What Is Jerry Jones' 'Cowboys Standard'? Is It Still Super Bowls?

The Dallas Cowboys were blown off the field in their 48-32 loss to the Green Bay Packers with head coach Mike McCarthy left lamenting his team not playing up to their standard.

The Dallas Cowboys standard - what is it? 

During the regular season, for the most part, the Cowboys' standard under Mike McCarthy has been 12-5 for three consecutive years. That'll work.

But when the playoffs roll around, we don't exactly know as each time, Dallas has been bundled out in embarrassing circumstances as proofed by the 48-32 dismantling against the Green Bay Packers.

This version of the Cowboys felt different. Dak Prescott was rolling as an MVP candidate and under McCarthy's watch was the highest-scoring offense in football. 

While Dan Quinn's unit had some cracks in their armor, it was still the fifth-best defense in football in terms of points allowed (18.5 per).

But against Green Bay, that standard was nowhere to be seen.

“I think the disappointment is just not playing to your standard of play,” McCarthy said of the loss to Green Bay. “I mean that you go through the whole regular season you establish a standard of play, a standard of productivity, approach, and all those things and you know one team played to their standard and the other didn't. Unfortunately, we didn't so I'm very disappointed that in our performance and just not playing to our standard.”

McCarthy is right. For the most part in the regular season, aside from the brutal losses to the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers, the Cowboys' standard of play was relatively high - especially on offense.

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Defensively, after a strong start to the season, things went south as there were question marks over how the unit could stop the run, and that only grew after Aaron Jones took Dallas to task on the ground.

With McCarthy's job now safe for the 2024 season, figuring out what the Cowboys' standard is going forward is crucial.

Offensively, that standard has been set, but fans must see it in the playoffs to be able to "buy-in." As for the defensive side, that will only be able to be determined if Quinn returns or after a new coordinator has had time to get their ideas across. 

'We Know How To Win!' McCarthy Confident in Super Bowl Future

The Cowboys are entering a defining period in the organization's history with the standards in which every person the the building holds each other to being at the forefront, both on and off the field.

What exactly is the standard for Dallas going forward? It used to be Super Bowls. 

For McCarthy and this current crop, that has to be the goal, as jobs will depend on "that" standard being reached.