Key to success for Dallas Cowboys is to play as expected

The Dallas Cowboys will be at their best only if they play as well as expected.

One of the best methods of a team improving heading into a new season is to look back and fix anything that went wrong the season prior. The Dallas Cowboys must do this if they want to have an impressive 2020 season.

It is something that some will look at and say “ok, yeah obviously” yet it is much easier said than done. The Dallas Cowboys must play as well as expected if they are to have a good season.

Heading into the 2019 season, the Cowboys roster was looking very good. Not many people could look at it and expect them to finish with an 8-8 record. One main reason for that is because of losses in games that should have been won.

When you look at the scores from 2019, two games stand out immediately where Dallas lost. Week 6 against the New York Jets and Week 14 against the Chicago Bears.

The Cowboys lost 24-22 against a very weak Jets team. Offensively they were run by a young quarterback that needed to prove himself while throwing to WR two/three players. Defensively, they had only two names that stood out.

Despite such an underwhelming team on paper, they allowed quarterback Sam Darnold to throw for over a 70 percent completion percentage and forcing kicker Brett Maher to make two kicks of 50+ yards. Darnold also had over a 100.0 passer rating.

The Chicago Bears had an unbelievable defense last year, with three players making the Pro Bowl. Their offense; however, left a lot to be desired.

Ironically, the Cowboys were able to put up a solid 24 points but gave up 31. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky threw three touchdowns and ran for one in what was a very disappointing defensive showing. He also threw for over a 70 percent completion percentage and eclipsed a 100.0 passer rating.

But wait … there’s one more

One more showing, which is only a disappointing loss when you look at who was playing, happened in  Week 4. this was a matchup against the New Orleans Saints. Star quarterback, Drew Brees, was held out of action, forcing Teddy Bridgewater into play.

He only played two games since the 2015 season before the matchup against the Cowboys. Regardless, he managed to throw for a 76.7 percent completion percentage. Bridgewater didn’t score a touchdown, and the team was held to only 12 total points.

The problem with this game is that the Cowboys were unable to make their high-powered offense work in a game that their defense held up well. Running back Ezekiel Elliott was held to 35 yards and no receiver had more than 50 receiving yards.

It’s also important to note that the Cowboys lost two fumbles and quarterback Dak Prescott threw one interception. This time around, the offense flopped against a defense that wasn’t bad but should not have been able to hold the Cowboys to only 10 points.

ALSO READ: Dak Prescott is not as bad against good teams as you think

The Cowboys ultimately lost three games that they “should have” won, leaving them with an 8-8 record instead of an 11-5 record. The Cowboys need to play as well as they can every game, not play down to their opponent.

If they do that, they will make a deep run in the playoffs, and can even compete for the Super Bowl. I understand it is a lot to ask for a football team to play their best every game, but avoiding upsets like what happened in the 2019 season is key to their success in 2020.