Here is the key to the Dallas Cowboys offense in 2018

While Ezekiel Elliott is by far and away the Dallas Cowboys best offensive threat, this one thing will be the key to success in 2018.

We all know the losses the Dallas Cowboys offense took this offseason. Almost 20,000 career yards and 150+ career touchdowns are missing from the 2018 roster. Four new receivers and two new tight ends face the task of picking up the slack. The task is daunting, to say the least, but it’s doable.

Thankfully for the Dallas Cowboys, there are some pillars of which to lean on. The offensive line, with the three All-Pro’s, remains intact. Rookie second-round draft pick Connor Williams should be a nice addition as well. He, along with Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, Travis Frederick, and La’el Collins will likely form, once again, the best offensive line in the NFL.

Dallas can also boast one of the three best running backs in all of football in Ezekiel Elliott. Those two factors should restore the Cowboys running game to its dominant stature.

Even with all that, as always, things will come down to the play at quarterback, however.

If this offense is to truly be what it is intended to be, Dak Prescott will need to improve from his 2017 sophomore slump.

Now, I say slump with tongue-in-cheek. Let’s remember Prescott still completed 62.9% of his passes while throwing nine more touchdowns to interceptions. It was not the worst year in the history of quarterbacks by any means.

The problem is, however, some flaws were exposed. The worry is that teams were able to dissect his film and break him down. Whether or not that is true remains to be seen, but last year was unquestionably a regressive one.

In 2018, the key to the entire offense will not only be Dak’s play but more specifically one aspect of his game.

The deep ball.

For the purposes of tracking, a deep ball is any throw that travels 20+ yards in the air.  Last season, Prescott was 27th overall in deep pass attempt percentage with just 8.8% of his passes qualifying. He finished 21st with just 534 of his passing yards coming on deep balls.

In order to take pressure off the running game, this needs to improve in 2018.

Attempts are only part of the puzzle though. Success on those attempts is just as important. So far, the 2018 training camp is not giving a lot of positive vibes in this forum. It is early, but a visit to camp and several videos have shown more misses than hit targets.

It could be that he needs time to adjust to the new receivers. What is not an excuse is that he lacks burners outside to get open. Deonte Thompson (4.31-40), Tavon Austin (4.34-40) and Michael Gallup (4.51-40) can all fly.

The most concerning thing is that Prescott’s misses are coming in a variety of ways. He’s not just overthrowing guys or under throwing them. He’s doing both. He’s also missing and putting balls out of bounds.

Whether or not the pitchfork and flaming torch mob that not so kindly escorted Dez Bryant out of town wants to hear this is irrelevant. There is no one else to blame now.

Hopefully, Dak Prescott finds his mojo, improves on this aspect of his game and the Dallas Cowboys offense blossoms. If he doesn’t, there will be a few more people leaving town after this season.