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Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Tyler Smith.
There’s confidence and there’s delusion — who is to say where the line is between the 2 things?
Dallas Cowboys offensive guard Tyler Smith stirred up some controversy when he declared his team’s goal for the year ahead of the start of training camp on July 21 and seemed to toe that fine line.
“Super Bowl champions,” said Smith, a 2-time Pro Bowler and NFL All-Pro. “That’s always the expectation. I think it’s a realistic goal, yeah … Because we can win a Super Bowl. Why not? Why can’t we win?”
ESPN’s Todd Archer was able to lay out the Cowboys’ decades-long struggles to achieve Smith’s state goal in brilliantly succinct fashion.
“The Cowboys have not played in a Super Bowl since 1995,” Archer wrote on July 20. “They haven’t reached an NFC Championship Game in the past 30 years, the longest drought in the conference after the Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions made it each of the past two years. The Cowboys finished 7-10 last year and will have a rookie head coach in Brian Schottenheimer replacing Mike McCarthy.”
NFC East Could Be NFL’s Toughest Division
After consecutive seasons with 12-5 regular season records in 2022 and 2023, the Cowboys seemed like they were pretty much neck and neck with the Philadelphia Eagles for control of the NFC East Division.
The 2024 season seems to have changed all that.
The Commanders were arguably the biggest story of the regular season last year as they went 12-5 and made it to the NFC Championship Game, which was their best record and first appearance in the conference title game since 1991.
How’d they do it? The Commanders drafted LSU quarterback and 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels at No. 2 overall in the 2024 NFL draft and watched him become one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks in his first season.
Daniels not only was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year but was also selected to the Pro Bowl and set the NFL rookie rushing record (891 yards).
The Commanders went out in the offseason and absolutely reloaded around him, adding a trio of NFL All-Pros in left offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, wide receiver Deebo Samuel and edge rusher Von Miller. They also brought back veterans like linebacker Bobby Wagner and tight end Zach Ertz on 1-year contracts.
As good as the Commanders are — and they’re legitimate Super Bowl contenders — the the Eagles are one step ahead after they dominated the competition last year all the way to a blowout win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
One thing the Cowboys can count on? The New York Giants are still terrible.
Smith One of NFL’s Elite Offensive Linemen
It’s not hard to understand Smith’s confidence — the 2022 first round pick (No. 24 overall) is already one of the NFL’s elite offensive linemen. Spotrac has him projected to receive a 4-year, $76.3 million contract extension in the near future.
“I think the Cowboys are definitely going to make the playoffs,” ESPN’s Mike Greenberg said on July 21. “The addition of George Pickens could make this one of the most interesting and explosive offenses in the league. I love the Cowboys to make the playoffs this year.”
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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