Dallas Cowboys legend Troy Aikman was a cornerstone of the iconic 90s Super Bowl era of the franchise, and the Cowboys haven’t seen that run ever since. Now, with the Cowboys making a run for the playoffs this season, Aikman still isn’t impressed with them, despite a win over their divisional rivals.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“Eh, not really. Not really,” Aikman said on ESPN’s Monday Night PostGame broadcast when Scott Van Pelt asked Aikman his stance on the Cowboys after the win. “And I don’t mean that as a negative. I mean, this is a beat-up Philadelphia team. To come in here and win tonight, I mean, let’s not get carried away. And they did. You know, they kind of did what you would expect them to do.”
While the Cowboys beat the Eagles in an aggressive fashion, winning the game 38-21, Aikman wasn’t impressed. To be fair, this wasn’t the same Jalen Hurts-led Eagles, with him out for the season. The Eagles instead relied on backup quarterback Tanner McKee, who didn’t have the best of days.
“I did think the Eagles defensively would put up a little bit more of a fight than what they did. But, you know, it’ll bear itself out as we move forward as to what this team’s capable,” Aikman continued.
Aikman was correct; the Eagles defense had no answers to one particular player who played his best game to date, Javonte Williams, who recorded 25 rushing attempts for 155 yards, including a touchdown.
Moreover, while Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott didn’t aim for accuracy on Monday, going 15 of 27 passes, his crucial passes during important stages of the game saw him earn a passer rating of 118.1. Prescott recorded three touchdowns and rushed twice for eight yards as well.
But what he said after the game made it clearer what the Cowboys’ aim is amid Aikman’s criticism.
“I don’t know if it’s much more than we’ve lost two (straight) games,” Prescott said. “We say the division’s right in front of us, it is as long as we win. If you lose another game, then you’re probably checking to see what New York’s doing.”
Aikman had already criticized the team before the MNF game, throwing shade at the wide receiver position, when he was asked if the receivers were running crisp routes as they did before the two straight losses.
“No, and they haven’t in a while,” Aikman said. “I won’t name names, but there’s one particular player, I was embarrassed. It’s the worst performance I’ve ever seen from a receiver on a football field.”
While we won’t speculate on who it was for, the Cowboys rank 24th in total rushing yards with 660, which certainly isn’t the best for the team that deems itself the “Greatest Offense There Is.”
While Aikman stands by his stance, he has been dealing with delays in his ESPN contract negotiations, which could see him return to the Cowboys in a potential managerial role, with him being friends with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
“I would welcome any conversation with Jerry. And quite honestly, I don’t know if there would be, or if there ever would be, an opportunity. But if Jerry came to me and felt that, in his heart, I could lend some services that would help make them better, I would. I’d have a hard time not taking a good look at that,” Aikman told Mike Fisher of Cowboys Roundtable.
Aikman is one of the prominent figures of ESPN’s flagship Monday Night Football broadcasts. But amid growing tensions with his longtime partner, Joe Buck, and with his ESPN contract ending at the end of this season, Aikman may be considering his next move.
For now, Aikman is focused on his analytical role, but seeing his former team fighting for glory once again after a 30-year drought of a Super Bowl win, Aikman may see helping the Cowboys out as an option.