Eagles show the Dallas Cowboys just how far they still have to go
After watching the division rival Philadelphia Eagles win their first Super Bowl one thing is for certain: the Dallas Cowboys have a long way to go before they can be considered contenders.
One would think that for the Dallas Cowboys it does not get much worse than seeing the Philadelphia Eagles hoist their first Vince Lombardi trophy. But to make things a little worse, the Eagles have shown how severe the Cowboys shortcomings are and just how far away they are from being legitimate contenders.
When looking back on the failure that was the 2017 season most people will be quick to point out how injuries played a big part in derailing the Cowboys season. After seeing what the Eagles were able to accomplish while sustaining more devastating injuries, that excuse can be quickly put to rest.
The Cowboys coaching staff’s inability to adapt to injuries was on full display the entire season; watching the offense completely implode with the suspension of running back Ezekiel Elliott, the total collapse of the defense when linebacker Sean Lee is not on the field, and the catastrophe that was the game against the Atlanta Falcons where eight sacks were surrendered in the absence of left tackle Tyron Smith.
And here we sit with the Eagles losing their All Pro left tackle, a key piece of their linebacking core on defense and, of course, their franchise quarterback (all to season ending injuries) and they still manage to win the Super Bowl.
The lack of resiliency and inability to come up with alternatives in schemes and matchups due to injuries relates directly to the incompetency of the Cowboys coaching staff. Sure, do you need some depth at key positions and have at least somewhat capable backups? Of course.
But in a salary cap league quality depth is a very hard thing to come by. There is not one team in the league that has tremendous depth across their entire roster; all teams struggle to some degree with depth and the Eagles are no exception to this principle.
What makes the inability to adapt to injury even more concerning is the fact that the Cowboys see a lot of the same key players getting hurt every year. Players like Dez Bryant and Sean Lee have had injury problems for a good portion of their careers.
However every year when the lingering injuries continue to sideline them for a game or two here and there, the Cowboys often look like they have no answers schematically and lack the personnel to sufficiently fill the hole no matter how short the length of time.
Next: 16 Post-Super Bowl thoughts about America’s Team
The Cowboys have a long way to go before they can consider themselves Super Bowl contenders or even NFC title contenders. We have seen this same episode play out year after year; the Cowboys appear to have an immense amount of talent but continue to come up short when and where it matters most.
After watching how Super Bowl LII played out, the gap between the league’s elite and America’s Team has become even more evident.