Intro

If you look at FiveThirtyEight NFL playoff odds, the Dallas Cowboys currently have the second-best odds of winning the Superbowl with %15, and a 99% chance to make the playoffs. But after the whole fiasco of last year’s Cowboy team, it is hard to believe that this team is no different than last year and will screw it up at the end. This Cowboys season, at least in my opinion, has seemed less optimistic and a lot more cynical about the up-come of this season. 

(Current NFL playoff odd’s by FiveThirtyEight)

Cowboys Past Woe’s

Last year was just the tipping point in two decades worth of frustrating seasons for the Cowboys. For 20 years, the Cowboys have just been average or disappointing, and the eight times the Cowboys have made the playoff, they either choked it or flat-out collapsed. Only three playoff games the cowboys have ever won, all of them being wild card games in the last 20 years. The last time it ever won a divisional game was in 1995 when the Cowboys won the Superbowl. That was 27 years, meaning we are currently holding the fourth-longest drought to win a divisional game. Last year was the ultimatum of disappointment for this franchise.

The 2021 Cowboys season saw the team break multiple NFL and franchise records. They had a dominating offensive and a formidable defensive, and it looked like, for many, this was the team to win it all. Then it all fell apart in week nine vs. Broncos, and the Cowboys just started going downhill from there, as are offensive struggle significantly to put points up. It all ended in a wild card loss vs. the 49ers. To have all those records and superstars on the team and to lose in the wild card. For many, it was the last straw with the Cowboys, and many fans lost hope for the Cowboy’s ever going to the Superbowl.

(Tony Romo fumbling the game winning kick vs Seahawk in 2006 NFC wild card game – SI)

Final Thoughts

The Cowboys are currently 8-3, have the third-best record in NFC, and show no signs of collapse. But it is hard to believe that the Cowboys will somehow screw this year up in some fashion and disappoint the fans. There may be some hope that this is different. With the arguably top defensive in the NFL, it is a change from the previous team, who were more offensive-heavy. The last six games will be a test for the Cowboys, with them having to play Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans in the stretch. The only time will be if the Cowboys are legit this year or if they will fall like the one in the past.

(Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb during the thanksgiving game – Hollywood Reporter)