Best teams since 1996 Ranking

[KJJ]

The 07 team was the best. We beat the Packers and Giants who both ended up in the NFC championship. The Giants went on and win the Super Bowl against the18-0 Pats. Still pissed about that season.

 

[Motorola]

16 felt like it was the year. So much confidence going into the playoffs. Not knowing if Dak was capable or not. Such a big heartbreak

Yeah that one hurt.

This was our best Super Bowl over the last 15-20 years. Jerry and Garrett made a huge mistake with how they handled Dak and Romo during the playoffs. As good as Dak had played the regular season, you knew his lack of post-season experience would catch up with him. It still baffles me today WHY they didn't better prepare both players of a QB change if Dak started struggling. I remember telling a couple of friends to be prepared for Romo to take over during the first playoff game Dak struggles. I am 100% confident Romo would have picked up where Dak left off and led us to a Super Bowl.

Even though they had clinched the no. 1 seed in week 15, I wanted the team to win the final two games to set the franchise single season record at 14-2. Cowboys beat the Lions, but in the season finale in Philadelphia, they decided to rest some starters. When Romo came in for Prescott and got that quick TD to take the lead, Garrett yanked Romo and put in Sanchez, seemingly to avoid Romo leading the team to a win - which would have caused a controversy about who should be the starter for the playoffs.
Having the first round bye, the Cowboys should have went with the regulars against the Eagles, instead of having a two-week layoff for many of the key starters.
The 2nd-seed Falcons were very strong in the playoffs, first pulling away from the Seahawks in the 2nd half of the divisional round game to win 36-20, then curbstomping the Packers...17-0 at halftime...37-15 lead going into the 4th qtr to eventually win the NFCCG.
But if Dallas would have beaten Green Bay, the championship game would have been at AT&T Stadium instead of the Georgia Dome.
In a close game - the Cowboys win over the Falcons to advance to the Super Bowl to play the Patriots at NRG Stadium in Houston.

 

[CowboyoWales]

2023 is way too low IMO

Yep, there was near universal approval rating up to Digg's injury. Full Offense and a Defense that whilst may have problems with the run game, at least had an all out pass-rush that was going to be killer on 3rd down.

 

[diamonddelts]

2023 is way too low IMO

Hot garbage team.

 

[Blitzen]

Cowboys have led the league or close to it in turnovers since Quinn came here. But his defenses were paper thin up the middle. It was embarassing to watch.

They struggled against the run with Hankins too.

I was speaking specifically about that 2022 season with Hankins. He played only a few games (after getting traded) before a pectoral injury sidelined him until the playoffs. The handful of regular season/postseason games he played the defense was night and day against the run with him in the game.

McCaffrey averaged 3.5 YPC on 10 carries and Mitchell averaged 3.6 YPC on 14. Deebo 2.8 YPC on 4 carries. This against a team that was running through all the competition like tissue paper before they faced the Cowboys (with Purdy and McCaffrey)-also SF had destroyed them the previous playoff game with the run. They were strong against the run in 2022 with Hankins getting lots of snaps-including the playoffs.

Last year was awful. Though they also had no linebackers last season.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I was speaking specifically about that 2022 season with Hankins. He played only a few games (after getting traded) before a pectoral injury sidelined him until the playoffs. The handful of regular season/postseason games he played the defense was night and day against the run with him in the game.

McCaffrey averaged 3.5 YPC on 10 carries and Mitchell averaged 3.6 YPC on 14. Deebo 2.8 YPC on 4 carries. This against a team that was running through all the competition like tissue paper before they faced the Cowboys (with Purdy and McCaffrey)-also SF had destroyed them the previous playoff game with the run. They were strong against the run in 2022 with Hankins getting lots of snaps-including the playoffs.

Last year was awful. Though they also had no linebackers last season.

I don’t know what it was with the McCaffery he for whatever reason never plays well against us.

 

[Blitzen]

I don’t know what it was with the McCaffery he for whatever reason never plays well against us.

He only had 1 game played against the team before the 2022 playoff game. My guess is Quinn singled him out for the defense to key on. They did it well in the playoffs, but had trouble with other rushers this past regular season-plus Kittle ate them alive on playaction this last game.

 

[McKDaddy]

Without going back & studying some of those earlier teams to refresh my memory I would say your top 4 line up with my thoughts.

