Cowboys 'Jaded' Fans Wonder What's A 'Successful' Season In 2025?

Cowboys 'Jaded' Fans Wonder What's A 'Successful' Season In 2025? originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
High expectations can sink a team quicker than just about anything, and for the Brian Schottenheimer-led Dallas Cowboys, high expectations aren't exactly new.
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Granted, this will be a new-look team, with several new faces on both sides of the ball, coupled with an overhauled coaching staff. As a result, Dallas will look a little different in 2025.
But the expectation will remain the same - to win the Super Bowl.
Now, is that realistic? Even the most hardened Cowboys fan will struggle to say yes to that. Still, success can be defined in other ways, because if you base whether Schottenheimer and Dallas have a good season on whether they win the Super Bowl or not, you might need to adjust your expectations.
But what about making the playoffs? Or better yet, winning a playoff game?
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Matt Verderame, playoff success is step one for Schotty.
"For Schottenheimer and the Cowboys, this can only be a successful season if it involves a trip to the postseason, and preferably one that includes advancement," Verderame writes. "Otherwise, it's more of the same for a fan base growing increasingly jaded and impatient."
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.Brett Davis-Imagn Images
We're not sure any national writer can have the pulse of an entire "jaded'' fan base.
Let's talk about the now ...
Right now, given the state of the NFC and the division, if Dallas makes the playoffs, it would mean Schottenheimer and Co. have acquitted themselves well in the NFC East with the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders.
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Plus, it would see the Cowboys navigate a brutal stretch of games that includes the Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Chargers, and Commanders.
We think Cowboys fans, for the moment, would take that.
However, let's remember that Schotty will have more than a year to get this thing properly rolling. Nevertheless, there can be no 7-10 season; there has to be progression.
Yes, a Super Bowl would be nice, but given where this team is, given the roster and the changes that have happened over the past six months, making the playoffs and sneaking a win would be a good return.
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And for some, give Schotty a pass mark in Year 1.
Related: Elam Following in Dad's Footsteps with Cowboys
Related: Cowboys Coach Denies Caleb Williams Film Rumor
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 17, 2025, where it first appeared.

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