And, again, right on schedule, the Cowboys and their fans enter the annual offseason of their discontent.

Make it now 27 straight years without a Super Bowl or even an NFC Championship Game appearance. And there is not one reason to think that dubious streak will end next season.

The four teams who remain standing in the NFL postseason are in fact the best teams in professional football. And the Cowboys remain mired in the Valley of the Pretty Good.

I don’t see that changing.

Here’s what else is not going to change. The Cowboys are not going to change their head coach and they’re not going to change their quarterback. That’s just wasted hot breath that could lead to asphyxia, Cowboy fans. It’s not good for your health.

I’ll start with Dak, if only because everybody else does. Yes, after seven years in the NFL, he is stunted. This is now officially a case of arrested development. It’s exasperating, because he has an impressive skill set. And it’s sad, because he is a fine person who is easy to root for.

But Sunday in Santa Clara, Prescott threw multiple interceptions for the eighth time this season, despite missing five games with injury. And even a casual analysis of Dak’s Pick Fever reveals the source. He doesn’t see “underneath” coverage. And that “night blindness” is advancing.

Don’t forget that on the Cowboys’ next-to-last possession, Dak threw what should have been a game-ending pick-6 that was simply dropped by a San Francisco linebacker. I confess there is a part of me that wishes that LB had held onto it and cruised into the Dallas end zone. Because then we all would have been forced—in the moment at that moment—to confront the hard and inconvenient truths about Dak’s place in the NFL’s Quarterback Pecking Order.

The Valley of the Often Pretty Good.

Oh, and on the very next play, Dak threw late and wide to Michael Gallup on what should have been a 45-yard completion.

Understand, the Cowboys did not play badly Sunday in Santa Clara. Defensively, they were often magnificent until the ‘Niners running game finally wore them down. I will tell you flatly that overall, the Cowboys played better than I thought they would. For the most part, they matched the ‘Niners physical toughness, and the ‘Niners are the most physically tough team in football.

But ask yourself this question. In the flow of that game, did you ever actually think the Cowboys were going to win that game?

I confess that I did not.

Dallas was tough. San Francisco was tougher. Not by much. But clearly by some. that

Now it’s time for you to confess. When Kittle finally pulled that pass in on his third attempt, you knew which team would be heading to Philly next Sunday. You knew that was a wrap.

A week ago, we were describing Dak’s five-touchdown, no-turnover performance against the Bucs as the best game of his NFL career.

Turns out that was Prescott’s “off game.” News is often defined as deviation from the norm.

What happened Sunday in Santa Clara was not “news,” either for Dak or the Dallas franchise.

So, what do you want to do, Cowboy fans? Banish Dak to a monastery? Put him in Time Out until training camp?

Folks, that is your quarterback for the foreseeable future. That’s not gonna change. Maybe we should all change instead, and perhaps do some chair yoga and deep-breathing exercises.

Oh, and McCarthy is your coach. Repeat after me: “Ommmmm….”

God grant us the wisdom to accept the things we cannot change but still make us wanna holler and throw up both our hands.

Let us now go gentle into another offseason of our discontent.  Why get all worked up? It’s not like we haven’t had plenty of practice.

Oh, and so long and best wishes, Dan Quinn.