No fan ever wants to hear that their team is going to miss the playoffs. For some fans though, that could be the end to some misery. For Cowboys fans, they’ve wondered all season long where things truly went off the rails. After yet another loss at home, this one to the Bengals, their odds of making the post-season sit at less than 1% according to NFL.com
So what went wrong?
As an outsider, there are a few points that fans will inevitably point to.
The failure to sign a running back – Derrick Henry was hands down the best available running back on the market. But the Cowboys languished in their off-season moves and didn’t get the chance to sign the star running back. This season he’s given the Ravens 1,407 yards on 240 carries with 14 touchdowns. Oh, and he has 2 receiving touchdowns as well.
Compare that to the Cowboys backfield. Rico Dowdle, who was forced into being the top guy, and the returning Ezekiel Elliott combined for 924 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Dowdle has added another 3 through the air, but there’s a clear difference in the two backfields.
It also underscores the issues the Dallas offense has had all season.
Before his season-ending injury, Dak Prescott had his struggles. In eight games played, he had 1,978 yards and an 11 to 8 touchdown to interception ratio. Now, it’s not all Prescott’s fault, but those stats aren’t going to set the world on fire.
Speaking of injuries, the bug certainly hit the team this season. At some point this year, the following players all managed to find their way to the IR
- Josh Butler
- Zack Martin
- DeMarcus Lawrence
- Asim Richards
- Caelon Carson
- Markquese Bell
- Sam Williams
- Nathan Thomas
- Earl Bostick Jr.
That doesn’t even account for the non-IR injuries they’ve dealt with. It certainly made their job harder, but every team has injury issues at some point. The team has lacked that next man up mentality and has been unable to find an edge.
Looking at the situation as a neutral, the bigger problems lie off the field. The playcalling isn’t working and that directly impacts what happens on game day. That falls on Mike McCarthy, Mike Zimmer, and Brian Schottenheimer. The defense ranks 25th in the league in yards per game, 31st in points allowed per game and total points allowed. Pair that with a middle-of-the-road offense that is averaging just over 20 points per game (20.6) it’s going to be a tough season. Wherever you look, something needs to change.
That brings us to the front office. In Jerry-world, the owner undoubtedly wants a championship. But he seems to have lost the way to get there. As owner and GM, Jerry Jones has drawn the ire of fans year in and year out. This season even more so; see the running back and contract issues with CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott. Before the season, Prescott signed a contract worth $240m of which $231m is guaranteed. Even before the injury, he didn’t appear to be playing worth the contract. Lamb was also signed to a new 4-year deal, $136m with $100m guaranteed. Without restructuring these two players will account for the following cap hit:
- 2024 – $53,014,800
- 2025 – $124,346,666
- 2026 – $101,296,666
- 2027 – $98,291,666
Should those two leave in 2028, it would leave the Cowboys with $41m in dead cap space.
Fans have said for a while that Jerry needs to cede some control. As an outsider, I agree. Jerry needs to be the money man, but leave the football decisions to someone else. That could be just what this team needs going forward. Yes, a fresh start with fewer injuries would help too, but it’s time for Jerry to step aside and bring someone else in.
That might give him some time to solve the sun problem.