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Dallas Cowboys Dynasty: The Missing Defensive Pieces

By Dyllan Larson

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The Dallas Cowboys have a promising young nucleus to build the team around. Adding these defensive pieces could make them a dynasty.

Jan 15, 2017; Arlington, TX, USA; Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams (17) runs after a catch against Dallas Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne (24) in the NFC Divisional playoff game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 15, 2017; Arlington, TX, USA; Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams (17) runs after a catch against Dallas Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne (24) in the NFC Divisional playoff game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

This is part 2 of a 2 part series showcasing what pieces are missing to make the Dallas Cowboys consistent Super Bowl contenders. Part 2 will focus on the offense.

The 2016 Dallas Cowboys defense was surprisingly good, exceeding any expectations for the season where average, or worse, was expected.

The Dallas defense, led by All-Pro linebacker Sean Lee, finished 14th in the NFL in yards allowed.

They were the NFL’s best run defense, giving up just 83.5 yards per game on the ground. In the base defense, Dallas consistently played all gap assignments properly and stopped their foes from having success in the run game.The lone significant weakness in the Cowboys run defense was their inability to stop inside runs when the opposing offense was in three wide receiver sets- especially out of shotgun.

One of the glaring was concerns was giving up 260 passing yards per game which put them in the bottom 10 in the league. Despite giving up a lot of passing yards, the Cowboys finished 5th in scoring defense- giving up 19.3 points per game.

There were major concerns regarding the pass rush through the majority of the season. In the final month of the season Dallas finally found consistency in getting pressure and accumulating sacks. The Cowboys finished in the middle of the pack with 36.0 sacks.

Dallas was towards the bottom of the league in forcing turnovers, finishing with 20 takeaways which ranked them 19th. There were glimpses of being a ball hawking defense like the 2014 version of the Cowboys, but there were also glimpses of the futile 2015 version of the Cowboys.

These are the pieces that I believe are missing and have been missing in recent years, and if successfully added could make this defense a consistent strength of the team instead of a liability…

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