If you had told the Cowboys before the season that they’d have a 4-2 record at the bye week, most probably would have taken that as a win.
They had three road games against 2022 playoff teams, a week 2 match-up against one of the NFL’s best defenses, and you can never assume a victory against Bill Belichick.
But with the team’s two losses coming against a bad Arizona Cardinals team, and a 32-point blowout at the hands of their archrival, there is little enthusiasm among Cowboys fans about the team’s 2nd place standing in the NFC East.
“I look at where we are, 4-2, I will take it, for sure,” Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday. “We have better football ahead of us, I don’t doubt that at all. No one should doubt that. And we’re getting better.”
Jones is an eternal optimist, so his comments are unsurprising, but there are areas of the team where it’s reasonable to expect the Cowboys to perform better than they did through the first six weeks of the season.
1. Red Zone Efficiency
The Cowboys are not as bad in the Red Zone as the numbers might lead you to believe.
Dallas was #1 in red zone efficiency in 2022, but they’ve plummeted to 26th with just 39.1% of their red zone trips ending in a touchdown.
The Cowboys have been the victim of some bad luck at times in the red zone. Drops, penalties, and missed assignments have plagued the Cowboys at times inside the 20. Those sort of things will naturally regress to the mean, and should equal better efficiency for Dallas in the second half.
The Cowboys also have a very young group of tight ends, who are still learning the nuances of the position, especially when the field gets tighter. Dalton Schultz left via free agency this offseason, and he had been one of the best red zone threats in the NFL over the past few seasons. More experience will bring more efficiency from the position group.
2. Big Plays on Offense
The Cowboys have struggled to get much in the way of big plays on offense, particularly with the passing game in this new Texas Coast Offense.
There were signs of life in Dallas’ most recent game against the Chargers. Dak Prescott appears to be getting more comfortable in the scheme, and the route concepts were more aggressive than they had been through the first five games of the season.
With two weeks off to self-scout and make tweaks to the passing concepts, the Cowboys should see an increase in big play percentage over the final 11 games.
3. Offensive Line
Dallas’ dream lineup of Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Zack Martin, and Terence Steele hasn’t quite been what they had hoped for in its first two games together as a complete unit.
But this is an example of the importance of continuity and cohesion along the offensive line. Even though these five have been thought of as the starters at their respective positions over the last two seasons, they’ve only played a little over 100 snaps together.
Now that everyone is healthy, the unit should only improve each week. That goes for their ability not only in pass protection, but in the run game as well.
