{"id":21039,"date":"2025-01-21T08:36:07","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T08:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21039"},"modified":"2025-01-21T08:36:26","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T08:36:26","slug":"update-the-dallas-cowboys-just-got-slapped-in-the-face-by-harsh-reality-and-its-time-they-acknowledged-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21039","title":{"rendered":"UPDATE: The Dallas Cowboys just got slapped in the face by harsh reality and it’s time they acknowledged it."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dallas<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s official: The\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0are now the team with the longest drought for an NFC Championship Game appearance.<\/p>\n

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With the\u00a0Washington Commanders\u00a0set to battle for a ticket to Super Bowl LIX\u00a0next Sunday, every team in the conference has been to the NFC Championship Game more recently than Dallas. Talk about hitting rock bottom.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Fans shouldn’t ignore the details. The Cowboys have not made the conference championship since 1995. The next team is the\u00a0Chicago Bears<\/a>, who made it in 2010. That’s a 15 year difference.<\/p>\n

But that’s not even the worst of it: Not making it before the Commanders feels like a slap in the face. Though the Cowboys aren’t perfect, they didn’t reach the dysfunctional level of the Dan Snyder years in Washington. Jerry Jones’ insistence on being general manager has always been scrutinized, but things weren’t as bad as they were in Washington from an organization level.<\/p>\n

Well, it took 20 months for the Commanders’ new ownership to tear things down and rebuild the team into a legit contender. Oh, and that’s not all. They did so by betting on 10 former Cowboys players and coaches, starting with former Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, whom they hired to be head coach.<\/p>\n

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The project also includes Tyler Biadasz, Dorance Armstrong, and Dante Fowler Jr., who started most of the season for the team that is one win removed from a Super Bowl trip.<\/p>\n

The longest NFC team without a conference championship appearance. It’s true the Cowboys need to get their upcoming head coaching hire right if they want to start fixing the team’s long list of problems. But none of that even matters if the front office fails to acknowledge\u00a0they\u00a0<\/em>have to start doing things differently.<\/p>\n

Their way hasn’t worked for years, many more than their conference peers. It’s time for change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  It’s official: The\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0are now the team with the longest drought for an NFC Championship Game appearance. 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