The following is an opinion column by Nathan Lee
By Nathan Lee
The Dallas Cowboys are in one of the most interesting positions in the NFL.
At 3-8, the Cowboys have the worst record in the NFC, yet they are just one game back of the NFC East lead. They are the first team in NFL history to be in this unique position through 12 weeks of a 16-game regular season.
ESPN’s Football Power Index believes that Dallas has the tenth-easiest remaining schedule in the league and the easiest remaining schedule of any NFC East team. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, FPI also believes that Dallas is the third-worst team in the league and only gives them a 4.6% chance to make the playoffs.
The Cowboys fanbase has long wanted to support a championship team, but this year they have gotten the exact opposite in every way.
It is true that the Cowboys have had a multitude of injury problems, especially on the offensive line. Injuries to La’el Collins, Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, and others have forced Dallas to use 14 different offensive line combinations this season.
As detrimental as these injuries have been, arguably none have hurt the Cowboys more than quarterback Dak Prescott’s season-ending compound right ankle fracture in Week 5. Through five games, he threw 371.2 yards per game and was on pace to break the all-time single-season passing yards record.
Since Prescott’s injury, none of the three ensuing Cowboys starting quarterbacks have thrown for over 300 yards, and Andy Dalton is the only one of the three to throw for more than 200 yards.
Star running back Ezekiel Elliott has also been an eye-sore for Dallas. After rushing for at least 1,300 yards in each of his three full seasons in the league, he is barely on pace to break 1,000 yards and is running at a career-low 3.9 yards per carry.
Pro Football Focus grades Elliott as the 45th-best running back in the league, a shocking rank for such a household name. The shifting offensive line is partially to blame, but Elliott clearly does not have the same explosiveness he once had, which could be in part due to a nagging hamstring injury.
Of course, having the worst scoring defense in the league does not help your team. This season, Dallas has allowed 32.8 points per game and is on pace to break the previous franchise record for worst scoring defense.
In the Cowboys’ last four games, they allowed an average of ten points in the first half, and they had a first-half lead in three of those games. In the second half, they allowed an average of 19.8 points. The Cowboys blew leads against the Eagles and Steelers, barely held off a furious Vikings comeback, and got demolished by the Washington Football Team in front of a national audience on Thanksgiving.
Not all the blame can be put on head coach Mike McCarthy, but a lot of it can. Decisions like last week’s fake punt inside the Dallas 30-yard line have prompted criticism about whether his decisions are causing the team to lose. McCarthy defended the decision, but many, including myself, recognize how Washington had all the momentum after the failed fake punt.
After a Week 6 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, NFL Network’s Jen Slater reported that many players were not happy about McCarthy’s coaching. These could be the same players, however, that McCarthy called out when no one stood up to Washington linebacker Jon Bostic after a dirty hit on Dalton, but it still shows a locker room disconnect within the team.
McCarthy even resorted to smashing watermelons with a sledgehammer before their win against Minnesota. Of course, it seemed to work, but the effects might have been negated by the death of strength and conditioning coach Markus Paul the day before the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving game against Washington.
It is one thing when a first-year head coach takes over a team and does not initially have a great record. It is another when that is combined with poor coaching decisions and reported discontent from the players.
The Giants and Washington also have first-year head coaches in Joe Judge and Ron Rivera, but both seem to be building a culture that can thrive for years to come. Both teams have solid defenses that can compete with anyone in the league. The Cowboys cannot claim that either of these apply to them.
I know that the NFC East is so bad the Cowboys could limp their way into the playoffs with possibly the worst record for a playoff team in NFL history. However, they have a better chance to earn a top five draft pick and get something useful out of this horrific season.
At this point, how beneficial would a playoff berth really be for the Cowboys? Would finishing as the NFC East champion make all of Dallas’ problems go away? If they make the playoffs, their first draft pick will not be higher than number 19.
Regardless of what happens, I do not think McCarthy should be fired so quickly considering how wild 2020 has been for the entire world, much less the Dallas Cowboys. But will he have an excuse in 2021 when the world, hopefully, is vaccinated against the coronavirus and his best players are not injured?
Of course, an organization’s problems always start at the top, and the Cowboys are no exception with owner and general manager Jerry Jones. The Cowboys do what he wants to do, and his ego means he will never give up control of the team, at least not fully.
Even if it is McCarthy’s fault, should more of the blame fall on Jones for hiring McCarthy in the first place? McCarthy won a Super Bowl with the Packers almost ten years ago (ironically in AT&T Stadium), but the Packers realized he was never going to get the team close to another Super Bowl. Fans and analysts alike criticized Jason Garrett during his years as the Cowboys head coach, but has McCarthy and his staff proven that they are any better?
The Cowboys are America’s Team, and they are the world’s most valuable team, according to Forbes, but something has to give if they want to be a championship team.
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