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No NFL team is under more pressure than the Dallas Cowboys when the playoffs arrive, yet while they have been an excellent regular season team yet again, 2022 will be another year of disappointment.
Fans of most teams in the league are realistic. They can assess their roster and see what will likely happen in the coming season.
As the biggest team in the sport and with the most recognizable franchise, Dallas Cowboys fans simply expect a Super Bowl every year.
However, they haven’t gotten their hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy since the 1995 season.
Every season the pressure builds on the players as fans expect so much of them, and eventually, it blows up spectacularly.
2022 will be no different, but other factors will contribute to the inevitable disappointment that will hit AT&T Stadium in the coming winter weeks.
What will cause the Dallas Cowboys to blow their Super Bowl hopes… again?
5. A weak passing offense
Dak Prescott has been poor in 2022. Injuries have impacted him again, but after a brilliant 2021 season, he has failed to produce as effectively.
He’s still a franchise quarterback, but he has been part of a weak passing offense in Dallas this season.
If that carries on into the postseason, then the Cowboys have a problem.
CeeDee Lamb has been the primary receiving option this term, with 1,087 receiving yards. However, Noah Brown is the next most productive player after him, with almost half the number of yards.
This is a considerable decline and marks an average passing offense. With Ezekiel Elliott now more of a role player, it’s difficult to envisage the Cowboys having as explosive an offense as in previous postseasons.
When the run dries up against a great team, Dallas will have to pass, and this is where they will struggle.
4. A small roster
Dallas are often criticized by their own fans for not making many moves in terms of trades and free-agent signings.
Missing out on Von Miller in the offseason was a blow, and there is every chance that Odell Beckham Jr rejects their advances ahead of the playoffs.
This approach has left the Cowboys with a small roster. There isn’t a lot of quality depth in key positions, especially on offense.
If CeeDee Lamb gets injured, there isn’t a reliable receiving presence in the locker room. Micah Parsons has been incredible for a second successive year, but there isn’t a lot of quality in reserve on defense, either.
3. Mike McCarthy & Kellen Moore
Despite another year of promising regular-season numbers, Mike McCarthy and Kellen Moore are still on the hot seat at AT&T Stadium.
Many fans lost trust in the former Packers head coach for the shambolic nature of their postseason defeat to the 49ers in 2021. That faith has never been fully regained.
It’s still somewhat unclear how well the pair get along. If you compare the situation to Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels, there was a feeling that the latter was always waiting for the top job in New England to be passed down to him.
Moore has been tipped for a head coaching role for three years but has never left the Cowboys. Many sense that he wants McCarthy’s job, and the tension that creates often bubbles under the surface.
In addition to this, their offensive calls haven’t been that good in 2022. Moore’s dynamic offense has dried up pretty much since the defeat to San Francisco last year, and if the pair don’t get on the same page quickly, Dallas will exit in the wildcard round.
2. Indiscipline
The Dallas Cowboys were one of the NFL’s most ill-disciplined teams in 2021, and this caught up with the team in their playoff defeat to the Niners, where they equaled the record for penalties in a playoff game with 14.
Alas, this hasn’t improved in 2022, with America’s Team still guilty of giving away too many penalties.
They are ranked 5th in the NFL regarding penalties after giving up a total of 91 in 14 games.
Every yard is crucial in the postseason, and you’d think, after seeing how it cost them in 2021, Dallas would have ironed out these problems. Apparently not, and this will be a factor in their inevitable January demise.
1. Super Bowl Pressure
As previously mentioned, the Dallas Cowboys are always under immense pressure to win the Super Bowl.
Their fans expect it, and the reaction to defeats often explains why playing at home can burden the team.
With another positive regular season campaign, fans are expectant again, but this pressure can paralyze players.
It may be a theme exclusive to the world of sports fandom, but the feeling of ‘what can go wrong, will go wrong’ is rife amongst Cowboys supporters.
It’s not a jinx on the team; it’s just that so many years of pent-up pressure and angst can cause mistakes.
Just look at Argentina in the soccer World Cup. The pressure on Lionel Messi and Argentina to win the first World Cup since 1986 was mammoth. It’s telling that a team so talented twice gave up a 2-0 lead in the knockout stage.
That’s precisely what has happened to the Cowboys in the past. The postseason brings a reminder of previous scars and plays on the mind. More than anything else, this will cast the franchise aside before the Super Bowl for yet another year.
