Dallas Cowboys: Super Bowl or Bust?
One lingering question around the NFL has to be, how have the Cowboys not won a Super Bowl in this decade?
The Cowboys are up there every year and it seems like they have an infinite supply of talent, but they always seem to disappoint when it matters the most.
Many have pointed the finger at Tony Romo for not being able to deliver in the big game, but it is ridiculous to single him out. They've lost as a team in these past few years. All too often, the quarterbacks get too much praise for a win and too much blame for a loss.
If it wasn't for Romo, the Cowboys would likely not be in the discussion as one of the top teams in the league.
The Cowboys do have a spectacular defence and an offence stocked with talent. That talent was just expanded this offseason with the drafting of wide receiver Dez Bryant. Bryant looks like a very promising young talent and can be a force in the Cowboys' offence for years to come.
Expectations are set on the Cowboys to make it to the Super Bowl this year. Anything short of that will be considered as a failure. After all, this year offers the Cowboys even more incentive as they will be hosting Super Bowl XLV and they would love nothing more than to become the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl on their home field.
Nobody will say the Dallas Cowboys can't win the Lombardi Trophy because they don't have enough talent. All the pieces are in place for them to begin a dynasty, but they have to show that killer instinct in the big game and put away the less talented teams. Every year, the Cowboys are eliminated by a team that simply wants it more than they do.
In 2006, the Cowboys went to the playoffs but lost to the Seattle Seahawks in a game that will forever be remembered for Romo's bobbled snap. With very little time remaining, Dallas had a chance to take the lead off a short field goal, but Romo bobbled the snap and the boys lost in a heartbreaker.
The next season saw Dallas truly show their talent as they rolled to a 13-3 regular season record, but too many off-field distractions and running on auto-pilot doomed the Cowboys in the playoffs.
In their first playoff game hosting divisional rival New York Giants, the number 1 seed was knocked off in a 21-17 loss, in which the eventual Super Bowl Champions, out-muscled and out-willed Dallas on their way to victory.
The next season saw the Cowboys collapse down the stretch and they were eventually eliminated from playoff contention. The last nail in the coffin came in a winner-take-all game with division rivals the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 17. The Eagles embarrassed the Cowboys with a 44-6 shellacking. That offseason they got rid of their supposed poison, Terrell Owens, and moved forward into the next season.
The Cowboys got their revenge on Philly last season with a win in Week 17 to win the NFC East and then eliminated them the following week in the Wild Card round. The Cowboys unfortunately ran into a well rested Minnesota Vikings team and were outclassed and beaten badly, 34-3. They were simply dominated by the Vikings, who fed off their home crowd and made life difficult for Tony Romo on the field.
Now the Cowboys are out of excuses. They have to find a way to go all the way this year. They have to find that ingredient they have been missing. They have to feed off their talent and find their killer instinct. It's the only way they can pull off a dream season and raise the Lombardi Trophy in Cowboys Stadium come February.
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