The Cowboys are now two years removed from their last playoff appearance. What prevented them from making a run in 2020?
2020 record: 6-10
- Division record: 2-4
- Record against teams with winning records: 0-5
The first year of the Mike McCarthy era in Dallas got off to a shaky start due to a myriad of factors. The biggest issue was replacing Dak Prescott, who had his season ended after an ankle injury in Week 5.
Andy Dalton also would deal with injury issues which led to the Cowboys trotting out journeymen such as Ben DiNucci and Garrett Gilbert. Dak being out of commission also led to struggles for other offensive players.
Ezekiel Elliott had a tale of two seasons. With Dak Prescott on the field, Elliott had 113 touches, 537 yards (4.7 yards per touch), and 6 touchdowns. Without Prescott, Elliott had 183 touches, 780 yards (4.2 yards per touch), and 2 touchdowns.
Zeke was less efficient and struggled to find the end zone after Dak went down. This could be attributed to teams committing more of their gameplan to shutting down the star running back.
Regardless, the offense took a major step back after Prescott’s injury and the defense…well we’ll get to that.
Team Ranks:
| Total Offense | 14th (5949 yards) |
| Passing Offense | 8th (4161 yards) |
| Rushing Offense | 17th (1788 yards) |
| Total Defense | 23rd (6183 yards allowed) |
| Passing Defense | 11th (3642 yards allowed) |
| Rushing Defense | 31st (2541 yards allowed) |
| PPG | 17th (24.7) |
| PPG Allowed | 28th (29.6) |
| Offensive Line Ranks | |
| PFF | 27th |
| Football Outsiders (Run Block) | 12th (4.48) |
| Football Outsiders (Pass Block) | 14th (6.1%) |
| 2020 Offense Play Selection |
| Pass – 61.4% |
| Rush – 38.6% |
| PFF Top 5 Graded Players in 2020 |
| 1. Zack Martin RT (91.3) |
| 2. Demarcus Lawrence DE (88.6) |
| 3. Dak Prescott QB (85.2) |
| 4. Brent Urban DT (76.5) |
| 5. Amari Cooper WR (75.9) |
Leading Passer: Andy Dalton
- 64.9 completion percentage
- 2,170 passing yards
- 14 passing touchdowns
Leading Rusher: Ezekiel Elliott
- 979 rushing yards
- 6 rushing touchdowns
- 4 yards per carry
Leading Receiver: Amari Cooper
- 92 receptions
- 1,114 receiving yards
- 5 touchdowns
Defensive MVP: Demarcus Lawrence
- 6.5 sacks
- 4 forced fumbles
- 26 pressures
How long did they hang in the playoff race until?
Week 17. The inconsistency of the entire division led to a wild final week of the year in the NFC East. The Cowboys and Giants faced off needing a win and a Washington loss to get into the playoffs.
While it was a close game until the end, the Giants led this game from the first drive on. The Cowboys were able to cut the deficit to 1 point in the 4th quarter and had a chance to win it on their final drive. Andy Dalton helped push the ball inside the NYG 20, but would throw an interception to effectively eliminate the Cowboys.
Washington would go on to win, so the Cowboys would have been eliminated anyway. Nevertheless, Dallas was unable to get the job done in a win or go home situation against a fierce rival.
Story of the season: Defensive woes
2020 was the year in which the Cowboys allowed their most points in franchise history with 473. This comes with a slight caveat, as the Cowboys offense put the defense in a lot of bad situations with their turnover issues.
Regardless, the Cowboys defense played poorly and Mike Nolan would lose his job as a result of it. They allowed the 2nd most rushing yards in the league last year, which led to the Cowboys reevaluating their linebacking corps in the offseason.
They were able to get a solid season out of Aldon Smith, but the rest of the defensive line (minus Demarcus Lawrence) struggled to generate pressure on a consistent basis.
A bright spot was found via rookie cornerback Trevon Diggs. Diggs led the team with 3 interceptions and allowed a 54.8 completion percentage when targeted.
In a division where no team finished with a winning record, the Cowboys featured the weakest defense out of the bunch. With Dak Prescott returning in 2021, they will need to fix that unit in order to be a legitimate contender.
