Dak Prescott’s Cowboys just beat Tom Brady’s Buccaneers 31–14 and it was not as close as Brett Maher made it seem. Maher, the Cowboys’ kicker, missed four extra points, but at least he did it on a night when “extra points” were aptly named. They were unnecessary.
This was a straightforward beatdown, the kind that we all should have expected but still couldn’t quite believe as it happened. These were the Cowboys against Brady, after all, and picking Dallas meant focusing on this year’s teams and ignoring a generation of football. The task seemed more daunting than it was, but now that it’s over, let’s recognize the Cowboys for what they are: a legitimate threat not just to make the Super Bowl, but to win it.
They might not be quite as good as the Eagles or 49ers, but they’re within the margin of error. The biggest reason to doubt them is logistics: They will (most likely) have to win two road games, and including practice sessions, they must go from Dallas to Tampa to Dallas to San Francisco to Dallas to (most likely) Philadelphia, and though Jerry Jones is unlikely to make them fly commercial, that much travel can wear on a team.
