The first in our playoff series, let’s look at the Dallas Cowboys and how they may win the Super Bowl.
The Cowboys finished the season 12-5, NFC East Champions and 3rd seed in the NFC. In what is their 1st trip to the playoffs Dallas will be wanting to win it all. Here’s 4 reasons why they can.
Offense
Despite it being an up and down season, Dak Prescott in a “slump” according to many. The Cowboys finished 12-5, racking up their most wins since 2016. Dallas dominated the NFC East finishing 6-0 against their rivals and finished with the most points and yards in the league.
Sharing the Love The Cowboys had 22 different players score a touchdown, an all time NFL record.
The offensive output shouldn’t be a huge surprise, before Prescott’s injury last year the Cowboys were in line for over 5900 yards in the air and averaging 32.6 points per game. It’s the other side of the ball that’s been a suprise.
Defence
12th overall pick Micah Parsons has been a revelation. Leading the team in sacks despite spending most of his time not rushing quarterbacks. Second year corner Trevon Diggs leads the league with 11 interceptions, the highest by a Cowboy since 1981. Free agent additions in Jayron Kearse, Damonte Kazee and Keanu Neal have all contributed. Maybe the most important addition to the Cowboys defence is former Falcons head coach Dan Quinn.
Quinn joined the Cowboys last summer as defensive coordinator. After a messy year with Mike Nolan in charge the Cowboys improved from 28th to 7th in points per game and went from having only 10 interceptions and 23 total turnovers to a whopping 26 interceptions, 34 total turnovers. Leading the league in both categories.
(Lack Of) Injuries
Cowboys have had plenty of little injuries on both sides of the ball. CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper, Tony Pollard and Dak Prescott have all missed time on the offensive side of the ball. Demarcus Lawrence, Randy Gregory and Micah Parsons have all missed some time on defence too.
However, fortunately for the Cowboys they go into the playoffs with an almost clear bill of health. Other than receiver Michael Gallop, who tore his ACL in week 16, all of the Cowboys starters are healthy entering the playoffs. Gallop is a loss but Prescott isn’t short of options, he’s completed passes to 13 different players this term. 8 of which have two or more touchdowns.
Feature Image from bleacherreport.com