The Dallas Cowboys Playoff Window is Wide Open if…

As crazy as it sounds, the Dallas Cowboys are in a pretty ideal situation the next few years in the NFC East.  Washington is missing a QB. New York is missing a QB. And Philly is missing a QB. The Eagles and Giant’s think they may have a QB, but I think most of us know better.

All of the teams in the NFC East, except for the Dallas Cowboys, are lacking at the game’s most important position. The stage is set for the Dallas Cowboys to be a perennial playoff presence for the foreseeable future. If they can just lock down their QB…

Most franchises would kill for an opportunity like this.  Yet the Cowboys are still deciding if the postseason is something they’re even interested in. That’s really what this all boils down to. The division is theirs for the taking all they have to do is swallow their pride and pay Dak Prescott.

Just by having a franchise QB, the Dallas Cowboys would be favorites to win the NFC East

You may not believe Dak Prescott is the real deal. You may not think he’s worth top-3 cash and that the Dallas Cowboys would be wasting money if they gave in to his demands. I’m not really here to argue that tiresome issue again.

But refusing to re-sign Dak Prescott is blatantly ignoring the current climate in the NFL East. Haters will point out the Cowboys lack of playoff success with Dak. They’ll say we didn’t win with him before, why would win with him now. Instead of pointing out his big successes against some pretty tough odds and spin my wheels defending the past, let me focus on the future: The NFC East is as bad as it’s ever been and it’s never been easier to win it, than right now.  

It would be one thing if we were playing in the AFC West and had to be better than a team like Kansas City in order to win the division. Or if we were in the NFC North and had to best Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Or even the NFC South were we had to beat the Saints and Bucs. Then, I could see us being picky about our roster building.

But the NFC East? The division is there for the taking. I’m thinking about the here and now and so should you and so should the Dallas Cowboys.

Looking at the Cowboys roster, this team just isn’t good enough to win without a good QB. And say what you want about Dak Prescott, but he’s far above replacement level at QB. In his last full season, he finished 3rd in the NFL in wins above replacement (WAR). And last year we saw firsthand what a replacement level QB looks like with Andy Dalton. It wasn’t good enough.

The Dallas Cowboys are blessed with a prime opportunity right now. Washington appears to be starting from square one at QB and given their draft position this year, it’s unlikely they’ll make much progress in 2021.

New York seems to still be committed to Daniel Jones. He’s done nothing to prove he’s a franchise QB in the NFL, and is probably just experiencing the benefit of the sunk cost fallacy. Philly just gave up on Carson Wentz and now seems to be moving into the Jalen Hurts era. It’s doubtful he’s a real QB1.

The Dallas Cowboys are the only team in the NFC East with access to a top-10 QB entering the prime of his career. Just by having a real QB, they can win this QB-devoid division for the foreseeable future. Not many teams have an advantage like that.

Sign Dak Prescott. Even if it seems like too much. The window of opportunity is wide open right now. Now’s the last time we want to rebuild.