The Dallas Cowboys have played five games so far this season and unfortunately won only a pair of them. 40% success is hardly worth bragging about.
In more specific terms, a 2-3 record is a tough scene. To be clear, the first five weeks of the seasonwere arguably the most difficult in terms of any five-week stretch. This was the case because of the travel to Brazil, the road game after, and the short week that followed that. This is for context only and in no way to excuse what the Cowboys have done
during the span in question.
If the Cowboys held four wins through this stretch, they would likely be a playoff team this season. Obviously they came nowhere close to that. More practically speaking, emerging from this stretch 3-2 would be a huge win, again relative to the unique quirks of the schedule. They didn’t even get there.
Unfortunately with a 2-3 record at their backs, they are also now facing an uphill battle from a historical perspective.
History says this team won’t make the playoffs
With five weeks now in the books we can search certain things at Stathead and Pro Football Reference that weren’t as easily accessible before. Their system doesn’t allow for searches that include spans to start a season short of five games.
Here is a list of every team in franchise history that has started their season with a 2-3 (or worse) record. This year’s team is number 24 in that capacity.
Of the previous 2-3 instances where a Cowboys team was 2-3 or worse through the first five games, they have only made the playoffs twice. If we round up that is 9%.
You’ll note that each of those two teams (1996 and 2018) saw the Cowboys reach the postseason as the NFC East winner. Some years it pays to be in a crummy division, and that certainly seems to be the case this year for Dallas. On the heels of what we saw in Week 5, 10 wins probably earns some hats and t-shirts for whoever gets there. Maybe it will be the Cowboys.
But this does not bode well! If you look at the list of teams on this list and reference them against what you remember about each of them, you will realize that we are talking about some Cowboys teams that were not very good and who were actually particularly maddening.
On the latter note, part of what is frustrating about this is that the Cowboys are here in consecutive seasons (they were actually 2-2-1 last year to be clear) despite an offense that, on paper, is one of the best in franchise history. That they are not able to capitalize on that through over a full season now is an endless mystery.
Do you think the Cowboys will be part of the 9% when this season is over? Or will they fall among the rest? Let us know in the comments below.
