For those keeping track of the myriad of streaming services available in 2026, Apple TV+ continues to set the highest bar when it comes to sci-fi television. Silo is one of the most underrated shows of the last decade, recently completing it's third season, and shows such as Severance and Pluribus receive global acclaim. Foundation, Monarch, See, Invasion are all shows that have found respective followings. But none of those particularly resonate with being a Dallas Cowboys fan.
No, the show that is front and center after Week 8's disastrous collapse is Dark Matter, which recently completed its second season last Friday. Originally based on the novel by Blake Crouch, Season 2 expanded on the core concept that was fleshed out in Season 1. Each
time a human being makes a significant decision, the story has both possibilities actually happen. The version of someone that chooses Choice A lives life in the corresponding universe, and Choice B fleshes out with another.
That means that somewhere in the multiverse, Jerry Jones didn't make the egregious mistake of how he handled the Mike McCarthy situation in this universe. Of all of the missteps Jones has made since firing Jimmy Johnson, Jones' actions heading into Year 5 of McCarthy's tenure is the tipping point of why things suck so badly right now.
For those who are fortunate enough to have memory-holed how it all went down, here's a quick recap.
- 2023: Dak Prescott has MVP worthy campaign (2nd, robbed), team goes 12-5 for third-straight year
- Epic flameout, down 27-0 in eventual 16-point home playoff loss to Packers in wild-card round
- Jones doesn't fire McCarthy, but also doesn't give him an extension
- Dan Quinn leaves as DC to become HC in Washington
- Jan. 30: Jones answers question about being all-in with free agency spending in affirmative, adopts phrase
- Early 2024 free agency: Journeyman LB Eric Kendricks only external free agent signing of note
- Cowboys see several internal free agents walk out the door
Many fans, perhaps inexperienced with parsing Jones' double-talk, believed he was proclaiming that the Cowboys would finally spend money on big-name free agents. The team's true north though is that Dallas looks at big-money contracts as rewards for contributing to the franchise's financial success. External players aren't eligible.
So all-in was saying, that the Jones' were not investing anything else into the McCarthy era. He wouldn't get stars to plug holes, he wouldn't give McCarthy what he needed. Entering his lame-duck season of 2024, McCarthy would have to prove he was worthy of the accolades as a Super Bowl winning coach.
There were three potential choices; fire McCarthy and head in a new direction, extend McCarthy's deal and invest in him and the team, and what Dallas ultimately did.
In 2026 McCarthy has returned to NFL coaching after a year off. Though it remains to be seen what he's able to cook up in the playoffs -- his shortcoming with Dallas -- McCarthy has the Pittsburgh Steelers at 6-2 and in first-place in an AFC North where all three teams entered Week 9 above .500 and the fourth at that landmark despite missing their starting QB.
To make matters worse, Pittsburgh has traded away a star player and another with recent draft pedigree -- to the Cowboys no less -- and made their team better.
What is life like for Cowboys fans in the universe where Jones kept McCarthy and invested in his team? Or the universe where he cut the cord and restarted in 2024 with a hire like Mike Macdonald? Or the one where instead of promoting Brian Schottenheimer to head coach he brought in Liam Coen, who has lifted the Jacksonville franchise up from the doldrums?
There's a multiverse of possible scenarios that could've played out, but it feels like the decisions Jones makes are always leading to misery, and that's a dark matter if ever there was one.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys 2026 failure a direct result of Jones' 'Dark Matter' decisions
