Eagles can only laugh at Dak Prescott's case for Cowboys as 2025 Super Bowl contenders

“The 2024 Dallas Cowboys will win the Super Bowl.”

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott made that manifestation after he signed a four-year, $240 million contract extension in September. 

Of course, Dallas didn’t win the Super Bowl. While two of their division rivals made deep playoff runs, the Cowboys finished third in the NFC East and missed the playoffs entirely. The last time they made it to a conference title game was 29 years ago, which is now the longest active drought in the division. Dallas hasn’t won multiple playoff games in a single postseason since their last championship in 1995. They have made it to the playoffs 13 times since then, but eight of those campaigns ended without a single playoff victory.

The Washington Commanders, led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, made it to the NFC Championship Game before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles. At this point, both of those NFC East rivals appear to be vastly better teams than the Cowboys, but Prescott hasn’t lost hope.

Eagles’ Super Bowl win seems to have made Dak Prescott optimistic

Prescott expressed optimism about the Cowboys’ Super Bowl chances during a Children’s Cancer Fund gala announcement on Tuesday, just two days after the Eagles hoisted their second Lombardi Trophy.

“I feel like we've competed with the Eagles and beat them for the most part when we've played them,” Prescott said, via ESPN. “I don't want to say, 'Check the record,' when the other guy is holding the trophy, right? So credit to them. They've earned it, and they deserve it by all means. But, yeah, [we're] very close.”

Prescott has a 9-4 career record against Philadelphia and a 3-3 record against Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Regardless, his reasoning is a bit flawed. Divisional games are always difficult, and they’re not always indicative of a team’s ability to succeed in the playoffs. Tom Brady’s New England Patriots often lost to the Miami Dolphins during the regular season, but that didn’t mean the Dolphins were championship contenders.

“Especially even watching the NFC championship and those two teams,” Prescott said. “Teams that we battle against each and every year a couple of times. As I said, [I] feel confident that we've gotten the better part each and every time. But just seeing such a dominating fashion [in Super Bowl LIX], credit to them. It's our turn and it's on us.”

The NFC East division title has not been won by the same team in consecutive seasons since 2004, when the Eagles lost Super Bowl XXXIX. The Cowboys and Eagles have taken turns winning the division title almost every year since 2010. Washington has won the division three times in that span, while the New York Giants only won once.

Even if the Cowboys win the division in 2025, reaching the Super Bowl won’t be easy. After Cowboys owner Jerry Jones fired head coach Mike McCarthy, some of the Cowboys’ brightest assistant coaches made lateral moves to join other teams.