Notable headline surrounding America’s team.
Eagles ride dominant defense to Super Bowl LIX win over Chiefs – Dan Graziano, ESPN
The Cowboys archenemy, the Eagles, have become the Super Bowl champs.
The defense forced three turnovers and held Mahomes and the Kansas City offense to 275 yards. It was an all-night party at the tail end of a weeklong party for Eagles fans in the Big Easy. And in the end, it was the oft-maligned Hurts and Eagles coach Nick Sirianni holding up the Lombardi Trophy.
The Eagles took it right to the Chiefs and didn’t let up. The first half was a mash-up of things that aren’t supposed to happen. The Chiefs bottled up Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley, limiting him to 31 yards on 12 carries before halftime. But it didn’t matter, partly because Hurts was making pinpoint throws and sharp decisions, partly because the Chiefs were shooting themselves in the foot with uncharacteristic penalties and partly because Mahomes threw two interceptions — something he’s only done five other times in his career in a single half.
But as shocking as the Eagles’ dominance may have been, the fundamental problem that cost the Chiefs their chance at history was the same one that cost them the Super Bowl four years ago against the Tom Brady-led Buccaneers and the same one that looked for most of this regular season like the one that might do them in: They could not protect their quarterback.
Philadelphia generated pressure on seven of Mahomes’ 17 first-half dropbacks in spite of not blitzing once. Veteran Chiefs offensive lineman Joe Thuney, who appeared to have solved the team’s left tackle problem when they moved him there from left guard with five games left in the regular season, got manhandled repeatedly by the Eagles’ defensive front. Edge pressure from Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith, interior pressure from Milton Williams and Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis… it didn’t matter where it was coming from, Mahomes couldn’t do anything against it.
Cowboys’ Jerry Jones crashes Super Bowl 59 with bogus Micah Parsons rumor- Jerry Trotta, The Landry Hat
Jerry won’t let the big game dim his spotlight.
The Dallas Cowboys have not made it to the Super Bowl since their last championship in 1995. That also marked the last time Dallas advanced as far as the NFC Championship Game. They now own the longest NFC title game drought in the conference after Washington booked a ticket with their upset win over the No. 1 seed Lions.
That’s Jerry’s music.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Cowboys have had “internal discussions” about whether to make Parsons the highest-paid defender in the league or trade him for a “king’s ransom.” Rapoport noted that there hasn’t been any trade talks involving Parsons.
Cowboys fans should not be alarmed by the Micah Parsons trade rumors
Let’s make this absolutely clear – Micah Parsons is not getting traded.
Rapoport’s report noted that Parsons “hasn’t said much of anything” regarding the Cowboys’ hire of Brian Schottenheimer as head coach and that Parsons referred to Mike McCarthy’s exit as “devastating”, hinting at potential unrest with the perennial All-Pro.
Cowboys $91 million position predicted to be addressed in both draft, free agency- K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire
The QB room could look very different in 2025.
External Free Agents
There’s a limited amount of intriguing QBs in free agency this year, and the Cowboys aren’t going to be looking to spend significant space on a backup with so many other needs. Failures elsewhere, such as Justin Fields, Mac Jones and Daniel Jones, will probably have a market that prices the Cowboys out.
Prediction: Sign Jameis Winston, two-year, $7.5 million (void years), $2 million cap hit
2025 NFL Draft
The Cowboys could have gone in multiple directions with their head coaching hire, but clearly were looking for stability with the staff that has worked with Prescott. Any idea the club would be looking to escape Prescott’s contract soon and draft an heir apparent to groom went out the window with Schotty’s hire.
That doesn’t mean the club will be out on QB in the draft though, as it makes sense to draft and develop a future backup.
Prediction: Use one of their four fifth-round picks to draft a QB, such as Louisville’s Tyler Shough.
Saquon Barkley compared to Dallas Cowboys legend ahead of Super Bowl LIX – Matt Galatzan, Sports Illustrated
It stings because there is truth to it.
In fact, Barkley was so consistently good all season, that he has been drawing comparisons to NFL legends. That continued to be the case on Sunday morning when Draft Kings analyst and former Sports Center anchor Trey Wingo compared him to Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame running back, Emmitt Smith.
“When I see (Saquon) running, I feel like it’s kind of like when I watched Emmitt Smith run with the Cowboys back in the ‘90s,” Wingo said. ”It’s like nobody touches him until it’s a defensive back that’s trying to stop him because that line is doing such an amazing job.”
And upon further inspection, Wingo may be on to something here.
During the Cowboys golden era of the 90’s Smith was an absolute workhorse, and was fortunate enough to have arguably the best offensive line in the NFL at the time. And just like Barkley, Smith would routinely find himself at the second or third level of the defense before being touched by an opposing defender.
Ravens will not give Cowboys a chance to rectify one of Jerry Jones’ biggest mistakes- John Buhler, FanSided
There goes that dream.
Derrick Henry is projected to return to the Baltimore Ravens next season
While I am skeptical about the Ravens’ chances of ever winning a Super Bowl with Lamar Jackson as their franchise quarterback, all they need is a lucky break or two to come out of the AFC one day. Baltimore has the right structure in place organizationally to take advantage of someone like the Kansas City Chiefs stubbing their toe ahead of the Arrowhead Invitational. We can only hope for it…
As for the Cowboys, they have not even been to an NFC Championship Game since Henry was a toddler. At one point in time, it may have been every NFL player’s dream to play for the Cowboys, but that is no longer the case. Players have gotten smarter in the dawn of the social media age. They know that they can win big anywhere, as winning is not a prerequisite when playing for a bigger brand.
When it comes to Henry, a player like this only comes around once in a decade. The last running back who was this type of talent as a bell-cow was Adrian Peterson. Henry was previously available due to the Titans’ utter incompetence. Dallas could have taken advantage of the situation at hand. However, the far better-run franchise ended up with him in Baltimore. I would want to retire with this team, too.