2014 - I completely agree that game could have \ should have not come down to the refs. But I don't blame DeMarco as much as I give Pepper's credit for a tremendous play.

2016 - Only an idiot chooses to start a rookie QB in the playoffs when he has a veteran of Tony's level available. That's Garrett for ya. You at least have packages for both and let Tony open the game. Getting down early could have been avoided. Their D was not good. Should have been pretty easy victory.

 

[shabazz]

, and something didn't feel right about that 2021 team down the stretch.

That was the season we lost the divisional game to the Niners AND held their offense to just 19 points....unfortunately our offense only scored 1 TD the entire game.

Our defense came to play that day.

 

[GMO415]

All these teams were irrelevant. They didn't amount to shhhh.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

He only had 1 game played against the team before the 2022 playoff game. My guess is Quinn singled him out for the defense to key on. They did it well in the playoffs, but had trouble with other rushers this past regular season-plus Kittle ate them alive on playaction this last game.

Yeah but he’s played us 3 times and I don’t recall him going off.


As a matter of fact it seems like the lesser known guys give us fits. James Cook and Aaron Jones running all over us seems to be in my head vividly. I don’t recall the best of the best really having their way on us for whatever reason.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Without going back & studying some of those earlier teams to refresh my memory I would say your top 4 line up with my thoughts.

2014 - I completely agree that game could have \ should have not come down to the refs. But I don't blame DeMarco as much as I give Pepper's credit for a tremendous play.

2016 - Only an idiot chooses to start a rookie QB in the playoffs when he has a veteran of Tony's level available. That's Garrett for ya. You at least have packages for both and let Tony open the game. Getting down early could have been avoided. Their D was not good. Should have been pretty easy victory.

I think you’re an idiot if you start a rookie over Tom Brady or Pat Mahomes or someone of that ilk. Going with rookie over a Tony Romo who did nothing throughout his career was stupid and probably one of Garrett’s ballsier and more respected more.

Packers were a seasoned veteran team…what they looked like in the regular season had no bearing on what they’d look like in the playoffs. Just like the Giants in 2007.

 

[baltcowboy]

2007 was probably the 2nd most talented team in the NFL next to the Patriots that season. The other teams overachieved. The 2014 and 2016 teams hid a bad defense with the offensive line, running game and ball control offense. The three 12 win seasons in a row teams totally overachieved. Most had those teams winning 10 games at best.

 

[McKDaddy]

I think you’re an idiot if you start a rookie over Tom Brady or Pat Mahomes or someone of that ilk. Going with rookie over a Tony Romo who did nothing throughout his career was stupid and probably one of Garrett’s ballsier and more respected more.

Packers were a seasoned veteran team…what they looked like in the regular season had no bearing on what they’d look like in the playoffs. Just like the Giants in 2007.

Tony was a veteran who everyone acknowledges had mastered the game mentally by that point in his career. Just knowing what he was seeing & how to counter it would have been worth it's weight in gold. "Did nothing" ? As in set franchise records and got teams to the playoffs? Same as someone else but somehow one is "did nothing" & one is a "all world"?

History is undefeated. No rookie has ever done it. Going against those kind of odds is just juvenile. Defenses had figured out our offense by latter part of season. It wasn't hard to see.

The Packers were exactly who I said they were. A horrible defense. A team that Atlanta took to the woodshed. If we hadn't gotten off to such a horrible start, Dak would have probably won that game. A veteran QB would have almost assured it. Regardless though, the next game Atlanta would have beaten us senseless with a rookie QB. The playbook is just limited & the defenses know what they really need to defend.

 

[Vtwin]

The 2022 Cowboys defense was 12th in defense. Comparing that defense to any defense in the past 28 seasons is like comparing dog crap to cat crap.

They lead the league in takeaways which was a huge help to the offense. That matters a great deal.

 

[McKDaddy]

In a close game - the Cowboys win over the Falcons to advance to the Super Bowl to play the Patriots at NRG Stadium in Houston.

I wish I could agree but I don't think we beat Atlanta. They were using that balanced offense and a solid if not great defense. I don't think we stop their rushing attack.

 

[DallasEast]

Please just stick to the topic at hand. This can maybe not result in a put down thread based on which team or players you deem better. Give detailed rationale please.

