Dallas Cowboys: Are you ready to ground and pound?

When the weather gets cold, it’s time to run the ball and stop the run to be successful. Can the Dallas Cowboys remember their identity?

The playoffs are here and most Dallas Cowboys fans are thankful that they will watch their favorite team host the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night in prime time. It wasn’t too long ago that the ‘Boys’ season appeared wasted with five losses at the halfway mark.

Yet, the Cowboys are making their third playoff appearance in the past five years. The previous two times ended with a loss to the Green Bay Packers. Thankfully, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his teammates are sitting this one out.

It is the time of year that rewards teams that can run the ball and stop the run. This axiom holds true even this year despite all the offensive fireworks.

Ten playoff defenses finished in the top thirteen rushing defenses. Ten playoff offenses finished in the top half of the league’s rushing table.

This is why Seattle is a formidable foe and will be a great test. Seattle boasts the number one rushing attack in the NFL. Ground and pound is the formula for success in the NFL when the weather gets cold.

The secret recipe for the Cowboys this week is not any different from any other week. The ‘Boys need to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

Every defense wants to make a team one-dimensional. The recipe for success for the Cowboys will be to force the ball into quarterback Russell Wilson’s hands and keep him in the pocket to throw.

Wilson has scrambled less and less over the years but when he does he often picks up a demoralizing first down. The Cowboys will be far better taking their chances stopping wide receiver Doug Baldwin and his mates then letting running back Chris Carson make his best Ezekiel Elliott impersonation.

On offense, it has been cliché all year for the Cowboys to not get behind the chains. It started in Week 1 on the first two series when penalties forced the Cowboys into long to go situations that they could not recover.

Maybe the most promising sign from last week’s win over the New York Giants occurred in the second quarter. Wide receiver Michael Gallup committed an offensive pass interference penalty backing the Cowboys up to their 15-yard line with 20 yards to get a first down. After two completions for 13 and 18 yards, the offense had a first down propelling Dallas to their second touchdown.

Certainly, the Cowboys must know that their fortunes are best-managed by giving the ball to Ezekiel Elliott and grinding down the Seattle defense. This is why the Cowboys drafted him fourth overall three seasons ago.

The Dallas Cowboys have earned their trip to the playoffs by winning seven of their last eight games. Let’s hope they don’t forget their identity and be another one and done tease.