Discover how the Cowboys can steal Super Bowl blueprints from the NFL's Final 4 teams.
FRISCO - There are 32 different ways to skin the NFL cat; after all, if it were more simple than that - if there was just one way to get to a Super Bowl - wouldn’t everybody do it?
And wouldn’t the Dallas Cowboys be free of the shame of being shackled to “The 30-Year Drought’’?
So no, there isn’t one way. But my thesis for today, following Sunday’s AFC Championship Game and NFC Championship Game - is that there are “ways’’ to be studied and analyzed and stolen.
And so …
1 - TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE (USUALLY) Is the idea of employing a Two-Headed Monster in the wide receiver room a “luxury’’?
The Rams’ Puka Nacua (nine catches, 165 yards and one TD) and the Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba (the Rockwall product with 10 catches, 153 yards and a TD) are rare talents, both showing off their stuff in Seattle’s 31-27 NFC title game win.
New England’s snowy 10-7 win at Denver in the AFC didn’t feature that sort of production from the Pats’ Stefon Diggs or the Broncos’ Courtland Sutton. Maybe that was due to the weather … or maybe those two aren’t elite.
And that’s OK; “elite’’ is hard to come by - except in Dallas.
Part of LA’s success is based on Puka partnering with Davante Adams, who led the NFL in TD catches this year with 14. In this game, he was good for four receptions on six targets for 89 yards and a touchdown.
Dallas is lucky here. In CeeDee Lamb and free-agent-to-be George Pickens, the Cowboys already have access to not one but two “elites.’’ Denver would kill to have a Pickens team with Sutton as his WR2. New England would like to have a Pickens team with Diggs as his WR2.
Two are expensive - but are better than one. And as it regards finding a way to keep Pickens (starting with the $28 mil franchise tag)? Dallas knows it.
2 - RUNNING BACKS MATTER - AT VALUE The Patriots lean on Rhamondre Stevenson; he got a whopping 25 carries in the win at Denver. He was drafted in the fourth round and his cap number for the next three years averages about $6 million per.
Kenneth Walker has been tremendous for Seattle in its two postseason games with four total TDs. He was drafted in the second round and he’s about to hit free agency after making $2 million APY.
RJ Harvey is the go-to back in Denver, where the rookie was a second-round pick. He makes $1.8 million APY.
Kyren Williams was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the fifth round and he’s been a TD machine during his time. With his new contract he’ll make $13 million in 2026 before he becomes cut-able. … and it’s worth noting that in the title game, he split carries with backup Blake Corum, a third-round pick who makes about $1.3 mil per year.
See the trend here? Dallas needs production out of its running back, and absolutely wants to re-sign Javonte Williams. But there is evidence that the Cowboys should try to “under-spend’’ to do so.
3 - BUS DRIVERS DON’T BEAT SUPER-TALENT Jarrett Stidham (a kid from Stephenville, Texas, about 90 miles from Dallas and population 20,000) is a 29-year-old journeyman pressed into service because first-round starter Bo Nix broke his ankle in last week’s Broncos playoff win.
Once a fourth-round pick, he’s on his third NFL team in seven seasons. … and he managed just 10 points on Sunday.
Sam Darnold started out with a different story as he was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. But he’s a journeyman of a sort, too, as the Seahawks are his fifth team in eight years.
Nevertheless, as the No. 3 overall pick, he’s like New England’s 2024 third-overall pick Drake Maye and like 2009’s first-overall pick Matthew Stafford, the pride of Highland Park High School here in DFW … because he’s got blue-chip talent.
Dak Prescott’s talent level was once a matter of debate. It shouldn’t be anymore. He’s an elite performer - overpriced though he may be at an NFL-record $60 million APY.
There will be a time for Dallas to start over at QB (and not with a journeyman). But for now? Prescott will turn 33 this summer. The Dak Window won’t remain open forever.
The Cowboys need to shoot their shot in spending - NOW - to take advantage of his relative “blue-chipness’’ before it all goes away.
4 - YES, DEFENSE REALLY DOES WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS Seattle had the NFL’s No. 1 defense in 2025. Denver was No. 3. New England was No. 4. And even the offensive-minded Rams were top-10.
The top three clubs allowed about 300 points each this year; Dallas allowed an NFL-worst 511.
Cornerback studs help. Christian Gonzalez (from The Colony in DFW) in New England, Patrick Surtain II in Denver and Devon Witherspoon in Seattle are defensive centerpieces, so yes, the Cowboys need a true No. 1 shutdown corner among many other things.
Part of the process is prioritizing defense. The Cowboys are off to a good start there with their trio of talented defensive tackles, who are pricy but worth it. Again, though, it’s time to spend.
Draft the players, almost regardless of position (BAA). … and if he fits, maybe a corner as one of your two first-rounders.
Then sign the roster-hole-filling positions. Proven commodities. At every defensive position.
5 - JERRY VS. KRAFT Cowboys owner Jerry Jones knew when he said it that it would stir the pot; that was the point.
“Everybody likes to dream,’’ Jerry said, “and I promise you high and hard on my dream list, way ahead of making a buck, because I don’t need a buck — way ahead of that is to go down as the owner that won the most Super Bowls.”
Among owners, Patriots boss Robert Kraft currently has six and is back in the Super Bowl again, while Jones, 83, owns three rings. … all from 30-plus years ago.
Does Kraft do something better than Jones does? Well, he owns the team that once employed Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, so there is that.
But Kraft also largely seems to stay out of the way; Jerry talks more about a sixth ring than Kraft does - and Kraft actually has ‘em!
When Jones first came into the NFL in 1989, he traveled to San Francisco to learn more about “the 49ers way’’ and he befriended Al Davis to learn how the Raiders did it, too. Fast-forward to today: When was the last time Jerry made an educational NFL road trip? What can Jones learn from the Seahawks and the Patriots and the Rams and the Broncos?
Oh, on Kraft’s team? Who is going to study what the Patriots did to quickly go from a back-to-back 4-13 in 2023 and 2024 to a rapid return to the Super Bowl with a 14-3 record just a few months later?
As one of five things the Cowboys can learn as another Super Bowl without them approaches? Maybe Jerry should quit “dreaming’’ and start “doing.’’