11 Areas Of Improvement For Cowboys

Now that the Bye Week is over, the Dallas Cowboys (4-2) embark on an 11-week run to a possible postseason berth. They begin that march with a home game against the Rams on Sunday.

The team has plenty of ups and downs already, playing just six games – three blowout wins, two blowout losses and a tough road win over the Chargers before heading into the bye.

So, before the Cowboys get back to work in Week 8, here are 11 things in order of importance (to me), we all need to see if this team wants a shot at that all elusive return to the Super Bowl.

Let’s get after it.

1. Red Zone Efficiency – If the Cowboys don’t start scoring touchdowns in the red zone, then a playoff berth is unlikely. Through six games, the Cowboys have entered the red zone 23 times, coming away with just nine touchdowns and 11 field goals. Their 39-percent touchdown rate is only good enough for 26th in the NFL. That is lower than all the teams that made the playoffs last season, a year in which Dallas finished tops in the NFL by scoring in over 71-percent of trips inside their opponents 20.

2. Offensive Line Play – The starting five of Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Zack Martin and Terence Steele, has only been on the field together for two games this season because of health. In those games they struggled, picking up 16 penalties and giving up 15 sacks. With two future Hall of Famers and a lot of money committed to the position, this team needs better play up front from all five.

3. Free Micah Parsons – After snagging three sacks in the first two games of the season, the Cowboys defensive leader has just two over the past four games. And while he is on pace to top the 13.5 sacks he had his rookie season, and the 13 he had last year, Parsons is on pace to only record 56 tackles. That would be the worst of his three seasons, after recording 84 tackles as a rookie and 65 last season. The Cowboys need Parsons to be everywhere on defense, and at time it looks like that is the case, but they will need even more the rest of the way from their best player.

4. Halt the Penalties – Too many yellow flags this season for the Cowboys, who are averaging 7.7 calls against this season. That is 31st in the NFL, just barely better than Seattle. The Cowboys 59.5 yards of penalties a game is 26th in the NFL. Penalties committed during the play happen, but the ones that come pre- or post- snap must be eliminated. So far this season, of the 46 penalties called on Dallas, 14 of them came before or after the play.

5. Improve Run Defense – The Cowboys went into the offseason looking to improve the run defense. So much so that they drafted defensive tackle Mazi Smith in the first round, but he hasn’t really been able to crack the lineup. Instead, the Cowboys are trying to slow down running games with the same guys they had last year doing it – defensive tackles Osa Odighizuwa and Jonathan Hankins and middle linebacker Leighton Vander Esch. But LVE is lost for the next few weeks with a neck injury. So, the pressure on stopping the run should ramp up as teams try to exploit the Cowboys missing MLB and premier run stuffer.

6. Get CeeDee the Ball – I think we can all agree that if the Cowboys are going to win games, they need to get wide receiver CeeDee Lamb involved early and often. That has not been the case in each of the first six games. After just four catches in weeks three, four and five, the Dallas offense went back to Lamb against the Chargers, and he responded with seven catches for 117 yards. It is just the second time he went over the 100-yard receiving mark in a game this season. They need more of those if they want to beat the Eagles, Dolphins, Bills and Lions, all of whom are left on the schedule.

7. Find WR2 – We all know who the No. 1 wide receiver is with Dallas, but after CeeDee Lamb the Cowboys have question marks. One of Michael Gallup, Brandin Cooks or speedster KaVontae Turpin will need to step to the forefront over the next few weeks, establish himself as a reliable No. 2 receiver behind Lamb before the Cowboys hit their holiday stretch of games that includes Philly, Buffalo, Miami and Detroit. Gallup, who should be the guy, still looks slowed from his most recent injury. He has just 18 catches on 32 targets for 204 yards and no touchdowns. Cooks, who was brought in to be the Cowboys deep threat, has been targeted just 23 times this season. He has 11 catches for 108 yards and one TD. If Gallup and Cooks falter, then the Cowboys could turn to Turpin or Jalen Tolbert. However, they have just 12 catches between them this season.

8. Improve Play Calling – The talk all offseason was about this new Texas Coast Offense that Mike McCarthy was installing to help quarterback Dak Prescott in his decision making, while cutting down on his interceptions. Now that we have seen it for six games, the thing that stands out most is off the team looks when they have the ball. McCarthy’s offense and play calling have turned Prescott into a game manager. It appears the Cowboys want to dink and dunk the ball all the way down the field, but that means they must be nearly perfect for 8-12 plays to score. That is a lot to ask in today’s NFL. They must start stretching the field, or the defenses will continue to shrink down on them, and they will find it hard to make any yards.

9. Solidify Pass Defense – The Cowboys have taken a major hit to their pass defense over the first six games of the season. They lost cornerback Trevon Diggs to an Achilles injury during practice before Week 3, then lost C.J. Goodwin and Juanyeh Thomas against San Francisco. Jourdan Lewis, Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker have all missed plays during games while being evaluated for an injury. With 11 games to go and some of the best passing offenses in the NFL left on the schedule – Dolphins, Lions, Bills, Rams and Eagles (all in the top 10), the Cowboys can’t afford to lose anyone else. In fact, they should probably look at acquiring a cornerback before the trade deadline on Oct. 31.

10. Turn Dak Loose – With his 18-yard touchdown run to get the scoring started for Dallas in the Cowboys Week 6 win over the Chargers, quarterback Dak Prescott proved that he still has the legs to keep defenses honest. We just need to see more of it. Prescott, who is a pocket passer, was a good runner over the first four-plus seasons of his career. During 69 games from 2016 to 2020, Prescott rushed 259 times for 1,314 yards and 24 touchdowns. That is 3.75 carries and 19.0 yards per game. Then he broke his ankle during Week 5 of 2020. Since his return to start the 2021 season, Prescott has rushed just 112 times for 413 yards and three touchdowns in 34 games. That’s 3.2 totes for just 3.68 yards per game. His wheels can be a weapon on a good day, and a decoy on others. But the Cowboys can’t be afraid to use them.

11. Keep Kicking – Brandon Aubrey has been the biggest bright spot for the Cowboys this season. After what happened in the kicking game to end the 2022 season, the Cowboys rolled into training camp and preseason looking for someone they could count on to make his kicks. They found Aubrey, who was a soccer player by trade, in the United States Football League, signed him for a tryout in camp and then watched him beat out Tristan Vizcaino to win the job. Then in Week 1 he missed his first kick, an extra point, but hasn’t missed since. He has made all his field goals this season (16) and is now 12 of 13 in extra points. If he makes his next three field goals, he will pass Travis Coons (18 straight in 2015) to set the NFL record with 19 straight made field goals to start a career. A weakness to start the offseason, has become a team strength thanks to the leg of Aubrey.

Bonus: Keep Avoiding Turnovers – The Cowboys have committed just six turnovers – four interceptions and two fumbles – in six games this season, while earning 12 takeaways. If they want to keep winning, and eventually earn a playoff berth, then they will have to continue to limit the turnovers. Most importantly, they must find a way to cut down on the interceptions. After finishing last season throwing 18 INTs, they are currently on pace to toss less than 12 this season. That would be a major improvement and just what the offense needs to have continual success.

There you have it, a list of 11 things that the Cowboys can improve on over the final three months of the regular season.

They don’t have to accomplish them all, but if they can then they give themselves their best chance at a playoff berth.

And that is what we are all here for.