Drew Pearson, a member of the Dallas Cowboys' Ring of Honor, is confident that the glory days are coming back for the franchise.
"Here's my prediction: The Cowboys will win the NFC, go to the Super Bowl and coming out of the AFC is going to be the Houston Texans," Pearson said during an appearance on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM's "Fitzsimmons and Durrett" on Tuesday. "And it's going to be an all-Texas Super Bowl in New Jersey -- in the winter, in the cold weather, in the snow and all that. Two dome teams, haven't played in the cold weather all season, and now they're going up to Jersey and play in the cold weather.
"And that's only if Houston makes it."
The Texans, who went 12-4 last season and have won wild-card games in each of the last two years, could be a trendy preseason Super Bowl pick.
Pearson is really stepping out on a limb with his Cowboys prediction. Dallas hasn't qualified for the postseason the last three years and has a grand total of one playoff win in the last 16 seasons. The NFC has been represented in the Super Bowl by 12 teams since the Cowboys last made an appearance, when they won their fifth title in Super Bowl XXX.
"It's time, you know? It's time. They're due," said Pearson, an All-1970s receiver who played in three Super Bowls and won one. "Everybody else has had a chance, let's let these guys have their opportunity.
"I think they've had just a few missing pieces on offense. Get a running game going, keep people healthy there, improvement in the offensive line. Romo passed for over 4,900 yards last season. It's just a matter of getting that ball in the end zone. I just think they have what it takes on offense, and then defensively [with] the improvements there, I think the Cowboys have made the most upgrades with this team as anybody in the NFC East.
"So I think they have a great shot."