DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys will spend their bye week sitting back and watching other teams knock the snot out of each other for a few days. Thanks to the NFL expanding to 17 games, eight games in isn’t exactly the midway point in their season, but it’s reasonably close to the halfway mark, especially considering the time spent at training camp.
At 6-2, the Cowboys put together a good first half. Winning 75% of your games isn’t easy, but it's made even harder when you don’t have your starting quarterback for most of the games.
The Cowboys took their lumps and came out on the other side in solid shape while getting contributions from all over their roster to get to six wins. As the second half looms, they look like one of the best teams in the NFC entering their off week.
It’s a long season, there’s nine games – with more expected – left to go, but the Cowboys have a chance to keep getting better with Dak Prescott hoping to hit his stride at QB. Before looking ahead, let’s find out what we've learned about these Cowboys over the first half of the 2022 season:
Each unit has carried its weight
The Cowboys have won games with each of the three phases pitching in. Early in the season, while the offense was working through things with backup quarterback Cooper Rush, the defense was carrying Dallas.
In the five games with Rush under center, the defense allowed just 13.25 points per game in their four wins. It took until Week 6 until an offense scored more than one touchdown against Dan Quinn’s stingy unit. Also, through the first eight games of the 2022 campaign, the Cowboys lead the league in sacks with 33.
The defense is led by sophomore LB Micah Parsons, who looks like one of the best defensive players in the game.
Special teams have contributed to wins as well. Defensive end Dorance Armstrong has blocked a punt and a field goal attempt, while punt returner KaVontae Turpin is third in the league in punt return average.
Kicker Brett Maher won the team a game in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals and has made 15 of his 17 field goal attempts, with his only misses coming from 50+ yards out. After winning a wide-open battle for the job out of training camp, Maher has been much more consistent now than he was during his first go round with the Cowboys.
The offense was the carry for the Cowboys last season, and, while they haven’t been as prolific in the absence of Prescott, the thought that Kellen Moore’s unit would eventually do more than merely stay afloat has started to bear fruit. Prescott led the 49-point explosion in Week 8, which offset an unexpectedly subpar week for the defense.
Offensive line has held up
One of the biggest question marks heading into the season was the offensive line. With left tackle Tyron Smith out for much of the year with an injury, the Cowboys were sent into scramble mode a few weeks before the season began.
The first move was to slide rookie first round pick Tyler Smith to left tackle, while inserting Connor McGovern into the left guard spot. Smith was expected to debut at LG until the veteran Smith got hurt, which changed the plans.
Dallas also addressed their lack of depth by signing Jason Peters to be a versatile, veteran piece of the unit. Peters hasn’t been needed at his usual tackle spot, appearing only at LG when he’s been called upon, which isn’t his best position, but having him as an option has been a positive for Dallas.
On the other side of the line, third year right tackle Terence Steele has more than held up as a La’el Collins replacement. Steele has excelled as a run blocker, which was expected, and improved as a pass protector, which was considered a weakness.
As a group, the offensive line for the Cowboys has given up just 12 sacks and paved the way for over 131 rushing yards per game.
Through eight games, the plan for the offensive line has worked. Smith is learning via a trial by fire, but it hasn’t hampered the offense. Meanwhile, even without Smith and Collins, the Cowboys’ offensive line has played better than anticipated.
Offense can make up for lost time
Playing without Prescott has been tough on the offense, but it has also allowed the Cowboys to find some new wrinkles. Rush doesn’t have the arm and ability that Prescott does, which scaled down the playbook some for the five games without their top signal caller.
Instead of seam throws and taking deep shots down the field with Rush, offensive coordinator Moore schemed shorter throws to the outside, and increased the play-action usage. The results were good as the Cowboys also found two young, up-and-coming tight ends in Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot.
The rookie TEs have made big contributions in both the running and passing games to help the offense go. Combined, Ferguson and Hendershot have caught 18 balls for three scores in the absence of starter Dalton Schultz, who has missed two games.
A strong running game from backs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard have also helped keep defenses honest. Pollard has once again been a big play machine, rushing for 6.2 yards per carry with five scores on just 81 carries.
Moore took what was working with Rush and applied it to Prescott, who has been thriving off play-action since his return.
Last year, the Cowboys had the receiving weapons to complement the ground game, which ended up giving Dallas the top offense in the league statistically. This season, the Cowboys are going about it differently, using more TE-heavy personnel, while picking and choosing their targets and it’s working. What began as a way to protect Rush has turned into a revelation on offense.
Now, with Prescott back, the Cowboys can throw the ball more down the deep middle, as well as use their play-action game to move the chains and score points. Pairing a more dangerous passing game with an already solid rushing attack looks like a winning formula.
It’s a work in progress since Prescott has only been back two weeks, but if the Cowboys’ offense can continue to outsmart defenses, they have the pieces in place to enjoy a great second half of the season.
Are you happy with how the Cowboys have performed through the first half of the season? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.