5 nightmare scenarios for the Dallas Cowboys in 2022
By Randy Gurzi
Last year, the Dallas Cowboys won 12 games but they still fell short of their goals. Despite the success in the regular season, they were one-and-done in the playoffs after suffering a frustrating loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Now, as they enter their third season with Mike McCarthy as their head coach, the Cowboys are again hopeful they can put the “choking” label behind them and make a run.
They have the roster to do just that, but they also had a stellar roster last year. We can always hope for the best, but things may go wrong. Here are five examples of that.
5 nightmare scenarios for the Dallas Cowboys in the 2022 season
5. Secondary players end up being one-hit-wonders
In 2021, the Cowboys uncharacteristically paid attention to the safety position. Following years of watching Jason Garrett and Rod Marinelli unsuccessfully try to slap some Flex Seal on their leaky safety corps, Dan Quinn came in and they suddenly signed three new players.
Two of those were former NFL starters in Damontae Kazee and Malik Hooker. They also added Jayron Kearse who spent time with the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions before joining Dallas.
Out of the three, Kearse was the least heralded signing but he was by far the best player for the Boys. He recorded career-highs with 101 tackles, two interceptions, and 10 passes defended. The solid play led to a two-year extension with the team.
Hooker played better as the season went on — which should be expected for a player recovering from a torn Achilles — and also got a new two-year deal. As for Kazee, he was fine but was not retained and joined Pittsburgh in the offseason.
Outside of the safeties, Dallas saw Trevon Diggs have a stellar campaign with 11 picks which was a huge part of their success a year ago.
This first nightmare scenario is that Kearse and Diggs prove to be one-hit wonders. The league has seen plenty of those throughout the years. While 2021 was encouraging, any success this team has in 2022 will be dependent on players such as these proving to be the real deal. Repeating a breakout year is never easy, but the front office is counting on these players to make it happen again.