The NFL is screaming for a "new" Super Bowl. Sporting News' prediction for the 2019 season — the Cowboys beating the Chiefs in Super Bowl 54 — would be exactly that.
What better way to end the NFL's 100th season than to see the Chiefs try to win their first Super Bowl in 50 years before the Cowboys win their first in 24 years? The upcoming season is about tapping into professional football's history but also fast-forwarding to its future.
Headlined by Andy Reid vs. Jason Garrett and Patrick Mahomes vs. Dak Prescott, this Super Bowl matchup would represent the best of the game's new school and old school, offense and defense. The fact that these are two potentially great teams that look good on the marquee, too, doesn't hurt.
After projecting how Super Bowl 54 will play out, below we explain why we're so down with Dallas.
2019 NFL PREDICTIONS:
Final division standings and playoff projections
NFL predictions 2019: Super Bowl 54
- Cowboys 31, Chiefs 27
The game has instant classic written all over it. Dallas will win because of a little more defense combined with an offense that will open up to become capable of outscoring Kansas City.
Prescott and Mahomes will trade their share of jaw-dropping moments, and the result will comes down to which team is better equipped to control the action in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys, with their offensive line and dedication to the run, are that team. They will grind away the clock to keep Mahomes away from one dangerous extra possession.
The Cowboys' coverage strengths at linebacker and in the secondary will limit the big-play damage, and the Chiefs' few issues in the back seven will cost them late in the game. Prescott will put in the MVP performance he needs with Mahomes falling short in an excellent losing effort.
MORE: Kellen Moore is the key to unlocking Cowboys’ Super Bowl potential
Why the Cowboys, why now?
Based on current Super Bowl 54 odds, Kansas City (8-1) is no surprise to get there, right behind repeat favorite New England (7-1). Dallas, however, is a relative long shot, listed behind 10 other teams at 22-1. We'll take that bet.
The Cowboys have been knocking on this door for a while. For all the heat Jerry Jones gets in his dual role as owner and general manager, he steadily has assembled one of the league's most talented rosters. That gives Dallas a high floor, and the team's current personnel calls for the ceiling.
Offensively, the elite, seasoned blocking and the big-play "triplets" of Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott and wide receiver Amari Cooper are familiar characteristics of Jones' best Dallas teams. Garrett has been a key link to the days of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin. He bridged many of those feelings to 2014, when the Cowboys looked ready to go the distance with Tony Romo, DeMarco Murray and Dez Bryant; then again to some degree in 2016 with Prescott, Elliott and Bryant.
2019 NFL PREDICTIONS:
AFC East | AFC West | AFC North | AFC South
NFC East | NFC West | NFC North | NFC South
The Cowboys have seen efficient quarterback performances and prolific running games, but what has held them back is their inability to consistently mesh those elements into explosiveness. With Garrett handing the offense to Kellen Moore, now is the time to dial the offense up an extra notch and fully trust Prescott as a passer.
Dallas has the defensive makeup, too, starting with the linebacker backbone of Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith. Around that duo, the Cowboys are deep with disruptive linemen and play-making defensive backs, from Demarcus Lawrence back to Byron Jones.
SUPER BOWL RIPPLE EFFECTS:
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No one will confuse this group with the Doomsday Defense of the 1960s and '70s or early '90s. But in this modern, pass-happy era of the NFL and free agency, the Cowboys have managed to build an ideal, complementary crew. With a little more aggressiveness on that side of the ball, too, Dallas will be able to produce more big plays by committee — much like the most recent Cowboys Super Bowl teams did.
The Cowboys have a shorter Super Bowl portal this time around; they are not headed for a repeat of their dynastic days in the 1990s. But given the way this team is equipped in 2019, and with Prescott on the cusp of no longer being underpaid, Dallas knows this should be — and needs to be — the year.
After getting battle-tested while navigating a top-heavy NFC this season, the Cowboys will use their experience to put it all together mentally and physically in a way they haven't done for years. Jones' patience in his roster-building — and in Garrett — will pay off in an overdue breakthrough.
