If you are a Dallas Cowboys fan, this season is going pretty much how you thought it’d go, underwhelmed with much to be desired.
Sitting at 3-3, their wins are over opponents with a combined record of 8-13. In comparison, their losses come from teams with a combined record of 11-9. So, beating the bad teams while losing to the good ones means this team is AVERAGE.
They also have yet to get a win at home, prior to the season they had won 16 straight at home across two seasons. In those losses, they are getting outscored 119-53.
There are so many problems on both sides of the field but it all starts in the front office. In the areas where they certainly lack talent (RB, DT, S), Jerry Jones and company chose not to address them and that is exactly why they are where they are as they head into their bye week.
Offensive Woes
Jerry Jones waited until the last two weeks of the offseason to extend the offense’s two most important playmakers, Ceedee Lamb and Dak Prescott. That has led to the two stars not being on the same page countless times in the first six weeks of the season.
If Jones had gotten their contracts wrapped up, say anytime from February up until the end of July, this wouldn’t be a talking point.
All the issues in 2024 stem from the incompetence of the front office this past offseason.
The Cowboys could have had the NFL’s leading rusher in Derrick Henry but chose to be cheap and sign Ezekiel Elliott who is a shell of his former self. They are ranked dead last in rushing yards per game (77.2).
Rico Dowdle had his breakout two weeks ago against the Steelers with 114 total yards and one touchdown on 22 touches. But this week against Detroit he only had five carries for 25 yards because Zeke had the majority of the carries with no rhyme or reason.
From the outside looking in, it truly does not make any sense.
That accompanied by a struggling offensive line, a lack of playmakers, and awful playcalling/schemes, the offense a complete disaster.
Obviously, with two rookies starting in Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe, there would be some growing pains but overall it has not looked good.
They have also struggled to find a true playmaker next to Lamb. Brandin Cooks is currently injured but when he was on the field his age looked like it had caught up to him.
Jalen Tolbert has shown flashes of being that No. 2 guy but struggles to create separation down after down.
For the most part, Jake Ferguson has not impacted the game like I and most people thought he would. He has 25 receptions for 240 yards and zero touchdowns on the season.
Then when it comes to play calling, it just seems stale. First-down runs of one or two yards are as predictable as it gets. Not a lot of pre-snap motion, receivers running into each other downfield, and simply no big plays.
It’s hard to be positive about the rest of the season when there are glaring issues that won’t change at this point in the season.
This is a team that was set up for failure from the jump because Jones and company thought there was enough talent in the building already.
Hopefully, the bye week can hit the reset button to get this team back on the right track.
Disgraceful Defense
With countless injuries to an already struggling defense, it makes it that much harder to get stops.
Daron Bland, Micah Parsons, Demarcus Lawrence, Marshawn Kneeland, Eric Kendricks, and Caelen Carson all have missed time some type of considerable time.
Injuries come with the game, but who knows how the defense would look right now if they were healthy.
In the passing game, they rank around the middle of the pack in yards allowed but give up the eighth most on the ground (143.2).
The defensive line has been getting pushed around in the three losses. Henry, Alvin Kamara, Jahmyr Gibbs, and David Montgomery have combined for 69 carries for 409 yards and 7 touchdowns.
There is simply no excuse for that. The defensive line needs a ton of work but I don’t see a fix at this point in the season. They also have struggled to generate takeaways which haven’t been an issue in the past few seasons.
Now are the defensive problems a Mike Zimmer scheme issue, personal, or simply effort?
I would say it’s a combination of all three. Players are still adjusting to the scheme, it’s early still and takes time. On the other hand, we have players who have been career backups getting meaningful snaps.
Then comes effort. Which is something each player has to want to fix themselves. It’s as simple as running to the ball or staying disciplined when it gets late in the game.
Regardless they need to clean a lot up in this bye week because they play some high-powered offenses in the coming weeks against the 49ers, Falcons, Eagles, Texans, and Commanders.
This five-game stretch will be a telltale sign of what kind of team will finish this season.
What needs to change
There is a whole lot that needs to change all over the field and behind the scenes.
What they have continuously put on the field is unacceptable. Fans expect so much more out of a team that earned the second seed in the NFC last season. This should be a Super Bowl-contending team but it seems more like they’ll earn themselves a top-10 draft pick in the 2025 draft.
Offensively, the play-calling needs to improve. Mike McCarthy has to draw up more creative plays. It looks like the same old calls game after game.
Dowdle needs to be RB1, there is no other way around it. He has the least mileage on his body and has shown flashes of being a game-changer.
The least likely change that needs to be made offensively is trading for another receiver.
I don’t see Jerry doing this because it means he admits he didn’t do his job during the offseason to help Dak out.
However, it was around this time six years ago that Dallas traded a 2019 first-round pick for Amari Cooper. They finished the season 8-2 after a 3-4 start and ended up making it to the Divisional Round.
So, good things happen when a team acquires real talent. Who would’ve known?
Defensively, they need to get healthy. The best ability is availability and the Cowboys have struggled in that department.
Once they get all of their guys on the field, I’m confident the defense will begin to improve.
Secondly, if they are trying to make this season not go to waste, they should grab a defensive lineman from a tanking team. In the coming weeks, teams like the Jaguars, Panthers, etc. will be easier to throw some late-round draft picks at for some quality rotational guys.
Overall, a lot has to change quickly. The NFL season moves fast and if they don’t fix their problems quickly, fans will be looking forward to the draft and who they’ll hire as a head coach come February.
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