Storyline: I think the Cowboys are better and here are the reasons why. Written by Jason Jones.
The NFL is a wonderful thing. There are all sorts of questions going around each year, who’s better than whom? With the Cowboys and Raiders, though, every year people wonder who’s the better franchise.
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And, really, who is better? Well, I think the Dallas Cowboys have the better franchise. There are three reasons why:
The Cowboys have been to, and won, more Super Bowls than the Raiders.
The Cowboys have had better team- and player-stats than the Raiders.
The Cowboys have had more historic game-changing players than the Raiders.
Overall, the Cowboys have been an impressively strong team. Usually no one wants to go against them (not counting last year, they went 4-12). They’ve been to 8 Super Bowls and won 5. On the other side, the Oakland Raiders have been to 5 Super Bowls and won 3. That’s doesn’t mean the Raiders are a bad team. They’re a very good team that would’ve had a chance at making Superbowl 51 if they hadn’t lost their starting QB.
The Cowboys deserved to be in the Super Bowls, too, Just look at the scores of games won: Dolphins 24-3, Broncos 27-10, Bills 52-17 and 30-13, and Steelers 27-17 (NFL.com). And when they lost, they lost close games: Steelers 35-31 and 21-17, and Colts 16-13 (NFL.com). The Raiders also won big — Vikings 32-14, Eagles 27-10, and Redskins 31-9, but they lost big. too: Buccaneers 48-21 and Packers 33-14 (NFL.com).
In the NFL though, it isn’t all about having all of the rings that makes you the best team, it’s the stats, players you have, and games won overall. The Cowboys have the better win percentage–493 wins and 367 losses for 57% wins compared to the Raiders with 456 wins and 404 losses and 54% wins (footballdb.com).
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The Cowboys have 27 players who’ve received a NFL award for greatness during a season; the Raiders have 18 (Wiki). And the Cowboys have a lot players who are better than Raiders’ players in comparison.
Consider this past season: Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott, who are the definition of “breaking rookie records.” They have a strong receiving corps, too, in Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, and Jason Witten.
On the other side you have Derek Carr, Latavius Murray, Amari Cooper, and Michael Crabtree. They all have stepped up during the season, but stats do not lie: the Cowboy players’ had a better season than the Raiders’ players had and by far.
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Now you can have Super Bowl wins, a good team overall, but nothing is better than having historic game-changing players. And that’s what the Cowboys have had. From Emmitt Smith running the ball to Deion Sanders’ punt returns the Cowboys had elite players who changed the game.
Emmitt Smith still holds the record for the most rushing yards in an NFL season (2,108). Emmitt Smith’s record will be there for a long time unless, perhaps, the Cowboys’ Elliott breaks it. Smith ended his career with 164 rushing touchdowns, 11 receiving touchdowns, and 18,355 yards rushing (pro-football-reference.com). He is one of the best running back, if not the best, to ever play the game.
Then you have Troy Aikman. Troy Aikman was an amazing quarterback, leading the Cowboys to three Super Bowl victories, including a Super Bowl MVP award. He retired with an impressive QBR (quarterback rating) of 81.6 (pro-football-reference.com). Aikman will go down as one of the best quarterbacks in the game.
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Deion Sanders was a third game-changing player, known by his nickname “Prime Time.” Deion Sanders was a very athletic player–from starting at cornerback and getting pick 6’s to returning punts and kicks for 100+ yard touchdowns.
Deion recorded amazing stats–53 interceptions, 5,722 return yards, and 22 touchdowns (pro-football-reference.com). Deion won two Super Bowls, played in 8 Pro Bowls, and made the NFL First-Team 8 times (pro-football-reference.com).
Of course, the Raiders also had their fair share of good players: Bo Jackson and Marcus Allen in the backfield, Ken Stabler at quarterback, and the electrifying corner. Charles Woodson. But with all of the Raiders great players, their numbers just don’t come close to the Cowboys.
With all of this, I think it’s clear that the Cowboys have a better franchise than the Raiders.
