The Dallas Cowboys ended their season on an extremely sour note with a 48-32 loss to the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. Just one week after clinching the NFC East thanks to two crucial season-ending wins, the Cowboys once again looked flat in their opening playoff game.
The team looked completely outcoached, leading many to believe both Mike McCarthy and Dan Quinn coached their final game in Dallas. In a surprising turn of events, McCarthy is back and all signs point to Quinn returning if he doesn't land a coaching gig.
A lot will need to be looked at by Jerry Jones who for sure did not expect to see his team's season end this early in the playoffs. However, the Cowboys were only the number two seed in the playoffs for a reason. While Dallas has loads of talent at many positions as they do most years, weaknesses came into full light in games that mattered the most. When a team wins and keeps winning, many things can be glossed over, but the problems are still there.
The Cowboys benefited a lot this season from playing bad teams for the majority of the year. The only teams the Cowboys played that made the playoffs were the Eagles, 49ers, Lions, Bills, Dolphins and the Rams. Against all those opponents, including the Eagles twice, they went 3-4. Both the 49ers and Bills games were complete blow losses. In most of these games, Dallas' weaknesses got exposed.
1. The run defense did not improve much from last year
The Cowboys run defense was one of their major weaknesses last year. This year they tried to improve it by bringing back Johnathan Hankins and drafting Mazi Smith. However, the moves did not seem to provide as much help as expected. Hankins missed a lot of the back half of the season due to injury and Smith never looked comfortable as a rookie at nose tackle.
It may be a stretch, but Smith already looks like a bust. He might have played in all 17 regular season games and the playoff game, but there was a reason Hankins remained the starter when he came back. Smith only had one sack the whole season and 13 total tackles. With Hankins aging, Dallas was hoping Smith would show he is capable of taking over in his rookie year but that has not happened.
The worst performances came from this run defense against some of the best teams on the Cowboys' schedule. Against the 49ers Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason combined for 120 yards, but the worst was yet to come. Against the Bills in Buffalo, they gave up 179 yards on the ground to James Cook as they steamrolled past them 31-10. Losses by big margins like that at the end of the season should be considered alarming.
In the playoff game, Aaron Jones once again got the best of his hometown team. He rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns as the defense seemed to have no resistance. The fact the Cowboys gave up that kind of performance to a first round opponent screams issues still exist with their run defense. That area needs to be looked at extensively in the offseason.
2. The Cowboys never figured out their true linebacking corp.
At the start of the season, the linebackers were highlighted by Micah Parsons. While Parsons is classified as a linebacker, he might as well almost be a defensive lineman due to the amount of times he rushes. Dan Quinn took him out of the box quite a bit, leaving more rushing lanes going back to the run defense issues.
Outside of Parsons, this team had Leighton Vander Esch and Damone Clark. Vander Esch signed a new contract this offseason, but the team could not reap the reward of keeping him around. Vander Esch suffered another serious neck injury in the 49ers game that kept him out for the rest of the season. What is worse is that some believe his career may be in jeopardy which would force Dallas to think about moving on without him.
To fill the massive hole, the defense converted Markquese Bell, a safety to inside backer. While turning him into a hybrid helped patch the hole, teams seemed to be able to throw at will at times over the middle. This proved to be the case against the Packers. Tight end Luke Musgrave averaged 17.3 yards per catch on Sunday. Jordan Love was able to complete short throws that turned into big gains that have burned the Cowboys at times this season.
Damone Clark was nothing special this season. In his first full season, Clark only had three double-digit tackling games. All were losses. He also only had four tackles for loss with three quarterback hits this season. While Quinn's scheme does not always ask much from the linebackers, they have to make plays when the pass rush is not there. In games where Dallas could not generate a pass rush, the linebackers looked on their heels.
Clark will only get better after fully recovering from the injury he had his rookie year, but outside of Parsons, the linebacking corp. needs a makeover. DeMarvion Overshown returning next year from injury will be a boost, but if Vander Esch cannot make a comeback, linebacker might be the way Dallas needs to go in the first round of the draft.
3. The offense still does not have a true number two receiver
CeeDee Lamb proved this year he is worth keeping around. He broke Cowboys' legend Michael Irvin's single-season receiving record with 1,749 yards. He also was named to his third straight Prow Bowl. Lamb established himself as the team's best offensive weapon. Unfortunately like last year, he was their only primary weapon.
Dallas sought to change that this past offseason when they traded for Brandin Cooks. While Cooks helped take some attention away from Lamb, he only had 657 yards and eight touhdowns this year. That put him third on the team in receiving behind tight end Jake Ferguson. Statistically this is almost idential to what the Cowboys faced last year. Dalton Schultz was the second-leading receiver in 2022 and this year the tight end was once again the second best option.
While Michael Gallup had a breakout 100-yard game in the playoffs, he has been dormant for much of the year, leading many to once again question why he was given a new contract after 2021. While Cooks is still under contract for one more season, he is getting up there in age.
Jalen Tolbert showed flashes but still might be a year away from making a true impact. The bottom line is, Dak Prescott needs an all-star cast of receivers to get the job done. That proves itself in games that matter. Teams will constantly double Lamb, leaving Dak no where else to go with the ball. While linebacker needs to be addressed in the draft for sure, receiver needs to be reevaluated outside of CeeDee as well.