s suspect 27-13 victory against a Tennessee Titans team, which nearly handed them the win by sitting out six starters and other key players to keep them healthy for next weekend’s showdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars for the AFC South title.
Behind a quarterback who had been with the team less than month, making his first career start, the Titans took the Cowboys to the brink in fourth quarter before losing their sixth straight game.
In the end, the Cowboys did what they were supposed to do by getting the victory and keeping fledgling NFC East title hopes alive.
But it has critics and their own fans looking at them a little funny.
Are the Cowboys a legitimate Super Bowl contender? Despite winning at least 12 games in back-to-back years for the first time since they did it in four straight years from 1992-1995 (when they won three Super Bowl titles and made four straight trips to the NFC title game), there’s a lot of pessimism.
No team in the AFC has won more games than the Cowboys, and the Philadelphia Eagles (13-2) and Minnesota Vikings (12-3) are the only NFC teams with fewer losses.
Dallas owns victories over both teams.
Yet, the Cowboys are the most toxic and questioned 12-4 team in NFL history.
That the Cowboys haven’t sniffed a conference title or a trip to the Super Bowl in the last 27 seasons. Those are the main reasons why the team gets no grace now, especially when their play doesn’t meet expectations.
Thursday night wasn’t just about beating the Titans. It was about the journey towards a title.
Reasons abound why the Cowboys didn’t measure up, including a rash of injuries, attrition and the toll playing three games in the last 12 days. Facing the Titans on five days rest, following an emotional and physical win against the Eagles, was a tough task.
But at this point no one cares and certainly not their own fans, who were almost apoplectic following a double-digit victory.
Four playoff wins since 1996 will do that. So will a quarterback who is currently in the middle of an unhealthy relationship with ball security.
Dak Prescott’ three turnovers — a fumble and two interceptions — kept the Titans in the game longer than necessary. Not only does he have a career-high 14 interceptions in 2022 but he has 10 in the last six games, including four games with two picks.
Add in a defense that suddenly can’t get to the quarterback with any consistency and still can’t stop the run, plus an injury-riddled offensive line and receivers who drop passes at an alarming rate and there’s little wonder why the Cowboys aren’t to be trusted.
It may not be fair. But it is what it is.
“Those are your choices,” Prescott said. “Those are your thoughts. That’s all external and outside of our locker room. That’s for y’all. We’re gonna let y’all talk. We know what we have, what we’re capable of doing. We’re gonna double down on that and trust the process and continue to get better each day of practice, each week and understand as I said the magnitude that’s coming up.”
Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, who led the Cowboys from 2003-2007, once said that confidence was based on demonstrated ability.
What have the Cowboys shown so far that they can handle the magnitude of what’s coming up in the playoffs, which they have no history of handling?
It’s not about style points.
It’s about laying the foundation for a title run and building momentum heading into the playoffs by playing your best football.
That didn’t happen against the Titans.
“Yeah, but I’m in tune with the injuries and all the things that are going on,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “All the little stuff. It wasn’t clean. This wasn’t a clean performance. We recognize that. I’m not disputing that at all. I do know my football team. I know they came out of a hard victory on Sunday and it took them a little longer to get the bodies back. But that’s what Thursday Night Football is. It’s a tough battle. It’s a tough challenge when you have to go on the road and all those things.
But most importantly, we answered the bell and got it done.”
Will they get in done in the playoffs?
That’s the big question and the burgeoning toxicity a 12-win Cowboys team and an apoplectic fan base that has no recent memory of what playoff success looks like.
