Following the 1995-96 NFL campaign, the Dallas Cowboys had earned a 5-3 record in the Super Bowl. The Philadelphia Eagles had only appeared in the big game once in their entire existence. Philly has dramatically reduced the gap over the last three decades, however, winning two Lombardi Trophies and competing for two others in that span. Conversely, Dallas has not returned to the Super Bowl.
Dak Prescott has represented the Cowboys during the Eagles' most prosperous stretch, which includes two titles in the last eight seasons, witnessing firsthand the franchise's clutch gene. The 2023 Second-Team All-Pro quarterback is not overly worried about his NFC East rival, though.
Actually, he believes Dallas is right on the newly crowed champions‘ tail.”I feel like we compete with the Eagles and beat them for the most part when we played them,” Prescott told reporters on Tuesday, per The Athletic's Jon Machota.
“I don't want to say check the record when they're the guys holding the trophy right now, so credit to them. They've earned it and they deserve it by all means, but {I think} we're very close {to matching up with them}. It's our turn and it's on us.”
Prescott owns a 9-4 career record against Philadelphia, which corroborates the point he made about the Cowboys faring well against their divisional foe in recent years. However, if the three-time Pro Bowler is going to emphasize regular season history when assessing his squad's outlook, he must also properly shine light on Dallas' persisting postseason woes.
Cowboys need to turn things around
America's Team has been incredibly consistent during the Dak Prescott era, reaching the playoffs seven times but also failing to advance past the NFC Divisional Round. The 31-year-old is 2-5 on the big stage with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions, despite averaging a stout 280 passing yards per postseason game. The Cowboys as a whole share plenty of blame, as penalties and underachieving continue to plague them in these spots.
Embodying the type of playoff poise that has come to define Jalen Hurts and Philly will be difficult, regardless of how Prescott views the current NFL landscape. Dallas will enter a pivotal free agency period in March. Jerry Jones and company failed to acquire sufficient talent on the open market last year, expressing a puzzling level of self-belief in what they had rather than shoring up the roster depth.
Sure enough, injuries ravaged the team, with Prescott himself only playing eight games before suffering a partially-torn hamstring tendon in November. Cornerbacks Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland also struggled to get healthy and looked quite vulnerable at times, contributing to a leaky defense that allowed 27.5 points per game (second-worst in NFL).
The Cowboys must thoroughly address the unit and also find another impactful wide receiver to pair with CeeDee Lamb on offense. Accomplishing these objectives requires some financial flexibility, though. Prescott and Lamb can help out on that front.
Both players can restructure their contracts, which were extended last offseason, to accommodate the franchise in its negotiations with pass-rusher Micah Parsons and forthcoming free agents.
Unless Dallas clears a sufficient amount of cap space, it will be difficult to envision the squad coming “close” to the Eagles and other contenders. For the sake of fans, hopefully that fact quickly dawns on management.
