Inside The Star
Seeing the Dallas Cowboys officially eliminated from the playoffs never gets easier. You can brace for it all season, tell yourself you’re ready, and it still hits the same way.
January football is coming, and like clockwork, Dallas isn’t a part of the conversation.
I stared at the playoff picture longer than I should have, wondering where things went wrong for the Cowboys, but there were too many things to list.
Instead, it’s just another season ending earlier than it should.
What really makes missing the playoffs sting is the reality of the NFC East.
The Philadelphia Eagles are the only team from the division still standing. No one else, just the Eagles, are still playing meaningful games while the rest of the division is already talking about next year.
That alone changes how I watch the playoffs.
Let’s clear this up quickly. I don’t care about matchups, storylines, or who they’re playing. We cannot pull for the Eagles.
Can you stomach another year of Eagles fans having the ability to use another Super Bowl victory to throw in us Cowboys fans’ faces? I don’t even want to think about that scenario.
So my rooting interest becomes simple. Whoever lines up against the Eagles, that’s who I’m pulling for. It’s not bitterness, but it’s not wanting to hear from Eagles fans.
Once the Cowboys are eliminated, my focus shifts away from the NFC East and the NFC all together.
If the Lombardi Trophy ends up in the AFC, it hurts less. There’s no division bragging rights attached and no constant reminder of what Dallas couldn’t do.
Teams like the Buffalo Bills are easy to respect because their fan base understands frustration and heartbreak. They’ve been close, fallen short, and kept chasing that trophy. That feels familiar.
The Houston Texans are interesting for a different reason.
Not because I suddenly love them, but because they represent what Cowboys fans keep waiting to see—a team that figured it out faster than expected and looks like it’s headed somewhere besides a top-15 pick in the next draft.
There are NFC teams I can tolerate watching, even if I’m not cheering.
The Detroit Lions play hard and do not act entitled. The San Francisco 49ers are built for January and don’t flinch when games tighten up.
Watching them isn’t about fandom, but about evaluation.
Once Dallas is out, that’s what the playoffs turn into for me. Every game is a reminder of what works, what doesn’t, and how far the Cowboys still have to go when it matters the most.
I’m not switching teams. Cowboys fans don’t do that, at...
