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Since 1996 Dallas has been suffering the effects of the curse they were placed under and have never recaptured their glory days.
To be a Dallas Cowboys fan is to wake up every day and remember the curse of Jimmy Johnson.
Each year, to be more fooled by the idea that “this is our year” and to reach the first round of the playoffs and relive the same feeling of disappointment that has persisted for more than a decade.
2023 seemed to be THE year of redemption. Dak Prescott had the best season of his entire career, but he made the playoffs and the team lost as usual.
The franchise was undefeated in home games, and although a few injuries minimally hampered their performances, they finished the regular season with a 12-5 record and an almost 100% healthy squad.
And yet they were eliminated by the Green Bay Packers in their first season with a new starting quarterback, much younger and less experienced than Prescott. It’s impossible not to be frustrated.
This opinion article isn’t going to analyse why the Cowboys can’t win in the playoffs, but perhaps try to give an overview of the things that could have been done differently and, who knows, still can.
Jerry Jones’ methods
I don’t know if you believe in energy, superstition, signs or whatever. But you have to hold on to something to believe that Johnson’s curse will one day be broken, because since the end of the 1995-96 season, Dallas has never been the same.
10,295 days. That’s how long it’s been since the Cowboys last were in the NFC Championship.
This year, owner Jerry Jones confirmed that the team is going all-in. What a great speech to motivate the Cowboys Nation, which needs a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s been more than twenty years of living on empty promises.
But what has the organisation done so far to feed this expectation for the fans?
The approach remains the same. Draft prospects and develop them internally. The script was no different this year: one unimpressive free-agency signing and renewals with the usual players. That doesn’t mean they don’t deserve it, but it’s time to try something new.
How can the curse be broken?
I see the Cowboys’ situation for 2024 as worse than in past years, or rather, in the years when the team didn’t claim to be going full strength.
The quarterback and head coach situations seem to be hanging by a thread. Dak Prescott is an excellent signal-caller and extremely reliable – when it comes to the regular season. It’s hard to explain what happens when he has to prove his talent in the playoffs.
The StatMuse platform released a statistic on quarterbacks’ lowest interception percentage in the century (taking into account the regular season and players with at least 100 games played). Prescott ranks really well in the list – he’s fourth with 1.9 per cent. In the playoffs, however, that number rises to 2.5 per cent.
The number itself, in a vacuum, doesn’t really mean much. But the dropoff stands out.
It’s been years of trying, years of betting on the QB, but today I don’t see him leading Dallas to a conference final, let alone a Super Bowl.
Despite the numbers being spectacular, when we look at the performance on the field, the difference is glaring. And it’s not as if he doesn’t have good targets and pieces he can count on. He’s had great options, such as Cee Dee Lamb, Tony Pollard, Ezekiel Elliott, Dalton Schultz, Dez Bryant, among others who have been in the squad.
It’s not known what Jerry Jones’ plan is for the Draft, but depending on what happens there, we’ll have a spoiler of what to expect in 2025. But it’s time for a new quarterback to take over the Dallas Cowboys.
Inconsistency in the playoffs comes down to the HC. The offensive calls are weak, the defense’s play-readings are bad and the strategies don’t change at all. Dallas also gives the impression of a team that loses its momentum and winning mentality when they hit the postseason.
In my opinion, the decision to go with Mike McCarthy in 2024 was the wrong one, especially with so many options available on the coaching market.
Cowboys need to recalculate their route
This season’s roster hasn’t improved or stayed the same – in fact, it’s gotten worse. The loss of Tyron Smith and Tony Pollard will make a big impact on the field (and in the locker room) and their positions haven’t been properly filled yet.
That’s it. The traditional path that the organisation has always followed is being shot in the foot. The Cowboys needed to take advantage of the free agency to make a big move and bring in someone who will take responsibility and make a difference.
Dallas needs to imprint a new mentality on the team and pass it on to its fan base. The well-known ‘Next year’s Champs’ today is nothing more than ‘Next year’s Wild Card loss’.