Two-time Super Bowl winner believes Dallas Cowboys can win NFC

The offseason Super Bowl hype for the Dallas Cowboys is real, once again. But now a two-time Super Bowl winner is backing that championship prediction too.

Every offseason, fans of the Dallas Cowboys hope that the changes the team has made to their beloved franchise will be enough to return America’s Team to the Super Bowl. It’s a yearly prediction that hasn’t come true in over two decades. And this year hype is no different.

Coming off their second NFC East title and subsequent playoff berth in three years, the Cowboys appear to be a team on the cusp of a long postseason run. Yet, Dallas can’t seem to get past the divisional round of the playoffs as they haven’t been to a conference championship game since January of 1996.

Still, the hope remains. With young, talented pieces in place like quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott, wide receiver Amari Cooper, tight end Jason Witten, an offensive line full of first rounders, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, the best linebacker corps in the NFL, and cornerback Byron Jones coming off a Pro Bowl season; the Cowboys are as good on paper than they’ve been since those championship days of the early nineties.

Yet, this nearly identical roster lost five of their first eight games last season. And the Cowboys have a lame-duck head coach in Jason Garrett who is entering 2019 in the final year of his contract in Dallas, essentially coaching for his job.

Despite turning their season around to win the divisional title last year, and getting a playoff victory over the Seattle Seahawks, the Cowboys also fired longtime offensive coordinator Scott Linehan this offseason and hired his understudy, Kellen Moore, to replace him.

So as good as the Cowboys may appear to be heading into the new season, they also have their issues. Ones that could end up derailing the season before it even starts. Yet, the Super Bowl hype remains. In fact, it appears to be spreading.

Here’s what two-time Super Bowl winner Damien Woody told ESPN’s NFL Live about his belief that the Cowboys can make a deep playoff run in 2019.

"“I think the Dallas Cowboys can represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. The way that Dak Prescott played after the trade of Amari Cooper from Oakland, the numbers speak for themselves. Across the board, completion percentage, yards per attempt, third down, all those numbers were significantly better with Amari Cooper … This team in general, to me, is one of the better teams in the National Football League.”"

The Dallas Cowboys certainly appear to have the talent to win a Super Bowl. But we say that every year. The reality is it takes more than talent to win the big one. And fans of America’s Team have been in a Super Bowl drought ever since 1996. Just how long is that? Well, consider the fact there are players who will take the field for the Cowboys this season who weren’t even born the last time Dallas hoisted a Lombardi Trophy.  Ouch. That’s a long time to be thirsty.