In a week where all eyes are on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys still found a way to make headlines. It didn’t matter that America’s Team got eliminated from Super Bowl LIX contention weeks before the start of the playoffs, with Dak Prescott injured early in the regular season.
This time, however, it wasn’t Jones who put himself at the center of the story. Instead, the Cowboys owner caught a ricochet bullet when Chiefs tight end Peyton Hendershot spoke to RJ Ochoa of SB Nation in Super Bowl LIX week.
“This is throwing no strays, but I just feel like when I came to Kansas City, my first experience in the NFL was the Cowboys so that’s all I knew… I just feel like here it is strictly football and winning. Nothing else but just football and winning,” Hendershot said.
Hendershot, 25, joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2022, spending two seasons with Prescott and company before Jones traded him to Kansas City in August. In his first year with Mahomes’ team, the player already notices a big difference from his time in Dallas.
“And I feel like with the Cowboys it’s a little bit more like… the public image. The extracurriculars that come with it, too. And here it’s just… let’s just win football,” Hendershot added.
When was the last time Jones’ Cowboys made the Super Bowl?
It’s been a while since the Cowboys last challenged for the Vince Lombardi trophy, as their last Super Bowl appearance came in January 1996, when Dallas beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.
With the Washington Commanders’ deep playoff run this season, the Cowboys now hold the longest NFC Championship drought, having failed to make the final four since the 1995 NFL season.
This lack of playoff success in the last three decades has put Jones in the eye of the storm, with many blaming the team owner for failing to put a successful team on the field. His full control of personnel decisions and constant media appearances also don’t seem to sit well with Cowboys fans, even though the franchise won the Super Bowl three times on his watch during the 90s.
Chiefs’ success contrasts with Cowboys’ drought
The Chiefs, on the other hand, have enjoyed continuous success in the last few years. Not only did Mahomes deliver three championships in the last five years, but now is looking to make Kansas City the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl in three consecutive seasons.
Hendershot has been at Arrowhead for less than a year, but in only a few months, he already notices a different culture that may explain why his current team is so successful, while his former employers still miss the glory days.