3 concerns from Week 18 that could doom Cowboys in playoffs

The Dallas Cowboys technically had a lot to play for entering the Week 18 finale against Washington. Once the Eagles jumped out to an early lead against the Giants, though, attention quickly turned to Dallas playing complementary football to have something positive to build on going into the playoffs.

That … didn’t happen. Coming off a sluggish performance against the Titans on Thursday Night Football, the Cowboys did very little to silence their foremost critics who’ve been preaching they’ll be an early exit come playoff time.

Well, the playoffs are just days away, and Dallas turned in maybe their worst performance of the season. The Cowboys have been subject to gross halves and unwatchable quarters of football this year, but Sunday wasn’t what anyone expected, especially with the Commanders down a cavalcade of first-team players.

Let’s try to process the forgettable performance by highlighting the biggest concerns that could upend the Cowboys’ Super Bowl hopes.

3 Week 18 concerns that could doom Cowboys in playoffs

3. Running game went missing (again)

Don’t look now — seriously, don’t — but the Cowboys running game has been missing for three weeks now after Sunday’s disappearing act.

While that can be attributed to the strength of the opponent (Eagles, Titans and Commanders are elite against the run) you would still expect Dallas to show some semblance of competence. It is one of their perceived strengths, after all, right?

In Week 16 vs the Eagles, Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard combined to take 25 carries for 74 yards, equating to 2.96 yards per carry. Pollard missed Week 17 against the Titans, but Elliott struggled again to the tune of 37 yards on 19 carries. That’s 1.9 yards per carry, folks. Has to be the worst of Zeke’s career, no?

Either way, Sunday was another slow day at the office for Dallas’ rushing attack. Pollard returned from a thigh injury and eclipsed 1,000 yards for the first time in his career, but the two-headed monster logged just 29 yards on 1.9 yards per tote. The aerial attack wasn’t much better (more on that in a minute), but Mike McCarthy and Kellen Moore have a week to figure out what’s wrong with the run game.

The Cowboys are capable of flipping a switch at any time, but it’s definitely alarming the running game hasn’t established any momentum in the final month. Luckily, the Buccaneers allowed 4.5 yards per carry during the regular season.