The Cowboys’ divisional playoff record reveals how far they are.

The Cowboys’ divisional playoff record reveals how far they are…

Even though four teams advanced to the championship round this weekend, the Dallas Cowboys’ season-long shortcomings were apparent. In a narrow 24-21 victory for San Francisco at home, the top-seeded 49ers were no match for the Green Bay Packers, who were also the ones that eliminated Dallas in the Wild Card round by becoming the first team to win at AT&T Stadium in 16 attempts. Under Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers are participating in their third consecutive NFC Championship game. Cowboys supporters had high hopes and expectations for their team to meet Shanahan’s this weekend in Las Vegas; instead, they had to settle for the 42-10 regular season loss to the 49ers and the two playoff losses they suffered to San Francisco under Mike McCarthy.

McCarthy has had concerns regarding his job security throughout his time in Dallas. The rumoured Dallas intention to let McCarthy finish out the final year of his contract in what will also be a crucial year for quarterback Dak Prescott is the only thing preventing those questions from reaching a fever pitch this summer.

This previous season was McCarthy’s third consecutive year coaching Prescott, who for the fourth time had won at least 12 games during the regular season but was unable to advance to the conference final. In this period, Brock Purdy—the fourth choice in seven years with Shanahan as head coach—has gone from being the last selection in the 2022 Draft to consecutive NFC Championship games for the Cowboys. They watched as Matt LaFleur, McCarthy’s replacement in Green Bay, destroyed the Cowboys with a quarterback in his first season as starter, then almost upset the 49ers to set up an all-NFC North championship game against the Lions. Perhaps the greatest measure of humiliation for the Cowboys’ continued run of not participating in the Super Bowl is the Lions’ own presence in the title game.

The Cowboys’ fear of losing ground in the NFC should be greatest in the Packers vs 49ers Divisional game. There have been intermittent discussions over Prescott joining the elite group of quarterbacks in the NFC. Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers have all retired or left the conference, yet McCarthy has left the Cowboys with rosters and seasons that are a waste.

Without question, McCarthy’s takeover of play-calling this season and ability to get the most out of Prescott and star receiver CeeDee Lamb have improved the Cowboys. However, the Cowboys offence lacked balance, forcing them to watch other West Coast followers play at a level that Dallas was unable to match for the entire season, especially while playing on the road. When the Cowboys offence was away from Arlington, they performed well, relying on McCarthy’s classic West Coast flair, but they didn’t appear seamless in the process. Even the Cowboys’ propensity to dominate at home, where Prescott has thrown 22 of his 36 touchdowns in eight home victories, seems different from how the 49ers and Packers more often assist their rookie quarterbacks by coming up with inventive route ideas that give receivers lots of free space.

If the Cowboys moved on from McCarthy following his third consecutive playoff loss to just one victory, they would have had the chance to choose a new head coach who values that crucial talent above all others. Rather, they continued to use the same head coaches they had for a while—the “leader of men,” the “locker room presence,” and the “steady press conference voices.”

If benching Quinn as head coach following the Packers loss was too drastic for some Cowboys supporters, criticising Quinn’s defensive leadership after 48 points surrendered is considerably less controversial. Dallas is starting to realise this, as Quinn has gone from being one of the first coaches projected to be hired in several offseasons to a name still available.

While another year of McCarthy’s offence and some additional talent could easily see this team contend in the NFC East again, this plan loses sight of the fact that playoff disappointment feels imminent with this current group. The Cowboys’ tendency to overrate their own coaches and personnel has been a persistent problem holding them back.

In the meanwhile, the Titans have already selected Brian Callahan, an intelligent offensive thinker. And clubs hoping to invest in the next generation of play-callers are still considering prospects like Bobby Slowik and Ben Johnson. With C.J. Stroud and the Texans, Slowik organised one of the finest rookie quarterback seasons in recent memory. Johnson’s club is still in action this weekend, lead by the Lions’ Jared Goff, who is reaching new heights.

The Cowboys’ decision to retain McCarthy is only the first indication that the front office and organisation will try to trick the football community once more into believing they are getting closer to their ideals than they actually are. Similar to their belief that they had found the next big thing in Kellen Moore, the Cowboys’ belief that McCarthy’s offence is the long-term solution has some validity when considering his first season as play-caller, but it still lags behind the other teams’ ascent to the top of the NFC, who have surpassed them.

While there is still time to identify this issue and return with a more aggressive free agency and draft strategy, some of the hardest criticism of the stale culture holding these clubs behind will be directed at the regular discussion of the Cowboys roster clicking in the upcoming months.

Perhaps some Cowboys fans were able to put the Packers defeat behind them at some time over Divisional weekend and enjoy some top-notch football with seasons on the line, but it was probably not during Saturday night’s late game. For a Cowboys team that now finds itself at a serious crossroads under McCarthy, Prescott, and soon-to-be free agent RB Tony Pollard, that matchup that came down to the wire between Shanahan vs. LaFleur, Brock Purdy vs. Jordan Love, and Christian McCaffrey vs. Aaron Jones was nothing more than a reminder of missed opportunities mounting.

For better or worse, the 2024 Cowboys will serve as an example of this as they pursue not just the Packers, 49ers, and Lions, but also any other upstart club prepared to forgo ordinary and take calculated chances in order to improve a franchise’s fortune. No NFL team ever looks the same from season to season.