The Landry Hat
Fansided

Dallas Cowboys team identity revealed in 5 facts

By Brad Austin

PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 11: Running back Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates his touchdown with teammate wide receiver Amari Cooper #19 against the Philadelphia Eagles during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on November 11, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 11: Running back Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates his touchdown with teammate wide receiver Amari Cooper #19 against the Philadelphia Eagles during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on November 11, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Dallas Cowboys regular season will end with a division title, though the ride contained many ugly and desperate moments.

As the Dallas Cowboys regular season nears its conclusion, thoughts of legendary Texas Longhorns coach Darrell Royal appear. It wasn’t pretty but was good enough to win the division. Or as Coach Royal once said … “Ol’ ugly is better than ol’ nothing“.

No matter how hopeless things appeared, Dallas overcame constant adversity and won the NFC East title. Once the playoffs start, records go out the window.

If protecting the football, any NFL team that features an elite runner like Ezekiel Elliott and a suffocating defense is a very dangerous postseason foe.

That being said, let’s take a look at some of the more glaring aspects of the Cowboys ugly, yet surprisingly successful 2018 regular season.

LOWEST RATED PLAYOFF QUARTERBACK

After 15 games, Dak Prescott is tied with Cleveland rookie and first-year starter Baker Mayfield for 21st in total quarterback rating or QBR (53.5). This means twenty starting passers have outperformed him and only ten have fared worse.

Even more striking is Dak’s QBR is the worst of any starting quarterback for playoff contenders. Some choose to blame the offensive line for allowing 52 sacks. However, Houston’s Deshaun Watson was dumped 56 times and still ranks eight spots higher.

SCORING OFFENSE VERY CONCERNING

After scoring only 303 points through 15 games, Dallas has the worst scoring offense of any NFC playoff contender. The second worst, Philadelphia, has 40 more points.

Only one playoff contender in the AFC has a less productive offense. The Titans have scored 293 points. Just 10 points behind and still needing a win as Dallas rests, Tennessee has a decent shot to jump them.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

As inept as the scoring offense has been, the scoring defense is the polar opposite and a very stingy group. By allowing only 289 points, the Cowboys defense ranks second behind Chicago (273 points) among NFC playoff contenders.

When throwing in all 15 NFL playoff contenders at the moment, Dallas ranks a very respectable 4th in points allowed. Baltimore and Tennessee top them in the AFC.

If able to hold the Giants to 16 or less in the finale, the Cowboys will have their best scoring defense since the 2009 unit allowed 250 points.

DEADLY LEG FROM DISTANCE

Dallas made a bold move replacing star kicker Dan Bailey with the Canadian Football League’s Brett Maher. His 83 percent field goal success rate ranks a pedestrian 23rd in the NFL, though still well above Bailey’s awful 74 percent.

The rookie has been surprisingly more successful from long range. He’s tied for the NFL lead in most made field goals (6/7) and success rate (86 percent) from 50+ yards.

Next. The all-time best defenders to wear the Star. dark

FRONT OFFICE GENIUS

By masterfully mixing the draft, free agency, and in-season acquisitions, the Cowboys front office was lights out in assembling new talent to resurrect this team into a division champion and playoff contender.

Amari Cooper, Connor Williams, Michael Gallup, and Xavier Su’a-Filo have all added critical starting contributions to the offense. On defense, Antwaun Woods and Leighton Vander Esch have been no less than dominant in the interior.

Home/Cowboys News