Dallas Cowboys must play their offensive starters to find their rhythm

This Sunday will be the last weekend of the NFL season. The Dallas Cowboys will play a game without playoff implications against the New York Giants and they must play their offense to build momentum for the wildcard playoff game.

Two seasons ago, the Dallas Cowboys rested several key players during week 17 with former quarterback Tony Romo throwing his final touchdown pass in the 27-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Journeyman Mark Sanchez finished the game at quarterback.

Two weeks later, the Green Bay Packers came to AT&T Stadium and left with an improbable 34-31 victory when quarterback Aaron Rodgers connected with tight end Jared Cook for a 35 yard pass on third down and 20 to go with three seconds left on the clock. On the next play, Mason Crosby kicked the winning 51 yard field goal.

Rest versus rust has been an interesting debate for fans and talking heads. Win your next game and the decision to rest or not was correct. Lose the next game and you leave yourself open for Monday morning quarterbacks to criticize.

Some might say that head coach Jason Garrett’s decision to give two weeks rest to some of his core players was the wrong decision but the stats show that quarterback Dak Prescott had a higher QB rating than Aaron Rodgers. Prescott only completed four of his eight passes against the Eagles for 37 yards but managed over 300 yards with three touchdowns against the Packers. Rust was not the problem.

However, this season is very different from the Cowboys last visit to the playoffs. The 2016 team had a high-powered offense that was the team’s strength. The 2018 version has an offense that is still trying to define itself, especially after their last two outings against the Colts and Buccaneers.

The case could be made to rest running back Ezekiel Elliott given his workload but the rest of the offense needs to play and that includes limping offensive linemen Tyron Smith and Zack Martin. The linemen need the reps against the Giants to find ways to coordinate their protection. The wide receivers and quarterback need the reps to build their confidence.

While the decision to rest players in 2016 did not factor into their playoff loss, it is important for the 2018 Cowboys to find their offensive mojo. Dallas needs to get back on track and find the offense that was successful during the season saving five game win streak.