In the aftermath of the Philadelphia Eagles beating the Kansas City Chiefs to prevent the Chiefs from a three-peat, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott spoke to the media. Prescott didn’t mince words and said it was the Cowboy’s turn to win one of their own, and the team was close to winning a title. Not so fast, Mr. Prescott. There are reasons why the Cowboys have a lot of work to do, and changes to make before they can be seriously considered to win a championship. Here’s where the Cowboys and Eagles differ what separates the Eagles from being a contender from the Cowboys.

The offensive line

When comparing the Eagles and the Cowboys, the first thing that stands out is the differential in the offensive line. For years, Dallas had one of the most dominant offensive lines, and the Eagles weren’t too far behind. Recently, the Cowboys have had to retool the unit due to departures in free agency and many of their players getting older, like Tyron Smith. Meanwhile, the Eagles have done an great job in replacing Jason Kelce with Cam Jurgens, and their offensive line continues to thrive in short-yardage situations.

The Cowboys are hinging their hopes on the future of their offensive line based on the development of Tyler Guyton, who had a rough first year in the league. He struggled with technique and penalties. He’s talented and of tremendous size, but there is much room for improvement. Terence Steele, the team’s starting right tackle, has regressed since signing a five-year, $82.5M extension in 2023. There’s some hope with how well Cooper Beebe fared as a rookie at center. However, the murkiness around the future of Zack Martin casts a cloudy outlook on the future of the Dallas offensive line.

The receivers

The advantage again goes to Philadelphia from the big boys upfront to the skill position players on the outside. Dallas has one legit wide receiving threat with CeeDee Lamb, and he is terrific. Lamb is an All-Pro receiver with several Pro Bowl appearances, but who else do the Cowboys have after him? The Cowboys’ passing success mainly depends on CeeDee Lamb and opposing teams try to slow him down with bracket coverage. We’ve seen teams do just that and force someone else to make a play to less than inspiring results.

Jalen Tolbert has shown flashes but not enough that you feel that he is a viable number two option in a competent passing attack. Meanwhile, the Eagles have a Heisman trophy winner in DeVonta Smith as their #2 wide receiver behind A.J. Brown. Not many teams can boast that about their roster. This may be overkill, but the Eagles also have a former first-round pick as their third wide receiver. (Jahan Dotson) The Eagles don’t find themselves sputtering on offense because the other team took away their best receiver; they turn to the best option that can also make a play.

The front office

Arguably, the biggest reason why it’s not close between the clubs is the effectiveness of the Eagles’ front office. They constantly look to improve their roster through every opportunity they are afforded. They don’t sit idly by in free agency and put all their hopes into the NFL draft like Dallas. In today’s NFL, you must embrace free agency, which is why the Eagles zeroed in on Saquon Barkley. By prying him away from a division rival, they fortified their roster while weakening one of the challengers for the division title.

Without Saquon Barkley, the Eagles wouldn’t have won the Super Bowl. In contrast, Dallas had their shot at Derrick Henry but passed based on their aversion to signing external help and settled for a disastrous reunion with Ezekiel Elliott. Henry wasn’t even an expensive signing for the Baltimore Ravens; Dallas’ front office merely balked at the chance to take a great player at a position of need because they did not want to be active during the early stages of free agency.

Speaking of the draft, regardless of how proud the Cowboys’ front office is of their ability to draft and their faith in draft picks, their approach to drafting has also been flawed. This sums it up well:

Based on the consensus draft boards from 2023 and 2024, here’s what the #Cowboys' 1st and 2nd round picks would have looked like if they had followed a best player available strategy.

Consensus BPA:
No. 26 EDGE Nolan Smith (14)
No. 58 OG O’Cyrus Torrence (32)
No. 29 DB Cooper… pic.twitter.com/IYFKCE6ECV

— Dominic White (@DomWWhite) February 11, 2025

A lot of times, the best answer is the simplest one. When great talent falls to you, don’t overthink and take the best player available. That’s what benefited the Eagles so much. Build the best roster, and do not try to plug holes at needs because you don’t line your roster with the proper help from free agency.

Dak Prescott

Finally, the man of the hour, Dak Prescott. While it’s admirable that Prescott was expressing confidence in his team and the belief any good leader needs to have, he’s also a reason why the Cowboys aren’t close to winning a championship. In the postseason, he hasn’t fared well in his last two postseason outings against the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers. He has thrown six touchdowns versus six interceptions in those two games and lost by an average of 11.5 points in those contests. Also, his health is a concern.

He went on season-ending injured reserve last season for a hamstring injury after missing five games in 2022 with a thumb injury. Also, Prescott doesn’t have the same mobility he used to, whether by choice or he doesn’t have that extra gear anymore. The recent injuries, the lack of mobility, and postseason track record hinder the probability that he can put everything together while being straddled by an out-of-touch front office to take his turn at the Super Bowl podium after winning the franchise a sixth championship.