NEW ORLEANS – The week of the Super Bowl is nearing the end, as the 2024 NFL season will come to a close on Sunday in New Orleans with the Philadelphia Eagles facing the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
While the Cowboys won't be participating, they're tied with the San Francisco 49ers for third-most Super Bowls in NFL history with five and won their first in 1972 in Super Bowl VI with a 24-3 win over the Miami Dolphins.
Let's take a trip down memory lane and dive into what made each of Dallas' five Super Bowl teams unique and examine some aspects of each team that the Cowboys need now in order to return to their championship ways.
Today, we conclude the series with the 1995 Super Bowl team, the last Cowboys squad to capture the Lombardi Trophy.
3 things the Cowboys had then, that they need now:
Emmitt Smith level production in the run game - Emmitt Smith won the MVP in 1993, but arguably had the best season of his NFL career in 1995 when he rushed for an astounding 1,773 yards and 25 touchdowns, both career highs. He averaged 110 rushing yards per game and finished the year with over 2,000 scrimmage yards, finishing third in MVP voting behind Brett Farve and Jerry Rice. The Cowboys don't necessarily have to go out and find Emmitt Smith, because they'd be hard pressed to do so, but they'll need to improve their run game department drastically if they want to return to the pinnacle of the NFL.
Elite Offensive Line - This isn't just a Cowboys problem, but there aren't many teams in the NFL - past or present - that can say they had four offensive line starters that made the Pro Bowl. So comparing any team to the 1995 Cowboys offensive line isn't exactly fair. Then again, that is something considered a "Super Power" that all teams covet. The 1995 offensive line featured Hall of Famer Larry Allen, who was just in his second season. But also had Ray Donaldson, Nate Newton and Mark Tuinei all make the Pro Bowl. The only starter that didn't earn a Pro Bowl was right tackle Erik Williams, who was coming off an injury but made four other Pro Bowls in his career. The Cowboys had just one Pro Bowler this year in Tyler Smith, but need to get back to having an elite group, even though one might never reach the status of the 1995 O-line.
An electrifying addition like Deion - There aren't many athletes that can completely change both the on-and-off the field product of franchise quite like Deion Sanders did when the Cowboys signed him heading into the 2025 season. At that point in his career, Sanders was a three-time first-team All Pro and was coming off a defensive player of the year campaign with the San Francisco 49ers. Deion's presence alone lifted the entire defense, evident by Larry Brown getting nine interceptions, including three in the playoffs to help him win Super Bowl MVP. The Cowboys may not have the room to sign a player to a massive free agent deal in the offseason from outside the building, but there are certainly ways to bring in valuable free agents that can ignite this roster and open things up for the stars that Dallas currently has such as Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons.
