Jerry Jones believes the Dallas Cowboys are Super Bowl contenders.
Immediately following the Cowboys’ 40-3 dismantling of the Minnesota Vikings, Cowboys Nation was flooding social media with optimism and the team owner went all out in his postgame presser when asked if this win elevates his team to true contender status.
“A resounding yes. Yes. Unequivocally,” Jones said. “I think we’ve had adversity. We very easily could have more adversity. … Yes, I think if use the experience of what we’re having in the season, then we’re going to be playoff-ready. But I sure do think that what I see out here right now is the team like that you could go get a Super Bowl with.”
While Jones may be correct about his team being a Super Bowl contender, he should leave that up to the pundits to discuss. There’s no need to add any extra pressure on a team that has yearly succumbed to pressure and failed to live up to lofty expectations.
Sunday’s dominating win against the Vikings (8-2) was huge, but it shouldn’t have Jones so quick to say that Cowboys are Super Bowl contenders, especially in a season that has been so unpredictable from week to week.
Jerry Jones on Cowboys' Super Bowl drought: "No one would deny I'm a risk taker. No one. I take risks. And I do it every day on my life."
Adds, to @1053thefan: "I hope those kind of changes can result in a change from where we've been, and that's not getting to the Super Bowl."
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) September 2, 2022
Was The Vikings Game A Measuring Stick?
Following a loss to the reeling Green Bay Packers one week prior, Jones says he felt Sunday’s game in the Twin Cities would go a long way in telling what type of team the Cowboys really are. Are they that team that blew a 14-point lead in a loss to the Packers or are they the team that won by 37 on Sunday?
“I too thought this game was gonna tell what we are. I don’t know that we’re that. I really don’t. But I know this, that we’re not a team that responds when it’s wounded. Everybody thought against the Packers that we underplayed, and I think you saw that happened when we got out here tonight and the team all came together. We’ll build from this.”
"We knew we needed to respond after last week … If we can continue to do this, this team can be special."
– Dak Prescott after a gigantic @dallascowboys win
🎤 @tracywolfson pic.twitter.com/0GhIXveJpb
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 21, 2022
Cowboys Legit Super Bowl Contenders?
Jones’ comments do ring true, as the Cowboys are definitely Super Bowl contenders along with the Eagles, Niners and Vikings as of now. And that’s not really saying much when you consider the way the Vikings looked in Sunday’s loss.
But with Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady finally losing to “Father Time,” Matt Stafford regressing and Russell Wilson’s exit to the AFC, it’s wide open for Dallas to make it to Glendale, Arizona, in February 2023.
And while the Cowboys are habitual underachievers, you have to take into consideration those factors plus a dominant defense led by reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Micah Parsons.
Is that enough? Can Dak Prescott finally get them over the hump? Dallas hasn’t sniffed a Super Bowl since the 1990s. Only time will tell, but the franchise definitely doesn’t need its owner adding pressure to the situation. It has been 27 years since the franchise last hoisted a Lombardi Trophy.
