Many fans expect that in 2017, the Cowboys will simply pick up where they left off in 2016. And that's okay. We're fans. It's our job to be optimistic.
But repeating a 13-3 season is much harder than it sounds. Since 1990, when the league moved to a 12-team playoff format, 38 teams finished the season with a 13-3 record, and only four of those teams were able to repeat that 13-3 record the following year.
And there's more sobering stuff to be gleaned from looking at the historical record of 4-12 teams in the league.