You do not have to squint very hard to see it. The Dallas Cowboys and the New York Jets, separated by geography but stitched together by history, mirror each other in all the worst ways. Both were forged in the AFL, both are draped in tradition, and both are stuck with fan bases that love them with the same intensity they resent them.
The stories run side by side. The Cowboys once handed away two first round picks for Joey Galloway, a deal that aged as poorly as any in franchise history. The Jets, never one to be outdone, recently shoveled thirty five million in guaranteed money to Davante Adams, a portion of which will still hit their cap again next season. When it comes to reckless spending, neither side can claim innocence.
The players tell their own story of bitterness. John Riggins is the classic example. He was underpaid in New York, pulling in sixty three thousand dollars in his final Jets season before Washington swooped in, quadrupled his salary, and rode him to Super Bowls. Years later, the Cowboys had their own summer saga with Micah Parsons turning into a one man soap opera, a reminder that internal drama never takes a vacation.
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 29, 2025
They even shared a coach. Bill Parcells, Hall of Famer and disciplinarian, wore both star and green. For a time he gave each team structure and credibility. But legacies fade and both organizations eventually slipped back into their old habits.
Even the defenses show the similarities. The Jets had the Sack Exchange, terrorizing quarterbacks with bravado and bite. Dallas countered with the Doomsday Defense, a unit that became part of NFL folklore. When it comes to signature moments, Joe Namath’s guarantee before Super Bowl III stands beside Roger Staubach’s Hail Mary to Drew Pearson in 1975. Each franchise has a memory etched in stone, replayed forever because the present has not delivered much.
And that is the rub. After tonight’s loss against Miami, the Jets are already essentially out of playoff contention and it is not even October. They are staring at fifteen straight seasons without a postseason berth, the longest drought in the league. The Cowboys love to remind you they are America’s Team, yet they have managed only four playoff wins since the mid 1990s, all of them in the Wild Card round. To twist it further, in the past twenty five years the Jets have actually been the more successful of the two, with six postseason wins and a pair of AFC Championship appearances.
So here we are. Two franchises with storied pasts, both clinging desperately to yesteryear. Both sitting near the bottom of their divisions. Both searching for a way forward that never quite comes.
Different cities, different conferences, the same result. An endless cycle of hope, heartbreak, and déjà vu.
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