{"id":48498,"date":"2025-05-15T09:02:46","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T09:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48498"},"modified":"2025-05-15T09:02:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T09:02:46","slug":"troy-aikman-makes-eye-opening-cowboys-2025-prediction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=48498","title":{"rendered":"Troy Aikman Makes Eye-Opening Cowboys 2025 Prediction"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"l-article__header\"><\/header>\n<div class=\"l-article__meta\">\n<div class=\"l-article__meta-item l-article__meta-item--dates\">\n<ul class=\"c-meta c-meta--post c-meta--list c-meta--dates\">\n<li class=\"c-meta__item c-meta__item--updated\"><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"l-article__content\">\n<div class=\"c-content entry-content\">\n<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1203620823-e1747245774456.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1203620823-e1747245774456.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1203620823-e1747245774456.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1203620823-e1747245774456.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Cowboys legend Troy Aikman\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-img-load-time=\"7193\" data-dom-ready-time=\"7718\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Cowboys legend Troy Aikman<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As so often happens at this time of year, the blush of spring erases many of the woes of winter, and forCowboys\u00a0fans, that\u2019s the case here in 2025. Not long ago, the team was coming off a woeful and injury-plagued 2024 season, with a 7-10 record and a coach that needed replacing.<\/p>\n<p>And shortly after that, it looked like the Cowboys were bungling their way through another offseason, hiring offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer\u2013a guy who was very little in demand\u2013to take over as coach, and failing to address glaring holes on the roster in free agency. At the draft, using the No. 12 overall pick on an offensive guard (not even a tackle) was equally uninspiring.<\/p>\n<p>But as time has passed, and the dust has settled, the Cowboys faithful appears to be more accepting of Schottenheimer and more hopeful that the depth of Dallas\u2019s draft will win out. And the trade for potential star wide receiver\u00a0George Pickens\u00a0to go along with\u00a0CeeDee Lamb\u00a0has been the capper. Suddenly, there\u2019s some warm feelings toward the Cowboys.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_1_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-1 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_1\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>But there\u2019s warm feelings, then there is plain old overheated. And Troy Aikman is overheated.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Troy Aikman: Super Bowl or Bust<\/h2>\n<p>Aikman appeared with Joe Buck, his\u00a0NFL\u00a0broadcast partner on \u201cMonday Night Football,\u201d\u00a0 on the \u201cToday\u201d show and the pair were asked who they were picking in the next Super Bowl. Buck, thoughtfully, explained that he felt it was time for the Buffalo Bills to make the next step and win the franchise\u2019s first Super Bowl.<\/p>\n<p>Aikman, perhaps less thoughtfully,\u00a0blurted out his pick: \u201cCowboys!\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_2_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-2 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_2\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Aikman is biased, of course, having been the Cowboys quarterback for 12 seasons, the entirety of his Hall of Fame career. He led Dallas to\u00a0 Super Bowl wins in 1992, 1993 and 1995, the last time the Cowboys were champs.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Cowboys Hiring of Brian Schottenheimer Uninspiring<\/h2>\n<p>Not long ago, Aikman had some questions about the Cowboys direction, and the hiring of Schottenheimer, who did not drum up the kind of excitement that new coaches like former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson did in Chicago.<\/p>\n<div class=\"nfl-c-body-part nfl-c-body-part--text\">\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s one thing if you hire somebody that everyone\u2019s excited about, for instance, like they are in Chicago, but none of that matters now,\u201d\u00a0Aikman said. \u201cSure, over the next few months, as far as how people are talking about your team, but when the season rolls around Week 1 \u2014 whether it\u2019s Ben Johnson, Kellen Moore or Brian Schottenheimer \u2014 everybody\u2019s being judged on a level playing field, and it\u2019s all about winning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"nfl-c-body-part nfl-c-body-part--text\">\n<p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter who won the head coach [optics race], so we\u2019ll see. \u2026 They\u2019ve got a lot of things to like, and hopefully [Dallas] can have a heck of a year.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Cowboys legend Troy Aikman As so often happens at this time of year, the blush of spring erases many of the woes of winter, and forCowboys\u00a0fans,&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - 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