Cowboys Closer to NFC Championship or Collapse? | Tyler Smith Sparks Debate on First Take

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Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Tyler Smith made headlines after declaring the team will be “Super Bowl champions” this season. On First Take, Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe, and Ryan Clark debate whether the Cowboys are true contenders for the NFC Championship, or if they’re more likely to fall short — again.

With Dak Prescott under pressure, Micah Parsons leading the defense, and Mike McCarthy calling plays, can the Cowboys finally break through?

🔥 Don’t miss this passionate debate on the Cowboys’ future, expectations, and whether the hype is justified.

In This Video:

Tyler Smith’s bold Super Bowl claim

Cowboys vs Eagles: NFC East battle

Is Dak good enough to win it all?

Are the Cowboys a playoff lock or frauds?

Keywords:
Tyler Smith Cowboys Super Bowl, Cowboys playoff hopes, First Take Cowboys debate, Stephen A Smith Cowboys, Dak Prescott criticism, Micah Parsons leadership, NFC Championship 2025 predictions

Hashtags:
#FirstTake #DallasCowboys #TylerSmith #NFLDebate #SuperBowl2025 #StephenASmith #DakPrescott #MicahParsons #CowboysNation #NFCEast

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00:00I know it's hard to envision a world where the Cowboys are ever irrelevant.

00:04The Cowboys now are spiraling.

00:05Not going to win a championship.

00:07This is the time to rip the bandaid off.

00:09Me personally frustrated, and I frustrated myself with my play.

00:13We've seen frustrating years, and this is one of them.

00:15It's proper frustrations.

00:17We've got to look at all the things that have happened.

00:19Everybody's got a role in this.

00:24Hey, what's going on, everyone?

00:26Welcome into First Take.

00:27Thank you for being with us, and I got everybody in studio.

00:32My guy, RC, in July.

00:34It's a whole new deal.

00:35It's a whole new deal, man.

00:37I mean, how did I get so lucky?

00:37I was standing in line outside, and I was like, man, how do I get in here?

00:41You guys are so big time now.

00:43Thank you for having me.

00:43Is this your first time in the new studio?

00:45My first time.

00:45What did you think?

00:46I think it's crazy.

00:48Where do the people pop up in the wall at, though, Molly?

00:50That's what I want to see.

00:51Pac, Mike T, how we doing, guys?

00:54Good to see you, Molly.

00:54Good to see you.

00:55Summer's going well.

00:56Everybody's looking clean, so I'm glad I came back to everybody being here.

01:00I can't believe this is your first time, though.

01:01No, it's a good spot.

01:02You're going to run into quite a few people, I'll tell you that much.

01:04Is there important people here?

01:05Oh, there's important people.

01:06We're way low on the totem pole ESPN out here.

01:10All right, guys.

01:11Speaking of important people, let's get into those Dallas Cowboys.

01:14They have not played in a Super Bowl since 95.

01:17They haven't reached an NFC Championship game in the past 30 years, the longest drought in the

01:20conference after the Commanders and Lions made it each of the past two years.

01:24The Cowboys finished 7-10 last year and will have a rookie head coach and Brian Schottenheimer

01:29replacing Mike McCarthy.

01:30But as the veterans report to camp, they're keeping their hopes high.

01:33Here's Cowboy Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith on expectations.

01:38Hi.

01:38Super Bowl champions.

01:39That's always expectations.

01:41So, yeah.

01:42You think that's a realistic goal?

01:43I think it is a realistic goal.

01:45Why?

01:45Because we can win the Super Bowl.

01:47Like, why not?

01:48Why can't we win?

01:49Do you think it's unrealistic?

01:50You think the roster is in place to do that?

01:52I think it is in place to do that, yes, sir.

01:55You know, that's like when you look in the mirror.

01:57It's like, why not me?

01:58Why not us?

01:59Just one of those moments.

02:00You talked about that earlier.

02:00Right?

02:01Anything can happen.

02:02RC, tell me this.

02:03Do you feel like Dallas is closer to the NFC Championship or missing the playoffs entirely?

02:09Okay.

02:10So, this is a tough question because I believe the Dallas Cowboys are a playoff team.

02:13And so, I went with the NFC Championship.

02:15And when you look at their division, that's the hard part.

02:18The Philadelphia Eagles, the reigning Super Bowl champions, Jaden Daniels, and the Washington

02:22Commanders, what they accomplished last year.

02:24But I believe in Dak Prescott.

02:26I believe in George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb and a defense that should be vastly improved

02:31with Matt Ibraflus, who wasn't a great head coach in Chicago.

02:35But one thing that defense did was get after the quarterback, stop the run, and keep you

02:39from having big plays offensively.

02:41And so, to me, it's going to be about how quickly they gel when you think about the big

02:45three on the offensive side of the football.

02:47CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and Jake Ferguson at the tight end position.

02:51If there's protection and Shadi can start to moving and getting things going the way he

02:56wants them offensively, this team has a chance to be really good.

02:59Mike T?

02:59Yeah, I see it totally different.

03:01And here's why.

03:01If you take the division winners relatively the same, and we talk about three playoff teams,

03:06the three wildcard teams, it's two in the north.

03:08To me, it'll be Minnesota and Green Bay if Detroit wins.

03:10And I don't think they're better than Washington guys.

03:12I just think their window has closed.

03:15I believe in Jaden Daniels, Dan Quinn, Adam Peters.

03:17And I do think Brian Schottenheimer will make Dak Prescott better.

03:20And RC said earlier, like, Matt Iberflus will be a consequential hiring, Molly.

