What would you consider a successful 2019 season for the Cowboys?

After reading the headline above, I know there are people who are just itching to inform me that “In Dallas, success is measured in Super Bowls,” and that anything less is unacceptable. Well, today you may have to go scratch that itch somewhere else, because, believe it or not, the 2019 season can be a success even without a Super Bowl title.

The question is, how do we define success?

After three straight winning seasons, simply tagging on a fourth consecutive winning season is more of a minimum requirement, but certainly not a success by itself - even if four straight winning seasons would already be quite an achievement. Only four teams in the league are currently riding a streak of four+ consecutive winning seasons:

• Patriots (18 consecutive seasons with a winning record)
• Seahawks (7 seasons)
• Chiefs (6 seasons)
• Steelers (5 seasons)

But that’s just the regular season, and despite winning only their third playoff game since 1996 last year, expectations in Dallas are for at least another playoff win, everything else would mean they have regressed.

How about a season like 2007 or 2016? In both seasons, the Cowboys stormed out to a 13-3 regular season record, easily won the NFC East and entered the playoffs as the number one seed, but lost in the divisional round. Would you consider the number one NFC seed a success?

How about a repeat of 2009, 2014 or 2018? The Cowboys win their wildcard game only to lose the divisional round game. Would you consider a playoff win a success?

How about a season like 1994? The Cowboys enter the playoffs as the number two seed and advance to the Conference Championships after handily dismantling the Packers 35-9, only to lose to the eventual Super Bowl-winning 49ers. Would you consider making the Conference Championships a success?

Or do they have to make it to the Super Bowl (and then win it, of course)?

The Cowboys are a young team with a lot of talent. I don’t think anything less than another playoff win could be considered a success in any shape or form, regardless the circumstances. But what happens after that? Do the Cowboys have to win the divisional round, do they have to play for the Conference Championship? Or is the manner in which they play the final game (in whatever playoff round it happens to be) more important?

The ultimate goal, as Dak Prescott recently phrased it, is obviously to make it to the Super Bowl. But is a Super Bowl win really the only measure by which to consider a season a success?

What needs to happen for you to consider the 2019 season a success for the Cowboys?