It’s very rare that someone roots for their bitter rival to win a championship. But that’s exactly the predicament Jerry Jones found himself in before Super Bowl LII.
The Dallas Cowboys owner admittedly was disappointed that the Philadelphia Eagles were playing in the Super Bowl, a feat the Cowboys had not pulled off in 22 years. While Jones hated to see his NFC East rival vying for a Lombardi Trophy, the “narrow set of circumstances” allowed Jones to root for his bitter rival against the New England Patriots.
“As much as we have the rivalry that we have, and as frustrating as it was for the Cowboys not to be playing, as much as all of that, I was proud of (the Eagles), given that narrow set of circumstances, could root for them,” Jones told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “That takes it right down to just absolutely no choice, you either do or you die. And I want to go again.”
The Eagles defeated the Patriots 41-33 to capture their first Super Bowl title in franchise history, and Jones knows that has put the pressure on the ‘Boys.
“I think it raises the bar. I think it puts pressure on the Cowboys,” Jones said. “They’ve took it down to the bone and brought it back up and have a world championship and we’ve been doing the same thing. Where is ours? That’s fair. That’s fair.”
Dallas went from 13-3 in 2016, but fell to 9-7 and missed the playoffs this past season after star running back Ezekiel Elliott was suspended for six games for a domestic violence incident.
Can the Cowboys follow the Eagles’ blueprint and finish their rebuild with a Super Bowl title? The pressure is on Dallas after Philadelphia brought the Lombardi Trophy back to the City of Brotherly Love.
