National Football League

Are the Cowboys legitimate Super Bowl contenders?

Updated Jan. 17, 2023 9:49 a.m. ET

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It was a win so monumental that it broke sports books' pockets.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was adamant that the team wouldn't assume an underdog mindset heading into its marquee matchup with the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, and though Dallas' players and coaches didn't believe they were going to lose, the majority of football followers outside Big D did.

But that didn't deter Dallas. Led by a hounding effort on defense that included a strip-sack turned TD, late-game INT and allowing just 87 yards of offense in the second half, the Cowboys stifled the Rams' once high-powered offense in a 22-10 beat down.

The dominating display has folks debating whether the 'Boys have a chance to become champs themselves.

"Speak" host Emmanuel Acho said that they better, or dire consequences will follow.

"If the Cowboys don't get to the Super Bowl, it is a complete, total and utter indictment on Dak Prescott," Acho said Monday. "The Cowboys have one of the top two defenses in the National Football League. [It's] the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers. It is not particularly close with anybody else. 

"The Cowboys have a running game that is competent enough to win you chips. The Cowboys' offensive line can clearly get to the Super Bowl, because we saw the Cincinnati Bengals get there with less. … With that being said, if the Cowboys have all the necessary pieces to get to the dance, then there's only one question: quarterback. Aaron Rodgers, he's only been to the Super Bowl once. He won it [with a] top-five defense. Russell Wilson, when he went to the Super Bowls, top-five defense. Big Ben, both of his Super Bowls, top-five defense. Tom Brady's won seven, top-10 defense in all seven. … For the first time in Dak Prescott's career, you have a top-five defense. If you are who we believe you are … then you have to get it done."

FOX Sports Cowboys writer David Helman pulled the reins back a bit, wondering what backup quarterback Cooper Rush's success (he's 4-0 since Prescott's hand injury) portends for Prescott.

"This has put a lot of pressure of Dak Prescott," Helman said of Rush's winning ways. "This will be the best defense that he's ever played with, and we've seen the formula work with lesser play at quarterback. … This offense has not been good, they're down in the lower third of the league. They had 232 yards yesterday, and 25% of that was one Tony Pollard run. And yet, they have beaten both of last year's Super Bowl teams. … The knock on the Cowboys during most of Dak's tenure is they cannot beat the good teams. They don't win in the playoffs, they're 1-3 while Dak has been there, and even when they played really good teams in the regular season, they fall short more often than they don't. 

"So Dak has to come back and not just keep the results up, but preferably improve it. … They're going to have a winning record when he comes back … even if they lose two in a row, they'd be above .500. So what changes? You plug the quarterback in and it gets worse – that ain't a good look for anybody. … [But there are] injuries, it's a long season, we don't know what's going to happen. I can't sit here in mid-October and say ‘he's got to win a Super Bowl, he's a bum.' But there is going to be a lot of pressure on him when he comes back."

Cowboys defeat reigning Super Bowl champion Rams in Week 5 | SPEAK

Cooper Rush and the Dallas Cowboys defeated the reigning Super Bowl champions Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Week 5 of the NFL season. Emmanuel Acho, Joy Taylor, David Helman and LeSean McCoy discuss Cowboys-Rams.

Though Rush's numbers haven't been gaudy, the Cowboys have been swimmingly productive. Rush has a 4-0 record at the helm for Dallas' offense and has completed 61% of his passes (72-of-118), while throwing 839 passing yards and four TD. 

Of the 30 signal-callers who've tossed at least 100 passes this season, Rush is the lone man without an interception. Dallas, meanwhile, is tied with Philadelphia for the fewest turnovers this season (two) and is tied for second in the league in turnover differential (+5).

And then there's its bread and butter: the defense. Dan Quinn's unit ranks second in the NFL in sacks (20) and tackles for loss (33) and first in QB hits (nine). Opposing offenses have reached the red zone just nine times against the group (fewest in the league), while Dallas is just one of two teams (49ers) to hold each of its first five opponents below 20 points.

The onus will be on Prescott to keep Dallas dynamic when he reassumes his starting position. Can he do it?

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Dallas Cowboys

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