In all honesty, the Cowboys defense just needs to be serviceable

The Dallas Cowboys are coming off a season to forget, especially on the defensive side of the ball. While the offense wasn’t anything special or to write home about either, they have a more than valid excuse.

With Dak Prescott missing most of the season after a severe and season-ending ankle injury, the final 11 games of the season, the offense wasn’t supposed to be the same. The Dallas Cowboys defense on the other hand, or at least the 11 guys they put out there sometimes that called themselves what was supposed to be a defense, was putrid.

Ranking near the bottom of the league in total points allowed (28th) and yards allowed (23rd) per game in 2020, the Dallas Cowboys found themselves on the wrong side of the final score more often than not. To a tune of six victories and 10 defeats, they couldn’t manage to get a stop to save their lives, nevertheless to save one of the 10 dropped games.

In any situation though, it’s never as bad as it seems, well, in most cases. This case is “in most cases”.

The Dallas Cowboys’ defense was beyond awful last season, but even there, they weren’t that far off in quite a few games.

First off, the Dallas Cowboys are getting their guy back. The main signal-caller and QB1, Dak Prescott, will be back under center to start the season and hopefully, upright and healthy for the duration.

There is that, but there is also something else. For as bad as the Cowboys defense was last season and they were bad, they weren’t that far off in many games.

In at least five, perhaps even six, of their losses, they either were defeated by what amounted to one score or by one play or series that snowballed or catapulted into defeat. Basically, there were about six losing occasions that could have been prevented by just one or two stops, minimally.

Really, so think about that? If there are just two more defensive plays made in six of those games, the Cowboys win three of them and again, minimally. That’s 9-7.

While that still may not be good enough to get into the postseason dance, can you see the phenomenon taking place? In a sport where it’s a game of inches, the most minuscule things matter.

Being just a bit better once or twice per game counts there. That’s why this is so.

While an elite defense would be great, wonderful, splendid, the desired outcome, that really isn’t “likely” considering where they have to come from in last season, however, if they can be just “serviceable”, that should be enough to get some things done.

You say that because even at “downright embarrassing”, which they were a lot last year, they weren’t that awfully far out of quite a few games. The real thing isn’t that far off now though and surely, this theory will be put to the test.