There’s perhaps no greater pressure cooker in the NFL than being a member of the Dallas Cowboys.
Once known as “America’s Team” thanks to a stint from 1971-95 that saw the Cowboys win five Super Bowls, Dallas nowadays seems like a team expected by most onlookers to fail.
It’s the team that people love to hate, and when it’s criticized, it’s criticized loudly.
There are different expectations in Dallas than there are in Jacksonville, for instance. Some of that is the history. Some of it comes from owner Jerry Jones, who has consistently pointed to a championship as the bar.
“Youâd have to be blind to say that you donât have expectations wearing a star,” star pass rusher Micah Parsons told beat writer Jon Machota on Thursday, addressing the criticism that he and the Cowboys have taken over the past few seasons. “Thatâs why I say thereâs a delusion factor. They say itâs OK not to win or act like those losses donât hurt or donât matter. Thatâs delusional to me. Because itâs earned.”
Micah Parsons was asked today about how much of the scrutiny he gets is because the Cowboysâ lack of success: âI get a lot. But you know, scrutiny is because you earn scrutiny. Itâs the expectations. Youâd have to be blind to say that you donât have expectations wearing a star.⌠pic.twitter.com/b4U0DxsOSh
â Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 1, 2024
Parsons went on to explain that not only does the Cowboys fanbase expect Super Bowls, but it’s an expectation from the ground up within the organization.
That doesn’t mean all criticism is fair criticism, though.
“It just hurts me when they think I donât try to win,” Parsons said. “Thatâs the part that hurts me, because people donât know how much I love this game and what I put into the game just so we can win. Thatâs the part that hurts me the most, when people have this thing or idea that players arenât trying.”
Parsons and even the Cowboys as a whole have rarely shied away from the expectations, but they’ve certainly not lived up to them, either.
Dallas has been 12-5 over the past three years but the Cowboys have been bounced early in the Wild Card round in two of the past three campaigns. Last season, despite being a heavy favorite against the young Green Bay Packers, they lost at home, 48-32.
âThe reality is, sometimes you are out-coached, sometimes you are out-schemed,” Parsons said. “Sometimes people have the answers for what you dial up, and thereâs nothing you can do. And the game plan you thought they were going to come out in, they come out different. Thatâs the reality of the NFL. It is physical. You need speed, you need strength, all that stuff. But so much of it is mental, IQ.”
The Cowboys haven’t made it to the NFC Championship game since 1995 â when they won their last Super Bowl.
Parsons and Co. will take another stab at breaking that streak this fall.