03:25But at the end of the day, they're not in the top seven in the NFC.

03:28I think they'll compete with Washington.

03:29I think George Pickens is the most impactful addition of the offseason in the NFL because

03:34of what it does for this team and how it right sizes this offense, right?

03:37You have two number one options on the outside.

03:39You talked about Ferguson in the middle.

03:41Now Dak Prescott, your all-everything quarterback, is going to get the ability to play at his best.

03:46Here's how it trickles down.

03:47Defenses have to play you honest up top.

03:49It probably opens up your run game.

03:51It's the same drives to assist your defense.

03:54Big question.

03:54Offensive line, defensive line.

03:56And if Micah Parsons is the Micah Parsons we expect in this year, I think the Dallas Cowboys

04:01absolutely are as close to the NFC champions.

04:03And two, look at this trio when you think of their quarterback and their two wide receivers.

04:07You're going to put them up there.

04:08To me, they're going to be the second best trio in all of the NFL.

04:11I believe the Cincinnati Bengals are number one with Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, and Tee Higgins.

04:15But when you think about Jalen Hurts, Devontae Smith, A.J. Brown, you can also go to Detroit

04:21with Amon Ra, St. Brown, and J. Mo Williams.

04:23They can do everything offensively.

04:25They have a piece when you look at Dak Prescott, who was the second in MVP voting just two years ago.

04:30Had over 35 touchdowns.

04:32Only nine interceptions.

04:34George Pickens can win 50-50 balls.

04:36And now, Hawk talked about this on Get Up.

04:38He's going to get some of those one-on-one matchups with the number two and number three

04:43corners of other football teams, along with Jake Ferguson, to me, being a top five receiving tight end.

04:49This team has endless possibilities on the offensive side of the football.

04:54It's going to be about the physicality of each front line.

04:57And we are doing this thing where if we're not expecting the Cowboys to be a Super Bowl winner,

05:03they have to be the bottom of the barrel.

05:05And I don't think it has to be one of the other.

05:08Yeah, I would take everything RC said, and I would just remove Dak Prescott,

05:11and I would put in Jaden Daniels.

05:13When you think about it, he was earnestly in the MVP conversation as a rookie.

05:17He'll be better with Cliff Kingsbury.

05:19And then you think about, well, they have questions about their offensive line.

05:21Now you have Laramie Tunsil and Josh Connerly.

05:24You get Deebo Samuel.

05:26Hopefully they get Terry McLaurin figured out.

05:28But to me, I like Dak Prescott.

05:30I love Jaden Daniels.

05:32And by the way, the other thing about Dak guys, like if we're being candid,

05:35two of the last three years, he didn't finish the season.

05:37So that matters as well.

05:39And I just think Washington has surpassed Dallas.

05:42And I think because of the strength of the North, they're on the outside looking in.

05:45What would you say Dallas' biggest hurdle is?

05:49Defensive line, stopping the run.

05:50I mean, when you watched them a year ago, that was something they didn't address, right?

05:53And the other part was the run game.

05:54But I think they have addressed that.

05:55But that's where George Pickens helps take a little pressure off that and alleviate that

05:59pressure to say, hey, you need to be able to run the ball.

06:01They will.

06:02That'll be a focal point for them.

06:03But if teams want to stack the box against someone like George Pickens and T.D. Lamb on

06:07the outside, good luck.

06:09Well, you know what their biggest obstacle is?

06:11Their owner.

06:12I'm surprised it took us that long.

06:16I mean, if we're going to talk about obstacle, it's going to be, right?

06:19We looked at the hiring process last year, and we were thinking about all of these hot

06:23names that were going to be guys that can have opportunities to interview for this job.

06:29And then they settled, which we felt like, or I felt like, on Brian Schottenheimer.

06:33Is he settling with Brian Schottenheimer or hiring Brian Schottenheimer because he feels

06:38like he can have a level of control, right?

06:40Brian Schottenheimer needs to have the keys to the entire organization.

06:44He needs to be able to do exactly what he wants to do offensively, especially with Jerry

06:49Jones going out and getting him an added piece.

06:51There can't be too many cooks in the kitchen again in Dallas.

06:55Jerry Jones has to understand he's not going to continue having year after year to do this,

07:00right?

07:01And so it's about now releasing some of that power, releasing some of that control, and

07:06allowing a head coach to be a man.

07:08But Mike T., learning to let go, it's very hard in life.

07:10Yes, it is.

07:11I would say this too, Bobby, just to follow on RC's point.

07:15I think it's their strategy that has hurt them.

07:18We go back to Zeke Elliott, Dak Prescott, go to C.D. Lamb, and now presumptively Micah Parsons.

07:24Micah Parsons is going to get signed.

07:25It just cost them a lot more money.

07:27And when you're in an arms race with Washington and Philadelphia, instead of paying

07:30Micah Parsons $34 million, which is what Nick Bosa is, they're going to pay him $41 million

07:35plus.

07:36Now when you lose guys like Jordan Lewis, DeMarcus Lawrence, those are good players you

07:40could have afforded if you had paid your guys proactively.

07:43Well, I agree with both of you when you talk about Jerry Jones.

07:45When I think of Jerry Jones, the issue was Jerry Jones the GM, not Jerry Jones the owner.

07:50And through this season, the Jerry Jones GM has done a little better than we've seen

07:54him in the past offseason.

07:56Okay, fair enough.

07:57I don't know how we discussed NFC's and no one mentioned the Eagles, but that's where I

08:00want to go now and focus it.

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