Dallas Cowboys bold prediction: The streak is finally broken
By Tyrone Starr
In the final installment of my bold prediction series, I tackle one of the biggest dark rain clouds hanging over the Dallas Cowboys.
Twenty-three years is a very long time. For the Dallas Cowboys organization and its fans, 23 years feels like forever. It has been that long since the Cowboys have played for the opportunity to go to the Super Bowl. Six times they have made it to the Divisional Round of the playoffs since 1995. Six times their season ended there.
The original triplets, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin, lost in 1996. Tony Romo, DeMarco Murray and Dez Bryant lost in 2014. Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and Amari Cooper lost last year.
Talent has never been the problem, even though there always seems to be something missing. This season though, something just feels different. On offense, the returns of tight end Jason Witten (retirement) and center Travis Frederick (non-football illness) are back making an already strong unit, stronger.
Defensively, the Cowboys are improved along the defensive line with a young linebacker duo that are the best in the league under 25-years of age. The secondary has a good mix of veterans and young guns.
The schedule is helpful as well. Dallas has a legitimate shot at being no worse than 6-2 after their first eight games with two games against the New York Giants and one game each against the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets and Washington Redskins.
If they can win all those and just one from either the Green Bay Packers, the New Orleans Saints or the Philadelphia Eagles, they’ll set themselves nicely for the remainder of the schedule. Eleven wins seems like a very realistic goal for this team. That would guarantee the Cowboys at least one home playoff game where Dallas has won three of the last four games.
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All it will take is some road resolve and the streak will be broken. This year, the team will be a year wiser, better and ready for whoever lines up across from them. That’s right. I am boldly predicting that the 2019 Dallas Cowboys will be playing for the right to go to Super Bowl LIV.