The 3 easiest ways the Dallas Cowboys can improve in 2022

If Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys organization really want to get back to the Super Bowl and raise the Lombardi Trophy once again, they are going to have the make some much-needed improvements on both sides of the football. Adding and changing personnel is only one element. We already know that they need to add talent to the roster after the exodus of talent this offseason.

Aside from that, the Cowboys really need to look back at what made this team dangerous on the offensive and defensive side of the ball last year. In this article, we will list three ways the Cowboys can improve their play next season.

Let’s kick this off with how the Cowboys’ offense could get back on track and become an even more dangerous unit. We will look at some tactics from previous years to see how they can improve.

3 things the Cowboys can do to improve their play in 2022

1. Put the Ball in Dak Prescott’s Hands in the Red Zone

When Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott burst onto the NFL scene, they were a dynamic duo that was able to work off of each other in the running game. The threat of having Prescott use his legs gave both players a little bit more time to exploit defenses. Prescott had easier lanes to run thanks to the success that Elliott was having on the ground. That also gave the Cowboys QB a little more time in the passing game with teams cheating up closer to the line of scrimmage.

Somehow during the 2020 season, the team started to go away from Prescott using his legs to threaten the defense. Instead, he resorted to using his legs when all of his options were taken away from him or he was flushed out of the pocket. Prescott then suffered a devastating ankle injury in that season. But when he came back in 2021, at first, it didn’t seem like he fully trusted that leg enough to start using them more often again.

The offense really missed that facet of the game, especially in the red zone where Prescott was particularly effective in getting the ball across the goal line. In his first three seasons, Prescott was able to find the endzone six times each season before dropping to three in 2019. He had only one in 2021. That trend can’t continue if Dallas wants to put more points on the board from the red zone. Red zone efficiency has been one of the biggest issues the Cowboys have had in the past few years.

Dak from 2016 to 2019:  241 rushes for 1,221 yards and 21 touchdowns

Dak from 2020 to 2021: 66 rushes for 239 yards and 4 touchdowns (Injured in 2020)

The numbers don’t lie. Dak was a real threat in the red zone and head coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore need to figure out a way to spread the field and give Dak more room to operate. They can also give him more read-option plays to keep defenses from keying in on Elliott and his receivers as well.