Are the Dallas Cowboys the NFL’s most disappointing team?

With Week Seventeen here, the 2019 NFL regular season is almost over. Are the Dallas Cowboys the biggest disappointment in the league?

For the Dallas Cowboys, the 2019 season is a case study in missed opportunity. The team started 3-0 and then went 4-8 over the next 12 games.

While the playoffs are still a possibility, only the truly glass is half full people feel any optimism. Most are resigned that the Philadelphia Eagles will take care of their business and beat the Giants this weekend.

While the pain of a wasted season gnaws at the owner Jerry Jones and Cowboys Nation, the Cowboys are who we thought they were. Or at least who the pundits who made preseason predictions thought they were.

• SI.com predicted a 9-7 record and a second place NFC East finish
• Bleacher Report predicted a 9-7 record and a second place NFC East finish
• CBS Sports predicted a 9-7 record and a second place NFC East finish
• The Ringer’s six writers unanimously picked the Eagles to win the division

There were a few optimistic predictions.

• NFL.com had six of 29 pick the Cowboy’s to win the division
• The Sporting News predicted a 12 win division winning season

Remember back in August when all these predictions came out. Most of Cowboys Nation felt that 32 of the 39 predictions were wrong. The Cowboys simply had too much talent to not win the division.

In a season where everything was setup for Dallas to succeed, the team failed. Division rivals Washington and New York were playing rookie quarterbacks and Philadelphia had a rash of injuries.

Yet here we are discussing what could have been in a season that seems destined to be flushed down the toilet. While most of Cowboys Nation are ready for the inevitable changes that will occur this offseason, many forget that the 2020 team will be significantly different from the 2019 team.

There are 24 unrestricted free agents on the 2019 team with most not likely to be retained. Contracts for quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper will consume much of the projected $85 million cap space.

It will be hard to see the Cowboys getting better when players like defensive linemen Robert Quinn, Michael Bennett and Maliek Collins and corner Byron Jones will not receive contract offers from Dallas. Depth players like defensive linemen Christian Covington, Kerry Hyder, corner Anthony Brown, linebackers Sean Lee and Joe Thomas, guard Xavier Su’a-Filo will need to be replaced by rookies and bargain bin free agents.

It is inevitable that the hype machine will ramp up expectations. If you thought the 2019 season was a disappointment, get ready to lower your expectations for next season.