Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons’ first three seasons in the NFL have been nearly as destructive as that of any great defensive player we’ve ever seen enter the league. Consider, that Parsons, a former 12th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, is one of only five players in NFL history who have recorded at least forty sacks in his first three seasons in the NFL, joining Reggie White (52), Derrick Thomas (43.5), Aldon Smith (42) and Dwight Freeney (40). This statistical nugget, among many others, is part of the reason why Pro Football Focus have graded Parsons as the third-best player in the NFL in the 2023 season.

But even though Parsons is on the metaphorical medal stand and in the company of players like Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Myles Garrett and Christian McCaffrey within the top five of PFF’s annual countdown, he’s not planning on resting on his laurels any time soon.

The last time Dallas played in the Super Bowl, Bill Clinton was still in his first term as President of the United States. The Chicago Bulls had only won three NBA titles. Friends, Seinfeld, and ER were at the peak of their popularity on NBC’s Must-See-TV Thursday nights. And “Macarena” had yet to reach #1 on the Billboard charts. America’s Team has been noticeably absent from America’s biggest sporting event for the last 28 years. And since their last appearance on Super Bowl Sunday, Dallas hasn’t advanced further than the Divisional Round of the Playoffs.

And last year, when it appeared as if the path was clear for a Dallas/San Francisco showdown in the NFC Championship Game that would elicit memories of the early 1990’s, the Packers went into Jerry World and hung 48 points on a Cowboys D that was the 5th-best scoring defense in the league throughout the regular season.

Despite unceremonious exits each of the last three seasons under head coach Mike McCarthy, I’m still convinced that the pieces are in place for Dallas to make a Super Bowl run next year. I understand that this likely puts me in the minority of football fans/writers out there, but I believe that if Parsons and the Cowboys defense finds a way to ascend, and if — and that’s a BIG IF — Dak Prescott and the Cowboys offense can avoid a stumble in the postseason, they can absolutely make a deep playoff run, and perhaps even end that drought.