5 Dallas Cowboys who need a much stronger December

Dallas Cowboys who must improve in December

Osa Odighizuwa, DT

For as great as the Dallas Cowboys have been on the edge this season, they are fairly forgettable inside at defensive tackle. Osa Odighizuwa is the Cowboys top player inside and they need him to play like it.

It’s not that Osa has played poorly, he just isn’t playing at the level many expected he would this season, nor is he as impactful as one would expect from a team’s top DT.

On the season, Osa has two sacks, 24 combined tackles, and five tackles for loss. Ranked by Pro Football Focus as the NFL’s 58th best DT, Osa has a long way to go before he reaches his potential. He has the kind of quickness off the snap that brings a certain expectation. An expectation that’s higher than just eight pressures in 396 snaps.

The Cowboys have a handful of run stopping DTs like Johnathan Hankins, Neville Gallimore, Quinton Bohanna, and Carlos Watkins. But they only have one legit pass-rusher in Osa. The Dallas Cowboys need Osa to provide that pressure up the middle so teams have to respect all areas of the Dallas D, and not just those fearsome fellas on the edge.

So there’s the list for which Dallas Cowboys need to improve down the stretch. None of them have been playing poorly, mind you, they all just have ceilings that have yet to be consistently reached and all play roles that could prove all the difference going forward. Anyone you’d like to add?