3 things Dallas Cowboys must do for a shot at Super Bowl LVI
By Connor Green
The Dallas Cowboys will be watching Super Bowl LV from home for the 25th straight year. That reality comes after a disappointing season for America’s Team that was plagued with injuries and poor play for much of the year. The team missed out on the playoffs and finished with a dreadful 6-10 record in 2020.
The organization will head into the offseason with a plethora of pressing needs and burning questions. What will they do with their starting quarterback Dak Prescott? Who will they take with the tenth overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft?
Those questions will inevitably be answered sometime before the start of next year. The team will need to make smart decisions in free agency and in the draft if they want to have a shot to get front-row seats to the Super Bowl next season.
Without further ado here is a list of the three things that Dallas must do if it wants a realistic shot to make the Super Bowl next season.
1. Re-sign Dak Prescott
The Dallas Cowboys have several pressing needs this offseason. However, the one that will have the most impact on the team clearly involves the decision of what to do with their starting quarterback Dak Prescott.
The 27-year old passer will be heading into his sixth year in the league next season. In his first five, he has managed to win the offensive rookie of the year award, make the Pro Bowl twice, and (most importantly) led Dallas to the playoffs twice. The Cowboys are 42-27 in his career when Prescott is starting under center for Dallas and they are 4-7 without him.
The young quarterback suffered a gruesome, season-ending ankle injury in the teams’ week five matchup against the New York Giants. Heading into that game Prescott was on pace to break the single-season passing yardage record which is currently held by quarterback Peyton Manning at 5,477.
The former fourth-round draft pick will head into this offseason without a contract after negotiations for a long-term deal failed last year and the team was forced to franchise tag its signal-caller.
Everything else the Cowboys do this offseason will not matter if they are not able to secure solid quarterback play in a league that has become increasingly reliant on the position. The best chance Dallas has to make that crucial need a reality is to re-sign their young signal-caller.
The Dallas Cowboys must do everything in their power to make sure that Dak Prescott is under center for the team in 2021. Without him, it is highly unlikely the team would even be able to compete in the dreadful NFC East yet alone get to a Super Bowl. If America’s Team wants to be playing football in February next year it will bring back Prescott.