1. 2014 Squad. Romo had already endured so many injuries when the league still allowed the ole land on the QB with all your weight. He had definitely mastered the offense and had a true elite rushing attack. Most opponents could not stop the rushing attack. The road game against the Seahawks demonstrated how vulnerable the Legion of Boom (and Dan Quinn’s defense) was to power running. Playaction devastated opponents when they tried loading the box. If Demarco Murray does not fumble in Green Bay, I’m not sure the Dez catch is a thing. That game was definitely a toss up-both offenses were dominant. Not sure what happens if they had advanced against Seattle, but I would have liked their chances against New England that particular year.

2. 2016 Squad. I went back and forth on this team or the 2014 squad for number one. Romo was definitely the better QB between the two in my opinion-especially in 2014, BUT the team’s defense was vastly superior in 2016 than 2014. Both squads had dominant rushing attacks and a prime Dez and Witten. Zeke was a superior weapon to Murray, but not enough to make some enormous difference. They had home field advantage against GB this time, but did not seem well prepared and had such a slow start that they were forced to come back and almost did.

3. 2007 Squad. This team had so many dominant performances throughout the regular season that I would typically think of them higher on this list, but I also remember how undisciplined they were at times and it came back to bite them at the worst moment in the playoffs. Owens was a nightmare to defend and the rushing attack was very strong with both Julius Jones and Martin Barber III. Young Jason Witten and Tony Romo looked on the cusp of something great, but maturity questions about this year are still asked today. Romo was shaky in this game and was not helped with steady play around. Dropped passes and very poor penalty decisions hurt the team against NY, and the less talented but more disciplined squad triumphed. They did not have as talented a squad until 2014.

4. 2022 Squad. The best defense that I have seen from the Cowboys in the past 28 seasons-as long as a healthy Hankins was playing. The lineman and linebackers were stout and vicious and the secondary got lots of turnovers, and played exceptionally well in both playoff games. The offense was not as dominant as the 2016 version without the elite rushing attack, but was still very strong with a very good Pollard, rookie Ferguson, Lamb, and solid play from the offensive line. Injuries damaged the team’s chances in the postseason (most notably Steele and Pollard).

The rest:

5. 2021
6. 2018
7. 1996 (year after last SB)
8. 2009
9. 2023
10. 1998
11. 2003

Good breakdown and list.

 

[DallasEast]

Without going back & studying some of those earlier teams to refresh my memory I would say your top 4 line up with my thoughts.

2014 - I completely agree that game could have \ should have not come down to the refs. But I don't blame DeMarco as much as I give Pepper's credit for a tremendous play.

2016 - Only an idiot chooses to start a rookie QB in the playoffs when he has a veteran of Tony's level available. That's Garrett for ya. You at least have packages for both and let Tony open the game. Getting down early could have been avoided. Their D was not good. Should have been pretty easy victory.

Idiots, plural. Jason Garrett was not the only one. He was not even the primary one in my opinion.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Tony was a veteran who everyone acknowledges had mastered the game mentally by that point in his career. Just knowing what he was seeing & how to counter it would have been worth it's weight in gold. "Did nothing" ? As in set franchise records and got teams to the playoffs? Same as someone else but somehow one is "did nothing" & one is a "all world"?

History is undefeated. No rookie has ever done it. Going against those kind of odds is just juvenile. Defenses had figured out our offense by latter part of season. It wasn't hard to see.

The Packers were exactly who I said they were. A horrible defense. A team that Atlanta took to the woodshed. If we hadn't gotten off to such a horrible start, Dak would have probably won that game. A veteran QB would have almost assured it. Regardless though, the next game Atlanta would have beaten us senseless with a rookie QB. The playbook is just limited & the defenses know what they really need to defend.

I mean did nothing as far as playoff accomplishments go. He did break tons of regular seasons records not taking that away from him.

Yeah I agree no rookie has ever done it but Romo had never done it either. Just as crazy to expect Romo to do something he never even sniffed.

Romo lost that team. There was no way he was leading them anywhere. I don’t even put that squarely on him.

 

[McKDaddy]

Idiots, plural. Jason Garrett was not the only one. He was not even the primary one in my opinion.

Maybe not but he carried the title of head coach. He should have been setting the stage for Tony's return the entire time rather than letting the mania make the decision.