The Dallas Cowboys are going to the playoffs for the third time in a row. While frustration stemming from the latest loss to the Buffalo Bills is fair and warranted, let's take a moment to fully understand what it means.

It's a major achievement in the NFL. Mike McCarthy has taken the reins of this team and has gotten them to the postseason for three consecutive seasons, with the lone exception during his tenure being 2020, when not only did he had to overcome COVID protocols but also lost Dak Prescott for most of the year.

You might be thinking, "Well, that's not enough! This team used to win Super Bowls! It's not about making the playoffs but winning in them!"

While such frustration is understandable, apologies in advance for hitting you with a bucket of cold water: That was in the 90s, this is 2023. It's been almost three decades. The time difference isn't only about the years, too.

That domination fans speak of happened during a very different CBA environment, when team building was a vastly different animal. It was a different era, a different league, a different context. Today, the Cowboys' standard is not winning Super Bowls.

Need I remind you that between the Super Bowl days and McCarthy's era, the Cowboys went to the playoffs in back-to-back years only in 2006-2007? Jason Garrett then coached the team for a decade and never achieved that. 

So to say the Cowboys' standard is winning championships and that we should overlook what three consecutive playoff trips mean is either refusal to move on from a glorious yet long-gone past or straight up delusion. 

McCarthy is quite literally doing something the Cowboys had not witnessed since the Jimmy Johnson days.

Does he still need to unlock another level to finish the job and bring the sixth Lombardi Trophy back home? 100%. This is life in the NFL, after all. But to dismiss the work he's done because of successes from almost 30 years ago is insane and blind fandom.

Jerry Jones says the obvious about Mike McCarthy

Fortunately, the Cowboys owner was willing to say the obvious about the head coach even after an embarrassing game in Buffalo: McCarthy's job is definitely not in danger as we approach the final stretch of the season.

"Well, he’s coached three playoff teams in a row," Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday when asked about a possible extension. "I think he’s done an outstanding job. I think the fact that he’s your offensive coordinator as well as your head coach puts him in higher stead than when he was the walk-around coach."

Not only that but McCarthy has unlocked the very best play we've seen from Dak Prescott in his career. Moving on from Kellen Moore was a bold move from the Cowboys front office yet it's paying off in a big way. Just a week ago, their quarterback was the frontrunner for MVP.

"I frankly said to the staff yesterday, ‘You got us in this spot to be as disappointed as we are about the Buffalo deal and our loss there. It’s your fault because y’all have done such a great job of getting our team to where we, our fans, everybody have the expectations that we have. You pushed us up here. …Hats off to you," Jones added. "The best part of our team this year has been the coaching staff.”

As much as we might criticize Jones for things he says, he's got this one exactly right. To think McCarthy still is in the hot seat lacks objectivity. Expect him to be running the ship moving forward, regardless of how the 2023 NFL season ends.

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They can realistically win it.