For the 29th straight season, the Dallas Cowboys will be watching the Super Bowl from home. And while we'd love to get into all the reasons why that is, that's not what we're here for today.
This year is especially excruciating for fans of America's Team, as one of the Cowboys' most bitter rivals — the Philadelphia Eagles — are back in the Big Game for the second time in three seasons. And as it went two years ago, The Birds will vie for the Lombardi Trophy against the Kansas City Chiefs, who, of course, are looking to become the first team in history to win three straight Super Bowls.
From a team standpoint, one would think the decision on who to root for on Sunday is an easy one for Dallas fans, as it seems safe to assume that most want no part of watching the Eagles celebrate a championship.
As for those who might be looking to root for the team that has the most former Cowboys on the roster, that edge also goes to the Chiefs.
But the only reason for that is because the Eagles don't have a single former Dallas player under contract. The only real connection Philly has is offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who many thought might become the Cowboys' head coach before Brian Schottenheimer was hired. But that's it.
That said, though, it's not as if Kansas City is loaded with players who used to wear a helmet with a blue star on the side.
Now, had things gone differently in each of the conference championship games, Super Bowl 59 would feature several former Cowboys, as Dan Quinn and the Washington Commanders would have had four suiting up, those being Tyler Biadasz, Dante Fowler Jr., Dorance Armstrong, and Noah Igbinoghene, while the Buffalo Bills would have had three in Amari Cooper, Connor McGovern, and Jordan Phillips.
Instead, though, the one and only former Cowboy who will take the field in New Orleans this Sunday will be Chiefs tight end Peyton Hendershot.
Peyton Hendershot is the only former Cowboys player in Super Bowl 59
Signed by the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2022, Hendershot spent two seasons in Dallas, catching just 15 passes for 141 yards with two touchdowns.
He was ultimately traded to Kansas City just before the start of this 2024 season, with Dallas receiving a conditional seventh-round pick in return.
Hendershot was waived by the Chiefs in mid-September but was re-signed to the practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster in early November and appeared in four games before being placed on injured reserve. The Indiana alum returned for Kansas City's Christmas Day win over the Pittsburgh Steelers and has been on the active roster ever since.
As the team's third-string tight end behind Travis Kelce and Noah Gray, Hendershot doesn't take a ton of offensive snaps or receive a ton of targets when he does. But he does get quite a few snaps on special teams.
So, his role really isn't that much different from his days in Dallas. However, Pendershot seems to enjoy suiting up for the Chiefs a lot more than he did for the Cowboys, recently noting the difference in an interview with Blogging the Boys editor RJ Ochoa.
"This is throwing no strays," Hendershot said, "but I just feel like when I came to Kansas City... my first experience in the NFL was the Cowboys, so that's all I knew... I just feel like here, it is strictly football and winning. Nothing else but just football and winning."
"And I feel like with the Cowboys, it's a little bit more like... the public image. The extracurriculars that come with it, too. And here it's just... let's just win football."
It's hard to argue his point. And perhaps that's why the Cowboys are watching the Super Bowl from home for the 29th straight year.