
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ron Jenkins/AP/Shutterstock (13488843th) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) celebrates the team’s win with running backs Ezekiel Elliott (21) and Tony Pollard (20) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, in Arlington, Texas Lions Cowboys Football, Arlington, United States – 23 Oct 2022
Eight games in, here’s what we know about the Cowboys
Now eight games and the bye week in their review mirror, the Cowboys begin what is essentially the second half of their season this Sunday in Green Bay.
At 6-2 and one of the top teams in the NFC, there are more answers than questions about this version of the Cowboys.
The Cowboys – Here Is What We Know
ONE
The defense is elite and better than we thought before the season began.
Not sure how that is possible, but it is.
The Cowboys are ranked in the top four in four different stats this season – passing yards allowed (fourth), points allowed (third), Sacks (first), and Turnovers (third).
Yes, the run defense has struggled, but the addition of Jonathan Hankins and subtraction of Trysten Hill to the defensive line over the last two weeks should help what seems to be the unit’s only weakness.
TWO
The running game is the engine that forces the offense down the tracks.
The duo of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard are the keys to that engine, accounting for close to 40 percent of the offensive production this season.
With both averaging over 4 yards per carry this season, the Cowboys’ duo has averaged over 6.3 yards per carry over the last four games – including a 9.36-yard average for Pollard in Dallas’ win over Chicago.
THREE
This team desperately misses Amari Cooper.
Traded away for a couple of kicking tees and a coaches whistle – really a fifth-round pick from Cleveland, Cooper has produced for his new team to the tune of 39 catches for 553 yards and five touchdowns.
Cooper would take the pressure off CeeDee Lamb, who hasn’t looked the part of a No. 1 receiver to this point in the season.
But hey, 2022 fifth-round pick Matt Waletzko, an injured offensive tackle, for Cooper seems like another great move in a long line of ‘great’ moves by a certain 80-year-old general manager who likes to proclaim he is doing everything he can to bring another Super Bowl to Dallas.
FOUR
Just eight games into their careers, and it is safe to say the Cowboys’ 2022 draft class has been more boom than bust.
Starting with first-round pick tackle Tyler Smith, the team has gotten significant contributions from defensive end Sam Williams (second round), tight end Jake Ferguson (fourth round), cornerback DaRon Bland (fifth round), and linebacker Devin Harper (sixth round).
If not for an underwhelming start for wide receiver Jalen Tolbert (third round) and defensive tackle John Ridgeway (fifth round), the Cowboys would be looking at one of their best drafts in recent history.
FIVE
With the probability that the Cowboys will be the favorite in each of the next six games, the Cowboys have an excellent chance to solidify their playoff chances.
With four games against teams under .500 – Green Bay, Indianapolis, Houston, and Jacksonville, and another against NFC East rival New York, whom they have already beaten this season, the Cowboys should be in the mix for the conference’s top spot and the first-round bye that comes with it.
SIX
Add together what could be over the next six weeks to what the Cowboys have already accomplished during the first eight weeks.
Then mix in that there are just two teams in the NFC that currently have a better record than Dallas, both of whom are on the schedule over the final nine weeks, and the ingredients are there for it to be a magical finish to the season.