Will the Dallas Cowboys become great again?

Will the Dallas Cowboys football team become great again? This past season, the Cowboys finished with a 7-10 record and finished third in the NFC East behind the Eagles and the Commanders. So, will the Cowboys make some roster changes? Will they fire head coach Mike McCarthy or keep players like Brandin Cooks? Will they improve the offensive line?

The 2024-2025 NFL season for the Dallas Cowboys was full of frustration and missed opportunities. As always, the team had high expectations, thanks to its substantial and passionate fanbase. But by the end of the season, the Cowboys fell short of making the playoffs, leaving fans wondering what went wrong.

The Cowboys started the season with hope. Dak Prescott, who had shown he could be great in previous seasons, was expected to lead the team. In 2021 and 2023, he threw for nearly 9,000 yards and 73 touchdowns, which is very impressive. Prescott was expected to lead the offense with focus and consistency. The offense also had talented players like wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, veteran Brandin Cooks, and running back Tony Pollard, making it look like the Cowboys could score a lot of points and keep up with the top teams in the NFC.

The defense also looked strong on paper. With one of the league’s best pass rushers, Micah Parsons, and a talented secondary led by Trevon Diggs, the Cowboys’ defense seemed ready to be one of the best in the league.

However, things didn’t go as planned. Star offensive tackle Tyron Smith was sent to the Jets, Prescott got injured, and backup quarterbacks Cooper Rush and Trey Lance had to step in. The offensive line, which had been a strength of the team for years, started to struggle, especially with protecting Prescott. Tony Pollard, a talented running back, couldn’t provide the same impact as Ezekiel Elliott had in the past. Pollard was traded to the Titans before the season started, leaving Rico Dowdle with more touches. Dowdle finished the season with 1,079 yards and two touchdowns, which was pretty good in his third year in the NFL.

Defensively, the Cowboys showed some great plays but struggled with injuries and mistakes in coverage during important moments. Micah Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence were key players on the defense line, but Lawrence only played in 4 games due to injury. Parsons, however, finished the season with 12 sacks, still showing his talent. The secondary also had problems, with Trevon Diggs and Daron Bland both missing a lot of games due to injuries. Because of that, the defense gave up big plays at bad times, which hurt the Cowboys in critical moments.

By the middle of the season, the Cowboys were losing too many games, and their hopes of making the playoffs were fading. The offense couldn’t stay consistent, and the defense couldn’t always stop teams when it mattered most. The Cowboys lost important games against teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and the Detroit Lions, which put them in a challenging position. The team showed some fight in games against the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals, but they often came up short in the final moments.

As the season went on, the Cowboys’ playoff hopes got slimmer. Injuries to the offensive line and the secondary made performing at a high level hard. The quarterback play also struggled with consistency. Ultimately, the Cowboys missed the playoffs for the first time in several years. Fans were frustrated and wondering where it all went wrong. The team couldn’t win key games against division rivals and important NFC teams, which kept them out of the postseason.

The 2024-2025 season will be remembered as a missed opportunity for the Cowboys. They had so much potential with a talented offense and defense, but injuries and coaching issues hurt them. As the team looks back on the season, they will need to make some decisions. The coaching staff, including head coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, might face tough questions about why the offense couldn’t find a rhythm. Right now, there are even rumors that the Cowboys might look into hiring Colorado’s head coach and NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.

The Cowboys’ defense, while talented, also needs to improve. Injuries to key players exposed weaknesses in the team, which need to be fixed in the offseason to avoid another disappointing season. The team has a lot of talent, including stars like Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb, but they need to be more consistent, especially when the game is on the line.

Even though the 2024-2025 season didn’t end in the playoffs, it gives the Cowboys a chance to rethink and rebuild. The team still has a lot of potential, and with the right changes, they can make a comeback next season. The Cowboys need to turn their potential into real success. Fans will have to wait until next season, hoping that the 2025-2026 season will be when they finally make it to the playoffs and, hopefully, make a deep run toward their sixth Super Bowl championship.

Sean Curtis is a senior member of the Multimedia Journalism class.

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Sean Curtis

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