From 1992-95, Dallas played in four straight NFC Championship Games and won three Super Bowls. But over the last 30 years, the Cowboys haven’t made it past the Divisional Round, finishing with a losing record in each of the past two seasons.\u00a0This, of course, hasn’t stopped many from annually hyping “America’s Team.” I’ve certainly done my part over the years, erroneously declaring \u201cDallas is BACK!\u201d on numerous occasions. Yet, I’m ready to go back to the well once again — and this time, I mean it!\u00a0<\/p>\n
I’m\u00a0not crying wolf: 2026 is the year the ‘Boys re-emerge as true Super Bowl contenders, and here’s why.<\/p>\n
Dak Prescott<\/a> is an underrated MVP candidate<\/p>\n The football world might have a love\/hate relationship with the Cowboys’ franchise quarterback, but Prescott’s rise up the charts as an elite player is undeniable. The 33-year-old has led the NFL in completions in two of the past three years, while also posting a league-high 36 touchdown passes in 2023. With 4,000-plus yards in each of his four healthy seasons since 2019, Dak is always a threat to post explosive numbers while directing an offense that features blue-chip talent at the skill positions.<\/p>\n While Prescott’s detractors will point to the Cowboys’ big-game failures as a reason to dismiss his candidacy, the four-time Pro Bowler has been a spectacular performer with Brian Schottenheimer by his side. Schotty served as Dallas’ offensive coordinator in 2023 and ’24 before his promotion to the big chair in 2025. And in the past three seasons, Prescott has completed 67.7 percent of his passes to average 263.0 yards per game, logging a 77:27 TD-to-INT ratio in the process. The 11th-year pro’s precise passing and timely playmaking force opponents to defend every blade of grass, from sideline to sideline and the line of scrimmage to the back of the end zone.<\/p>\n Additionally, Prescott has mastered the pre-snap chess match, leading to steady gains on audibles and adjustments based on his anticipation and diagnostic skills. With the veteran quickly identifying potential rushers and deciphering safety rotations, the Cowboys can punish opponents for aggressive tactics with minimal risk. As a top-notch distributor from the pocket, Dallas’ QB1 is one of the most-feared passers in the game today.<\/p>\n The Cowboys’ unstoppable offense is even better in 2026<\/p>\n The 2025 Cowboys’ offense was a nightmare to defend, with George Pickens<\/a> emerging as a big-play machine and co-WR1. The second-team All-Pro posted career-highs in receptions (93), receiving yards (1,429) and touchdowns (nine), while sharing the marquee with CeeDee Lamb<\/a>, a perennial Pro Bowler with 1,000-plus yards in each of the past five seasons. The duo teams with two-time Pro Bowl tight end\u00a0Jake Ferguson<\/a> to create a three-headed monster in the passing game that tests the talent and tactics of opponents attempting to minimize big gains. Despite the fact that NFL defenses are using more two-high-safety shells and umbrella coverages these days to minimize explosives, the Cowboys still have enough firepower to produce big plays on vertical or horizontal routes. The catch-and-run concepts featured prominently on Dallas’ call sheet allow Pickens, Lamb and Ferguson to pick up chunk yardage on low-risk, high-percentage passes that keep the offense on schedule.<\/p>\n Opponents paying too much attention to the Cowboys’ aerial assault are susceptible to punishment by the ground attack. With\u00a0Javonte Williams<\/a> excelling on runs between the tackles behind an offensive line that mashes foes at the point of attack, Dallas can take a sledgehammer to defenses that play light boxes. Last season, the old-school approach not only helped Williams notch his first 1,000-yard campaign, but it also let the Cowboys control games with a \u201cthree yards and a cloud of dust\u201d approach that overwhelms opponents in key moments. Given the rugged rusher’s success behind an O-line that features a pair of violent interior blockers (Tyler Smith<\/a> and Tyler Booker<\/a>), the Cowboys can win with body punches (running game) or knockout power (aerial attack) in a heavyweight fight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From 1992-95, Dallas played in four straight NFC Championship Games and won three Super Bowls. But over the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1016041,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[39],"tags":[529,8995,8998,9001,8986,1232,530,528,62,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-1016040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-analysis","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-green-bay-packers","tag-los-angeles-chargers","tag-nfl","tag-no-minute","tag-scouts-notebook","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117136471339981352","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1016040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1016040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1016040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1016041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1016040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1016040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1016040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}