After Jerry Jones proclaimed the Dallas Cowboys were all in on winning the Super Bowl, it was Dallas’ rivals from Philadelphia that hoisted the trophy instead.
DALLAS — The Super Bowl couldn’t have gone worse for the Dallas Cowboys and their fans, who saw the hated rival Philadelphia Eagles win their second championship after going to their third Super Bowl in eight seasons. It also happened with former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore calling the plays for the champions, which further sticks the knife in for Dallas.
However, despite local fans despising everything to do with the Eagles, the division rivals claiming a second championship likely doesn’t do much to change Dallas ownership’s philosophy on how to build the Cowboys. Jerry and Stephen Jones have their way, and that’s just the way it is.
If the Joneses happened to be paying attention, though, they’d see there are lessons to be learned from the Eagles. Here’s what the organization can take from watching their NFC East foes win another title:
Build within the trenches
One thing that was evident in Philadelphia’s 40-22 blowout Super Bowl victory was how good the Eagles were on both lines. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is one of the NFL’s best all-time and the easiest way to slow him down is to apply pressure.
The Eagles were able to get after Mahomes and made his life miserable without blitzing because they have a dominant defensive line. That group allowed their passing defense to clamp down on the receivers, who had little space to work. The Eagles had six sacks on Mahomes, making him look like an average QB.
On the offensive line, the Eagles also managed to stymie the Chiefs’ pass rush. In two games this postseason, Kansas City’s defense had produced 12 sacks, but managed to take down Eagles QB Jalen Hurts just twice.
There was little pressure on Hurts, who had time to get through his reads and make throws to open receivers on his way to claiming the MVP award. Hurts didn’t need to throw it often, but when he did, he was efficient thanks to a massive outing from his OL that kept him upright and with eyes downfield throughout the game.
The Cowboys have tried to follow this strategy and have been successful on the offensive side of the ball for the most part. Over the last 15 years, the team has done a great job of drafting offensive linemen, and their track record has been very successful.
They’ve also tried to build up their defensive line, but it hasn’t been as fruitful. There have been too many swings and misses at the defensive tackle position where early-rounders Trysten Hill and Mazi Smith haven’t worked out.
Smith can still turn things around but he’s about to be under the tutelage of his third defensive coordinator in three years and hasn’t lived up to his first-round pedigree. The team must find another DT to get better inside for this defense where Philadelphia was dominant.
It would also be nice to have another pass rusher or two. The Eagles have guys that come at QBs in waves, whereas the Cowboys don’t have enough pass rushing help after Micah Parsons. Both areas need to be upgraded to make Dallas’ defense a better all-around group.
Be aggressive in acquiring talent
This is one of the big lessons that the Cowboys have either stopped trying to learn, or one they’ve chosen to ignore, because in terms of aggression in acquiring talent, the Eagles are Babe Ruth, and the Cowboys are Tony Gwynn.
Philadelphia goes out and gets the best players they can while trying to win big by taking big swings at home runs, while Dallas just fills holes during the offseason, taking their singles and playing station to station. As we’ve seen, taking the aggressive shots pays off much more than the passive approach.
The Eagles had a strong offseason which included three big free agent pickups, led by running back Saquon Barkley. He wasn’t the most expensive addition on the open market last year, but he was certainly the most impactful as he won Offensive Player of the Year after going more than 2,000 yards on the ground in his first season in Philly.
Barkley was the perfect fit to go with the Eagles’ elite offensive line; it was a case where the player and team synced up perfectly but it still required Philadelphia to take the plunge. That decision paid off handsomely.
On defense, the Eagles added linebacker Zack Baun in free agency and saw him transform into one of the runners-up for Defensive Player of the Year after transitioning to inside linebacker and spending much of his career as a backup in New Orleans.
This season showed that knowing what you need and finding elite talent to match up with that need, can do wonders. Meanwhile, the Cowboys often know what they need but wait until the cheapest options remain to help fill the gaps while hoping their ability to draft well can carry them.
Even before this season, the Eagles have shown to be aggressive. They traded for star wide receiver A.J. Brown and used trades to earn the rights to draft DT Jalen Carter and defensive back Cooper DeJean, all of whom played big roles in winning the Super Bowl.
Once again, the Joneses’ strategy has been shown to be ineffective. If the Cowboys want to win big again, they cannot just sit out free agency watching all the good players get scooped up before they make a move.
Extend players early
Many of the best players on the field for the Eagles during their Super Bowl victory were well-paid and didn’t have to wait to get their extensions. In doing deals early, the Eagles saved money on contracts which allowed them to juggle the salary cap to their benefit, something seemingly foreign to upper management for the Cowboys.
Meanwhile, the Joneses will discuss cap space woes at length and bemoan how the pie is being divided without getting in front of deals to help alleviate those concerns. As the team has witnessed once again, not taking forever to extend their best players after prices have been set high is a path to not having the cap space to sign better players.
The Eagles signed Hurts, WRs Brown and DeVonta Smith early so that they could make room for elite free agents that helped transform them into champions. They did so all before Dallas finalized deals for Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, meaning the Cowboys paid more for similar talent, which left Dallas with less salary cap space to enhance their roster.
Dallas just doesn’t have the insight, or worse, the will, to operate this way. Instead, they’ll choose to be cheap in free agency, blame it on the big contracts they must work out to keep their best players, and then build strictly through the draft. It’s a built-in perpetual excuse machine.
This offseason will be another chance for Dallas to get it right. The Cowboys need to extend one of the league’s best players and have other expensive impending free agents that they need to re-sign. Will they follow the Eagles – and other successful teams’ – lead, or will they drag their feet with Parson and cornerback DaRon Bland, while allowing players like defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa to leave in free agency to acquire the high compensation draft pick?
The Cowboys don’t have a lot of salary cap space right now but could open up almost $100 million of room with restructures and void years if they want, which is what the Eagles do on a consistent basis.
Are the Cowboys going to stay committed with their current philosophy that hasn’t worked over the last 15 years? Or are they going to look at how the Eagles won the Super Bowl and learn from their mistakes. The Joneses probably don’t know about the saying “those who forget history are condemned to repeat it,” but it’s never been more evident.
Do you think the Dallas Cowboys will learn the lessons shown to them by the Eagles? Share your thoughts with Ben on X (formerly Twitter) @BenGrimaldi.