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5 nightmare scenarios for the Dallas Cowboys in 2022

By Randy Gurzi

Dec 12, 2021; Landover, Maryland, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) celebrates after the game against the Washington Football Team at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 12, 2021; Landover, Maryland, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) celebrates after the game against the Washington Football Team at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 26, 2021; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence (90) in action during the game between the Washington Football Team and the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

3. The pass rush is non-existent

Back in 2014, the Cowboys were trying to move on from the top pass-rusher to ever suit up for them. DeMarcus Ware had 117 sacks in his career which has him ahead of all-time greats such as Harvey Martin, Randy White, and “Too Tall” Jones.

Even with Ware being a beast, Dallas made a move to save some cap space and let him go. He would go on to win a title with the Denver Broncos and the Cowboys wound up replacing him with DeMarcus Lawrence.

The No. 34 pick in the draft that season, Dallas traded their second and third-round selection to move up in order to land the kid from Boise State. Lawrence spent much of his rookie season injured and despite making a huge impact in the playoffs that year, he didn’t truly break out until 2017 when he had 58 tackles and 14.5 sacks. He played on the franchise tag the following year and had 10.5 sacks.

There was a contract dispute after this, but eventually, both sides figured things out and Lawrence remained with the team. Since then, he has been a leader on the defensive line but has just 14.5 sacks over the past three seasons.

Heading into 2022, Lawrence wants more — and a huge reason for that was the way Micah Parsons played as a rookie. D-Law said he wants to put the youngster back where he belongs, which is behind the man who earned the nickname ‘Tank’ for his tough-nosed style of play.

This kind of internal competition is great for any team. Whenever a youngster can get a veteran riled up, it’s good for everyone — except maybe the quarterbacks facing Lawrence and Parsons.

But in this piece, we’re looking at nightmare scenarios. For Dallas, that would be if the loss of Gregory proves to be too much to replace.

Lawrence has been a beast when it comes to setting the edge in run defense but he hasn’t racked up a ton of sacks recently. As for Parsons, he doesn’t play on the edge, so his 13 sacks as a rookie might not be the norm. Beyond them, there’s Dante Fowler, Dorance Armstrong, and rookie Sam Williams who all have more questions than answers.

There’s a chance this pass rush could be a problem, and if it is, it could hurt the entire defense.

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