Once again, the NFL season is in its early stages and once again the fans of America’s Team and ESPN Sports Broadcasters are crowing about how great the Dallas Cowboys are. They are talking about Tony Romo as an elite HOF QB, the Defense is ferocious, and this is the year Dallas makes that long-awaited Super Bowl return…
Shut up.
Let’s look at the facts… Yes, Dallas has won 3 Super Bowls since Jerry Jones took over ownership of the Cowboys in 1989 and started the team over from scratch. Yes, Dallas has won 5 Super Bowls with three different coaches (Landry, Johnson, and Switzer) and is tied with Pittsburgh for the most Super Bowl appearances at 8. Yes, Dallas has a great legacy, great players, a great stadium, and beautiful cheerleaders.
But…
Dallas has not come close to a Super Bowl since their last appearance in 1996. And their playoff record since that Super Bowl XXX victory is poor… when they have somehow survived the final game of the regular season to make the playoffs.
Let’s look at some more facts…
FACT: Pittsburgh has more Super Bowl rings (6) than Dallas (5). And if you want to factor in NFL Champions as part of the comparison, Green Bay and Chicago have won far more NFL Titles than Dallas has.
FACT: Since Dallas last won a Super Bowl, they have won just twice in the playoffs (once in the 1996 playoffs, and once in 2009). To put that in perspective, 24 of the other 31 teams in the NFL have won MORE playoff games than Dallas has. That 3/4 of the league right there. Two other teams (Houston and Washington) have won as many playoff games as Dallas—and Houston has only been in the league since 2002. The only team to win fewer playoff games than Dallas? KC (0), CIN (0), CLE (0), BUF (0), and DET (0).
FACT: All NFC South and NFC West Division Teams have appeared in the Super Bowl since Dallas last went there. Yes, that includes the Arizona Cardinals, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Carolina Panthers. Tampa Bay and New Orleans have not only appeared in the Super Bowl, they actually won a Super Bowl.
FACT: Jacksonville may be a laughingstock now, but they have been in more Conference Championships games (2) than Dallas has (0) since Dallas last appeared in the Super Bowl.
FACT: The Baltimore Ravens did not exist as a franchise when Dallas last won a Super Bowl. The Ravens have now won 2.
FACT: Dallas last won a playoff game on the road in the 1992 NFC Championship Game. To put that in perspective, the Baltimore Ravens have won 9 road playoff games since Dallas won one.
FACT: New England, Denver, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, Baltimore, and the New York Giants have all won multiple Super Bowls since Dallas last won theirs. St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Indianapolis, and New Orleans have each won one ring during that time as well.
FACT: Tony Romo struggles late in the season and in the postseason. People try to make the argument that he is a better QB than Roger Staubach or Troy Aikman. Maybe statwise, but those two hold all the Cowboy Super Bowl Rings. Romo has yet to even approach Danny White’s postseason success—or even Don Meredith. And Romo is now in his 7th full season as the starting QB. I have seen no indication that he has evolved into the elite QB that he needs to be. In fact, his legacy right now is making bug mistakes at the worst possible times. See Seattle in 2006, NY Giants in 2007, Philly in 2008, and Washington last season.
Face it, Cowboy fans and ESPN apologists like Colin Cowherd… Until Dallas gets to an NFC Championship Game, much less a Super Bowl, Tony Romo, Jerry Jones, and the Dallas Cowboys will continue to be questioned and mocked. No one is mocking Joe Flacco. Even though he doesn’t have the great regular season stats, Joe wins in the post-season. And now he has a Super Bowl Ring.
So Cowboy apologists had better hope Dallas wins this season. Otherwise, the mockings will continue.
