Dallas Cowboys: What is the issue with the offense?

The Dallas Cowboys are struggling after suffering a home loss at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles. What is wrong with their offense and can it be fixed?

The Dallas Cowboys just fell to the Philadelphia Eagles at home in horrific fashion. The Cowboys could not score in the second half of the game and has many fans pondering some difficult questions.

The defense played their heart out in the first half however they had little to no impact during the second half and that is largely a product of an offensive issue.

The Dallas Cowboys could run the ball against the Eagles, Alfred Morris had 91 yards on 17 carries and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. There was success to be had on the ground but the Cowboys decided to move away from the run game.

In critical third and short situations, the coaching staff utilized some truly mind-boggling plays. There was one, in particular, Cole Beasley lined up in the backfield, Alfred Morris was also in the backfield and what seemed to be a run fake with several players turned into a broken play in a matter of seconds.

The weird thing was, the team never attempted fourth down plays until after it did not matter. The Cowboys were outscored 30-0 in the second half and that was just downright odd to see.

Quarterback Dak Prescott, is still the same player we all fell in love with, the same player who led the Cowboys to a 13 and 3 season. So what about his receivers? Well, my feelings on the receiving corps have been expressed several times in the past however now it is obvious, some additions need to be made.

Dez Bryant cannot do it all on his own, he has struggled this season to make an impact at all and realistically needs help. Terrance Williams dropped several catchable balls on Sunday and a lot of those drops came on third down.

Williams is not a bad receiver but he is not the number two the Cowboys think he is, and if he is, the coaching staff has done well to mask any consistency he may have. Cole Beasley still looks relatively the same except that he has a clone of himself who could run the football (sometimes).

Jason Witten is actually looking younger this season so what gives? During the game against the Broncos, the Cowboys had more pieces on the field than they do right now and they were still getting blown out.

The issue that has been coming up constantly has been coaching and personnel. The Cowboys have an elite running back in Ezekiel Elliott, and yes he is currently unavailable but they do not have any complimentary players to surround himself with.

Look at the New Orleans Saints, they have had Mark Ingram for years. In the early days, they had him be the primary three-down back/primary back, and a guy like Pierre Thomas or Darren Sproles would be the complimentary player.

Typically this back is a better receiver and has higher top end speed than the starter. This allows for a more versatile use of your franchises running backs and the Cowboys did have a player like this in Lance Dunbar.

Ever since his departure the Cowboys have not a opted to take a chance on a versatile back like this even with the highly productive rookie Alvin Kamara sitting on the board in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

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Now yes I understand, I would focus on the secondary as well for picks two and three, however, the Cowboys could have also moved back and acquired more picks for their first-round selection.

Pass rusher was the key need but in order to keep the defense off the field, the offense needs to stay on it. That is why when looking at the Dallas Cowboys running back corps you do not see a lot of diversity in the group.

Sure fourth-round rookie Ryan Switzer can run the football (but can he really?). Rod Smith is looking like the most promising back for the future besides Elliott as he can fill in for Zeke in a lot of areas.

Alfred Morris is productive but he is also just another powerful back on the roster like Darren McFadden. If all of these backs were not so similar maybe the Cowboys running attack could make more of an impact.

A lot of these backs are similar so defenses approach them in a similar fashion. Depth is a big issue on this team and not just at the running back position. The offensive line was incredible for so long, neglect will serve as its undoing.

The Cowboys went along thinking that just because they had a line that works they can keep making alterations to it and everything will remain the same, that is not the case. The loss of Ronald Leary and retirement of Doug Free were the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Those two players were good offensive linemen and even more importantly, amazing players to have just from a depth perspective. Leary was always a starter and although the franchise was worried about a degenerative knee issue that will eventually have an impact on Leary, he was one of the Cowboys top run blocking O linemen.

The Dallas Cowboys let him walk in free agency which was smart from a monetary standpoint but they did little to replace him. You cannot just assume a few bottom tier band-aids that are acquired in free agency can just immediately jump in and become a key piece of this line.

You can assume that about draft picks, but not Chaz Green, he never looked like he would pan out and so far he hasn’t. The Dallas Cowboys need another first round graded offensive lineman or one of the top players at the position in free agency. Skimping on your offensive line is a great way to see your franchise go down the tubes, just ask the Indianapolis Colts.

Next: What to expect from Week Eleven?

The tight end position does not need to be addressed because those guys are doing their job and Jason Witten is a Hall of Famer hands down. Every other level of the offense (besides quarterback) needs to be addressed.

With Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris likely looking for new homes in 2018, the Dallas Cowboys would be smart to add some young backs in the draft that have some versatility. If not look for a lineman or running back in free agency that is capable of producing on the field with a starting unit.

After all second and third string players are supposed to be potential starters not underwhelming additions to the Dallas Cowboys roster.