The Dallas Cowboys earned a big win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild card round of the NFL playoffs on Monday. But can the team win their first Super Bowl since the 1995 season which was led by legendary players such as running back Emmitt Smith? PopCulture.com spoke exclusively to Smith who revealed what the Cowboys need to do to bring a championship to the Dallas area.
“First thing they need to do is get their minds right and understand that this game called football does not last long and everybody has a short window,” Smith exclusively told PopCulture before the Cowboys took on the Buccaneers. “So when you have talent around you like the Dallas Cowboys actually have, the nucleus on defense, what they have on offense, you have to take advantage of these moments.
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“Oftentimes, we as humans think that we going to be together for a long period of time. That’s not the case. In this game of football, which the NFL stands for Not For Long, you’re not guaranteed to have the same kind of genetic makeup or structure or team. Every year you have to retool that and refine that chemistry. And so therefore, you must take advantage of the moment by being mentally sharp, executing against your game plan, be in the moment at all times and do not take it for granted. And most importantly, eliminate the daggone mistakes because they become very costly.”
When Smith was playing with the Cowboys the team won three Super Bowls in four seasons. Since winning the last Super Bowl in 1995, Dallas has not made it past the divisional round of the playoffs. “The reason we won our three Super Bowls is because the opposing team that we played turned the ball over a lot more than we did,” Smith added. “And we took full advantage of those turnovers and therefore they lost but we end up winning. And so for the Cowboys, take that, put that on your wall, allow that to be your goal for the next four weeks is to eliminate mistakes, stay focused, be in the moment, and be committed until you get there.”
The Cowboys don’t have a running back like Smith on their team this year but have two guys who can get the job done — Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. The duo rushed for a combined 1,883 and 21 touchdowns to help the Cowboys win 12 games in the regular season.
“That’s the answer for protecting the football and not turning the ball in the air,” Smith said of the Cowboys running the ball with Elliott and Pollard. “That’s the answer for controlling the clock and putting the pressure on the opposing offense. That’s the pressure of keeping your defense fresh and keeping the rotation fresh so that defense aligns so they can get the pressure on the quarterback they need to. To me, that is the answer. That’s the way you win championships.”
