Why the Cowboys’ hopes for a 2023 Super Bowl remain after their loss to the Dolphins
The Dallas Cowboys felt triumphant 17 days ago when they crushed the Philadelphia Eagles 33-13, and took the lead in the NFC East. The Cowboys have fielded a talented roster over the past two seasons, but have trailed the Eagles both years. With their win, Dallas finally got past the reigning NFC Champions. Just over two weeks later, the Cowboys are right back where they started after enduring two straight losses to the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. With Philadelphia winning two straight, the Cowboys have lost their division lead and are back to the No. 5 seed.
This won’t bode well for Dallas, who ideally wants to host at least one home game in the playoffs and have a higher seed. If the season ended today, the Cowboys would be traveling to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road. In order to get the division back, the Cowboys would have to count on the Eagles losing while also beating the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders over their next two games.
Still, not all hope is lost for Cowboys fans dreaming of seeing their team make the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1990s. For one, the NFL has been utterly unpredictable this year. Unlike last year when the Eagles looked relatively untouchable for the majority of the year, every NFL team has shown significant flaws. The Eagles offense and defense were both exposed during their three-game winning streak. The Lions defense has given up loads of yards and points while Jared Goff can be susceptible to turnovers. The Buccaneers had a losing record for a good chunk of the year and the Seahawks just ended a four-game losing streak. Even the San Francisco 49ers, who annihilated the Cowboys back in Week 5, became mortal with their loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday.
The point is, no team is completely dominant. If anything, this year’s playoffs could likely be determined by which teams go on a run. Of course, Dallas will first have to get over their two-game losing streak to even think about a run, but they’ve shown the ability to do so when they previously went on a five-game winning streak prior to their game against the Bills. With CeeDee Lamb on fire and assuming Dak Prescott can rebound, the Cowboys offense should get rolling again. Defensively, the Cowboys put in a better performance against the Dolphins, and need to build off that.
