The Dallas Cowboys continue to carry the weight and expectation of being ‘America’s Team.’ But over the years, it has become burdensome on fans and former players. Ex-Cowboys wide receiver Patrick Crayton expressed his frustrations with Dallas’ inability to return to the NFC Championship Game for thirty years now.

“We couldn’t get over that hump and finish it, man.” Crayton said on the DLLS Cowboys podcast on. “But to not be in an NFC Championship game, man, still pisses me off to this day. And we’re talking about 30 years later still, dude, since the last time the Cowboys was in the NFC Championship game. So it’s rough.”

Dallas reached the playoffs during the 2006, 2007, and 2009 seasons while Crayton was on the roster. But each run ended with disappointment. The 2007 loss is particularly painful for Crayton.

As the NFC North’s No. 1 seed, the Cowboys faced off against the New York Giants in the divisional round. But Crayton infamously missed a perfectly thrown pass by Tony Romo, sealing the loss for his team. Moments like these have piled on to keep Jerry Jones and Co. from planting the flag in their own conference.

Dallas has not appeared in an NFC Championship Game since the 1995 season. That was under former head coach Barry Switzer. The franchise has cycled through an entire generation of quarterbacks, coaches, and roster overhauls. But nothing stuck. That is despite Dallas performing well recently under former head coach Mike McCarthy.

The team won 12 games in three straight seasons, but was unable to get past the divisional round. The Cowboys entered the Dak Prescott era hoping to finally break through. This is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, whom the team found in the fourth round of the draft. But Prescott is 2-5 in the playoffs.

To make matters worse, the Cowboys won’t have it easy this season. After they play the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil, the next three opponents will have to be played on the road. And, they were all in the playoffs last season: the Houston Texans, the Green Bay Packers, and the Philadelphia Eagles. Later, the Cowboys host the Eagles for Thanksgiving, and then make a trip to face the reigning Super Bowl champs, the Seattle Seahawks.

CBS Sports predicts the Cowboys to go 10-7. After 30 years of being reminded that the Cowboys are yet to reach the NFC Championship, fans will know not to raise their hopes.

But Cowboys icon Emmitt Smith is daring to keep them up.

The 2026 Cowboys team feels ‘different’ for Emmitt Smith

The iconic running back had a far more optimistic outlook for his beloved team. Appearing on the Blogging the Boys podcast, Smith admitted that things around the organization “feel a little bit different” entering the summer.

“They’ve went ahead and did some things to bolster up the defence, which I feel very good about,” Smith said. “I think we got George Pickens signed under a franchise tag and so forth, which is the right thing to do, in my opinion.

“…  You’ve taken all the distractions off the table and given the kids and the guys an opportunity to stay focused and locked in on the things that are very, very important. […] And one goal in mind is to win the NFC East with an opportunity to get into the playoffs, and earn the right to go to the NFC Championship game. And there you earn the right to go to the Super Bowl.”

Pickens signing his franchise tag checked off a big item on the Cowboys’ to-do list. He’s locked down for this one year, firing up probably one of the best passing attacks Dallas has enjoyed in years. What happens in the WR’s career later on should be a later thought.

Defensively, Dallas has swung big and added names like Dee Winters and Rashan Gary from free agency. Jerry Jones had to ensure that this side of the ball didn’t turn out to be a flop like last year. And with versatile defensive rookie Caleb Downs, that secondary looks a lot better.

The Cowboys can be one of the big surprises this season with the changes they’ve made this offseason. Whether or not this is the year they get the playoff monkey off their backs, however, is left to be seen.