3 Cowboys playoff X-Factors entering Wild Card Weekend
By Adam Weinrib
Yes, there was a time when it appeared the Dallas Cowboys could ignore Wild Card Weekend, as they’d be running away with the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
Unfortunately, there’s no bye for the second-ranked team in the conference this year (thanks, Week 18!), so once Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers locked up Lambeau for the duration of their playoff run, Dallas was playing for nothing but seeding — and breathed fire at Philadelphia in their last chance to make an argument for their supremacy.
The Cowboys will have to get ready to roll right into the postseason without a chance to reassess where they stand — and, based on what we saw in Week 18 and recent weeks, these players, schemes and changes have a chance to lead Dallas to the promised land.
A chance. We’re not promising anything. We would never be so foolish. But that’s what an X-Factor is.
Things break right, and these three players could be the difference between an early exit and a lasting memory.
Things break wrong, momentum gets slowed, and surprise stars disappear? It might already be time to start thinking about next year.
Cowboys fans doubtlessly feel better about their team waking up on this Victory Monday than they did after last week’s ref-cursed loss to the Cardinals. But as the worries begin to seep back in once Tuesday rolls around, fans will be rolling these names around in their heads, trying to figure out whether the positive momentum will continue.
3 Dallas Cowboys Playoff X-Factors
3. Blake Jarwin’s Return
Surprise, surprise, but the Dallas Cowboys’ run game got re-engaged when tight end Blake Jarwin returned from Injured Reserve for Week 18’s game against the Eagles.
No, Dan Orlovsky, it wasn’t because of his exceptional blocking. But the numbers continue not to lie. Adding the reliable Jarwin to Dalton Schultz’s side increases the unpredictability of this offense, opening up running lanes for Ezekiel Elliott (and Dak Prescott, if he feels comfortable enough to take them).
With both players active and healthy (a rarity in 2021, but still), both Jarwin and Schultz can be used to disguise obvious rushing opportunities in order to keep the defense guessing. Instead of smash-mouth football (again, bad blockers), the pair of tight ends can help give Elliott and Pollard a head of steam by turning the defense indecisive.
In Week 18 against an Eagles team that was both fired up and has been doing a good job choking out the run recently, Dallas put up 171 yards on 32 carries without the blistering Pollard (and that includes Cooper Rush’s end-of-game -4 yards on “three carries”). Corey Clement, in Pollard’s stead, burst through the secondary with a ridiculous 8.3 yards per carry, highlighted by a game-high 38-yarder. The tape doesn’t lie; Jarwin makes a schematic difference.
Though Jarwin will likely never again have the prominent role in the passing game he did before the team uncovered Dalton Schultz, he can potentially make or break Dallas’ rushing potential. Or, you know, Dallas’ opponent can key in on him on Wild Card Weekend, learning enough from the Week 18 tape not to fall for the decoy.