It's the question we always ask after another Super Bowl champion is crowned. How do the Cowboys compare to the Chiefs? How far away are they from lifting the Lombardi Trophy themselves? – Michael Parker/Burleson, TX
Nick Eatman: I think this year is more of the exception to the rule. I don't think the Chiefs were the better team on Sunday and I still think there's about 4-5 teams better than the Chiefs and perhaps the Cowboys are one of them. But, the Chiefs by far have the best player in the league. To me, and yes I'm gonna take it here, but Mahomes reminds me of the 90s when other NBA players would win MVP but we all knew Jordan could win it every year. Same with Mahomes - he's by far the best player on the planet. So I say all this to say that it's hard to gauge how close any team is to the Chiefs because no one has a game-changing quarterback like that. To answer the last part of the question, I don't think the Cowboys are that close to being the best in the league, but close enough to get into the playoffs again. They just have to prove they are capable of doing something when they get there.
Kurt: The Cowboys face the same problem that 30 other clubs in the NFL are struggling with … they don't have Patrick Mahomes. Like the majority, I think the 49ers had the better overall team. They built one of the NFL's best defenses and had plenty of offensive weapons surrounding a solid but perhaps not great (yet) quarterback with innovative play-calling thrown in. It's a recipe the Cowboys likely need to follow – shore up the defense, especially against the run, strengthen the offensive line and ground game, and keep growing what was last year a top offense during the regular season. Because as good as Dak Prescott has been – and he's more often than not been outstanding – he still hasn't proven he can carry the Cowboys in the biggest of games. He's the key piece to an overall puzzle, but he can't do it alone – just like pretty much every other quarterback in the league (including Trey Lance, for those who keep asking). And even that might not be enough. Because as of right now, and perhaps the foreseeable future, there is Mahomes and then everybody else.
