4 things the Cowboys must do to be Super Bowl contenders

The Cowboys defense must improve

The 2020 season saw the worst defensive performance in franchise history. There is not much room to play worse, so the only way is up.

The record 473 points given up is something that I never thought would happen. The defense was supposed to be better than the season prior.

The 2019  defense needed to be more aggressive, and Dallas hired a new defensive coordinator to implement it. That did not work out as planned. Thankfully, owner Jerry Jones replaced the defensive coordinator and the defensive line coach after only one season.

Dallas gave up 35+ points from Week 2 to Week 6. That put a ton of pressure on the offense, more specifically, the passing attack. Of those games, Dallas won two games while losing one game by one score. The other two games were losses by 11+ points.

The high octane offense was able to keep up despite the defensive difficulties. Imagine what would have happened if the defense was just average.

Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. joined the Dallas Cowboys as their new defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. Both struggled during their tenure with the Atlanta Falcons. Then again, they thrived with their previous teams.

Quinn won a Super Bowl and was a pioneer behind the Legion of Boom with the Seattle Seahawks. Whitt was a defensive backs coach for the Green Bay Packers. He won one Super Bowl, and his group led the league for interceptions from 2008-2018.

The coaching changes will improve the team; however, that alone is not enough to turn the defense around. The roster has holes that the team and Jerry Jones need to address.

Yes, having an accomplished coaching staff will help the team. That doesn’t matter if the players can’t play well enough. That’s like trying to drive a car without an engine.

Dallas has the opportunity to upgrade their team through free agency or the NFL Draft. With how the cap situation is looking, it will likely be the latter.