Cowboys at midseason: The biggest disappointment amid 5-3 start
It's tough to know what to make of the Dallas Cowboys' start to the season. They're 5-3 and thus in a good spot to make the playoffs. But three of their losses happen to be against the top two contenders in the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Both occurred on the […]
It's tough to know what to make of the Dallas Cowboys' start to the season. They're 5-3 and thus in a good spot to make the playoffs.
But three of their losses happen to be against the top two contenders in the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Both occurred on the road, which is most likely the way the Cowboys' postseason would take place as they're currently a Wild Card team.
As we review the year at the midseason mark, it's time to dive into the biggest disappointment for the team nine weeks into the regular season.
Mike McCarthy's Texas Coast offense
I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, the first six games of the year seemed to show a very static and old-fashioned Cowboys offense.
The unit ranked near the bottom of the league in motion, trips formations, and bunch formations. CeeDee Lamb even had to show his discontent with the offense to be featured in it. Since then, he's been on a roll.
And that's part of why I struggle with listing the offense as the biggest disappointment. What we've seen since the bye week in the passing game has been very promising. The Cowboys have found more ways to get CeeDee the ball. They've been more aggressive on early downs. And they've let Dak Prescott's legs loose.
However, it's been two games of that. I need to see more to be fully bought into the idea that McCarthy will keep his foot on the pedal.
Part of why I'm skeptical about it could be seen in the opening moments of the Cowboys' trip to Philadelphia. In their Week 9 loss to the Eagles, the Cowboys got the ball to start the game and opened with back-to-back runs against arguably the best early-down run defense in football. Why?
Which brings me to the obvious: the Cowboys run offense is also a problem. People are quick to blame it on Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott's departure. But too often, we've seen the scheme fail Pollard as well as the protection up front. I mean, what is a running back supposed to do when he gets the looks you can see in the tweet below?
It's concerning considering it's hard to know how Dallas can fix the running game. This can be an issue that keeps the Cowboys from closing out games in the future. So far, we've seen some life in the passing game but there's little to talk about when it comes to the ground game.
The offense is trending in the right direction and that has everything to do with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb becoming a nightmare for opposing defenses but make no mistake about it, there are major improvements to be made.
Not so honorable mention: RT Terence Steele
Another of the Cowboys' biggest disappointments this season has been their $87 million right tackle. Steele was one of the top reasons why the team fell to the Eagles as he consistently gave up pressures in high-leverage moments, particularly to inside moves.
He must be better in the second half of the season if the Cowboys are going to get where they want to get. Period.
More on the midseason mark for the Cowboys:
Cowboys: Micah Parsons claims Dak Prescott ‘outplayed everybody’
He didn’t hold back.
