Frisco, TX — Over 27 years.
The Super Bowl drought for the Dallas Cowboys, who lost 19-12 to the San Francisco 49ers in Sunday’s divisional round of the playoffs, is now in its 27th year.
The shadow of the Cowboys team of the 1990s, which won three Super Bowls in four years, continues to grow, as does the burden of having to live up to that expectation for today’s players.
The story has become the same. The chapter remains the same. The only differences in the sentences are the names: Tony Romo to Dak Prescott. DeMarco Murray to Ezekiel Elliott. From Jason Witten to Dalton Schultz. From Dez Bryant he to CeeDee Lamb. From DeMarcus Ware to Micah Parsons.
The regular, of course, is owner and general manager Jerry Jones.
But the Cowboys’ problem isn’t about roster building, it’s about doing their best when it matters most, like in the divisional round of the playoffs against the 49ers.
Disappointed coach Mike McCarthy said he “didn’t do enough.”
McCarthy has coached two of the NFL’s most famous franchises, the Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers. He won the Super Bowl at his bay on Green, and a street near his Rambo field was named after him. The names that grace the Packers’ Wall of Fame are just as memorable as the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is littered with players from both teams.
If anyone knows the inherent pressure of having to live in the past, it’s McCarthy. In 2010, his Packers felt no strain.
“I think it’s definitely something to embrace,” McCarthy said late in the regular season. “I’ve always seen it as an energy source. The pride in bricks and everything here is clearly built by generations before us. But I’ve always seen energy I’ve seen the source, where I work, who I work for, and I’m proud of the success I’m seeing, so I don’t think that’s a negative at all.”
The Cowboys went 15 years between Super Bowls, from Super Bowl XII to Troy Aikman in Super Bowl XXVII. The 1990s Core His Cowboys were part of the franchise’s revival from the end of the Tom Landry era to his 1-15 season in 1989.
“They’re more out of our time than I was out of Staubbach’s,” Eikman said. “And I don’t think we felt the burden of what the ’70s team had accomplished. But we certainly recognized and respected that.”
Michael Irvin says: We were poor, but gradually we got better, and for a while we were great. I knew that he was struggling 3-13 and 1-15… we started together 1-15 and 3-13 so it was no problem. we grew up with it. So it wasn’t like someone handed us over. We grow it and we remember it.
“I just don’t want them to see this as a burden. I just want them to understand that it’s a blessing. Everyone wants to see it. Let them see it.” . [Cowboys] Because everyone is trying to make a season out of you.
The Irvins and Aikmans Cowboys didn’t need to hear about the Super Bowl drought approaching 30 years ago. It’s probably a good thing those teams didn’t have social media, but these cowboys do.
When the Cowboys lost, a unique joy arose from some of the national media. Your opponent won’t win the game.
“I’m here to do my job, so whether fans like it or not, Stephen A. [Smith] I like him, but I hate Stephen A. “Anyway, we have to do the same work. So whether the lights are on or off, we have work to do. It’s cool – more people are watching us being stars – but we’re still doing the same job.
The Cleveland Browns have never won a Super Bowl. Their last NFL championship came in 1964. But with Jones’ ubiquity, the Americas’ Prescott’s status as his team’s quarterback, and his national advertising, and even a star attached to his helmet, the Cowboys are under more pressure inside and out. facing.
“This is the biggest burden in the world. What do you mean by burdened?” Irvine said. “It’s the biggest burden in the world because you know everyone will look to you in some way. Now what are you ready to do with their eyeballs? You tell them you Are you willing to watch it sink, or are you willing to take the opportunity and maximize it?”
In 2022, the Cowboys took a step forward from 2021, making it through the Wild Card Round, even if it felt a little hollow after Sunday’s loss in the Division Round. , with 12 wins in consecutive seasons. They felt at least ready to end the NFC Championship game drought.
The Cowboys couldn’t make it on Sunday, facing Brock Purdy’s rookie quarterback Mr. Illerivant as the last pick in the 2022 draft.
There is no guarantee that 2023 will offer anything different than any year since 1995, when the Cowboys won Super Bowl XXX. It just increases the burden and shadow.
“We will definitely return to this position,” Prescott said. I was misunderstood — [but] When you talk to the guys in the locker room, you’re definitely talking to the guys who participated in this hour who are the pillars of this team. But I have no doubt we will be back. It gives me confidence and it gives confidence to everyone in that locker room. “
