For the second-straight year the Dallas Cowboys ended the preseason with a 1-2 record. The last time they posted a winning record in preseason play was a 2-1 mark in 2022.
It also marked the fifth-straight year that quarterback Dak Prescott failed to take a single preseason snap.
Despite not playing their star player much, if at all, in the preseason, Dallas has gone on to make the playoffs in the last three years.
Other NFL teams have had their top players log some time on the field in live action in August. Jacksonville even had its starting quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, lead multiple drives in the finale.
Diving into the numbers, is it possible to see how the Cowboys’ preseason approach impacts its regular season outcomes?
Recent Results
The Cowboys are 10-18 in the preseason since 2016 – the beginning of the Dak Prescott Era if you will. They have made the playoffs in five of those previous eight years.
By comparison, from 2007-2015 – the nine seasons that Tony Romo was the QB1 in Dallas – the Cowboys made the playoffs in four of those years.
Dallas was 17-19 in the preseason during Romo’s run. They sometimes played five preseason games back then, while three is the new norm now.
Over the past 17 seasons – with two franchise quarterbacks – the Cowboys are a combined 27-27 in preseason play with nine playoff appearances.
With no appearances at all in the NFC Championship Game. Which also means no Super Bowl appearances either over that time.
Which begs the question: Is a strong preseason showing a must to make a deep playoff run?
Mixed Results
In the 1970s, the Cowboys used strong preseason showings to launch title runs.
Dallas went 6-0 in their first Super Bowl winning season in 1971. They went 3-3 six years later to kick off the 1977 championship-winning season.
But two decades later – a mere 14 seasons between Super Bowl appearances – the 1990s dynasty run didn’t need a winning preseason at all, it would seem.
In 1992, the Cowboys started out with a 2-3 preseason record. They ended the year by destroying the Bills in Super Bowl XXVII in Pasadena.
In 1993, the preseason was marked by Emmitt Smith’s holdout and ended with a 1-4 record that became an 0-2 regular season start.
Smith returned for the third game against the Cardinals in Phoenix.
The 1993 season ended with a second straight Super Bowl win over the Bills, this time in Atlanta.
The 1995 season began with a 2-3 record but ended with the Cowboys hoisting their fifth Lombardi trophy.
It would seem the teams of the 1990s were talented enough to show up when the games actually matter. But is that the same for the Cowboys of the 21st Century?
Not at all.
Laying Down A Strong Foundation
Looking at the record over the past eight seasons under Prescott, Dallas is clearly not firing off the blocks when the calendar flips to September.
In the Prescott Era, the Cowboys are 3-5 in season openers. The Cowboys were 6-3 in season openers under Romo.
Since Prescott began sitting out the preseason, the Cowboys are just 1-3 in season openers.
Last year, when they routed the Giants 40-0 to begin the year, was the first year they won a season-opener this decade.
It was also the first time they opened the season with a win and went on to make the playoffs since 2017. Frankly, that should come with an asterisk, since the Giants were that abysmal in 2023.
During Prescott’s run the Cowboys’ best start has been 3-0 – and that came back in 2019. The last year Prescott played in the preseason.
The Cowboys brain trust – bankrupt as it may be – insists that sitting Prescott out reduces the wear and tear on his body.
But given the track record of the last eight years, is this approach hindering the team during the regular season?
Possibly.
If the Cowboys again fail to advance beyond the divisional round in January, it could be time for a new approach to the preseason.
The key to building a strong house is laying down a solid foundation. In the NFL, that begins in the preseason.
Maybe the Cowboys need to take another look at those blueprints?