5 steps the Dallas Cowboys must take to be a Super Bowl team

5 Steps to get the Dallas Cowboys back to the Super Bowl

Step 4: Rebuild the offensive line

The Dallas Cowboys go as their offensive line goes, and last year was a tale of two offensive lines. The first portion of the season they imposed their will upon opponents. They protected Dak Prescott and allowed him to tear things up downfield, and they opened holes in the running game, giving Dallas one of the best running attacks we’ve seen in years.

After the bye week things began to change. The O-line could no longer protect Dak and as defenses dropped back in shells, Dak has no time to let his receivers break open. The O-line wasn’t any better in the running game either.

Those giant holes Zeke and Tony Pollard ran through earlier in the year dried up and what was left were nothing but sidewalk cracks. The Cowboys running game was one of the worst in the entire NFL from week 9 on. While some of that was because Zeke was damaged, the main reason was because the o-line couldn’t open holes.

Step 5: Make smart in-game decisions

Here’s the doozy: The Dallas Cowboys need their coaches to coach smarter. They need their front office to let them coach smarter. And they need to make their decisions based on odds and probabilities rather than gut feelings, instincts, tradition, or pay.

All NFL teams need to go for it on fourth downs more often. It’s our traditional way of thinking (feelings) that makes us think it’s so often a mistake. Instead of playing not to lose the Cowboys need to make these aggressive decisions based on increasing their win probability. This needn’t be complicated and can be instantly calculated by a person in the booth allowing the Cowboys to make smart calls in an instant.

They also need to show a willingness to be creative. It’s not a secret the most creative/aggressive play-callers in the NFL advance every year. Dallas should use deception more than transparency and ease some of the burden off their play-makers.

Early down passing should be a staple. There’s a reason 29-30 teams are better through the air on early downs than they are running – the game favors the forward pass. In the Dak Prescott/Ezekiel Elliott era, Dallas has been roughly 4x more fruitful passing than they have running (measured by expected points added).

Money can’t play a part in determining who gets the ball either. There was no reason Zeke was getting more carries than Pollard last season. Zeke was hurt and Pollard was better in nearly every good metric (for the second year). But

The Dallas Cowboys just need to be smart as a coaching staff. The roster is ready it’s up to the coaches to get them in position to win.

Will the Dallas Cowboys do what they need to do to get on the Super Bowl track? Probably not.