It's really not the healthiest thing in the world to play the "what if" game with—well, anything—but with the Dallas Cowboys now officially set to miss the NFL Playoffs for the second straight season, we're going to go ahead and play anyway.
Obviously, we could get into the whole "what might have been" thing had Jerry Jones been able to come to terms on a new contract with Micah Parsons instead of trading him to the Green Bay Packers. But we'll refrain from pulling at that thread, although it's no secret that the defense is the biggest reason America's Team is just 6-7-1 at this point, with Matt Eberflus' unit surrendering the fourth-most total yards per game (374.9), the most passing yards per game (254.8), and the second-most points per game (30.0).
The Cowboys' offense ranks first in the league in total yards per game (396.9), first in passing yards per game (276.1), and fifth in scoring (29.1). So, you see the difference.
That said, though, when looking back at four games from earlier in the season that Dallas should have won and didn't, the defense doesn't actually deserve all the blame. A good portion of it, yes, but not all of it.
Week 1 at Eagles
We'll kick things off by going all the way back to Week 1, when the Cowboys took a 24-20 loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
While the Dallas defense gave up those 24 points in the first 37 minutes or so, it buckled down and pitched a shutout over the final 23, thus giving the offense a shot to take the victory.
And the Cowboys certainly had their chances, but a lost fumble from Miles Sanders with just under five minutes to go in the third quarter and a couple of crucial drops from CeeDee Lamb in the fourth, the first on a third-down attempt and the second on a deep ball on the final drive, killed any chance of a victory.
Week 4 vs. Packers
Next, there was the wild 40-40 tie with Parsons and the Packers in Week 4.
The offense obviously did its job here, posting 436 total yards, but the defense obviously didn't, allowing Green Bay to tally 489. Had the Cowboys been able to get just one late stop, whether it was after they took a 37-34 lead late in the fourth quarter or a 40-37 lead in overtime, the tie becomes a win.
Week 6 at Panthers
The Carolina Panthers deserve all the credit in the world for having the season they've had, and they may very well end up winning the NFC South. But this was another game where Dallas had to make a stop in the late stages and simply couldn't get it done in a 30-27 loss.
The Cowboys had issues running the football that day, tallying just 31 yards on the ground, but when Dak Prescott completes 73.5 percent of his passes for 261 yards with three touchdowns and doesn't throw an interception, just get the guy a win.
And maybe don't let Rico Dowdle post 239 total yards from scrimmage.
Week 9 vs. Cardinals
We'll put this one on both sides of the ball, as there is simply no excuse to take a 27-17 loss to an Arizona Cardinals team that picked up their third win of the year that night on Monday Night Football in Week 9 and still has only those same three wins heading into Week 16. What else needs to be said on that one?
Turn these four games into wins, and the Cowboys would currently be sitting atop the NFC East at 10-4. And we didn't even mention last week's loss to the Vikings, where Dallas let J.J. McCarthy look like Roger Staubach. But that's just too fresh, and the likelihood of a playoff berth was all but gone anyway.