The Dallas Cowboys bye week has come and gone, and all we can assume is that the coaches and players went into the lab to try and fix the myriad reasons this team is not as good as the sum of its parts.
When practice starts this week, the Cowboys will prepare for a Sunday Night Football date with the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara for the second consecutive season. Last year’s game was one to forget. A 42-10 drumming by Brock Purdy, George Kittle, and the rest of Kyle Shanahan’s bunch was a demoralizing defeat.
The difference between this year and last year is that the 2023 version of the Cowboys had yet to have their bye week. I’m not saying a bye week will help the Cowboys finally defeat the mighty 49ers, but it can’t hurt to have an extra week to prepare.
This bye week will either be the turning point of the season or the final nail in the coffin. The direction of this team relies on how the players respond. If last year’s bye week is any indication, the season is about to get turned around.
Last season, the Cowboys entered the bye week at 4-2, and went on a 6-1 run after the bye to put them at the top of the NFC East and in contention for the top spot in the conference.
The difference is, this season, they will run through a five-game stretch immediately after the bye that might be the toughest stretch of any team this year.
Today, I want to discuss three changes that HC Mike McCarthy can make to turn this team around after the bye week.
Spark the RB Room
One of the least impactful positions on the Cowboys’ roster right now is the running back position. Dallas ranks dead last in the NFL in rush yards per game, and essentially every other metric used to determine the effectiveness of a run game.
Rico Dowdle has been “leading” the charge, and currently sits as the team’s leading rusher with 246 yards on 59 rushes. His yards per carry average sits at a healthy 4.2 yards, but just watching the game, you can see the ineffectiveness of the running game.
Dalvin Cook has been preheating on the practice squad since before the season started, and I really don’t see why the Cowboys haven’t given him a shot in the backfield on the game day 46-man roster.
It can’t get any worse, and the film shows Dowdle is repeatedly failing to recognize running lanes. His vision needs work, which can be expected from an inexperienced runner. Cook is a veteran who might come in a spark the rushing attack with his vision.
Cook might not have the explosiveness he once had, but time and time again we have seen veteran savvy be more beneficial than youth. All he needs is a chance.
The Cowboys also could trade for a running back, but the way our front office operates, that is the least likely scenario.
Make a Switch at Safety
When the defense was coordinated by Dan Quinn, the safety unit received a makeover. Quinn made safeties in Dallas relevant again, and he got the best out of players like Donovan Wilson, Malik Hooker, Markquese Bell, and Juanyeh Thomas.
In my eyes, the time has come to bench Wilson and Hooker and give the younger guys a chance. Thomas and Bell have mostly seen special teams snaps, rarely stepping on the field as members of the defense.
Thomas and Bell have received 27 and 23 defensive snaps, respectively. That’s not nearly enough for their talent to make an impact. Especially on a defense that has played so poorly.
Wilson and Hooker have been caught out of position more times this season than I can count on two hands, and I have the same sentiment as I do towards the running back position: can it get any worse?
Let Thomas and Bell get starter’s snaps in practice this week and see if they can be any more effective than the current starters. Either that, or at least let them get more involved in the defensive rotation.
Use the QB’s Legs
This one is one that I have been clamoring for since last season. Get Dak Prescott more carries in the running game! He needs more designed runs to help spark an anemic offensive attack.
Prescott has used his legs sparingly since his gruesome injury during the 2020 season, and for good reason. The Cowboys’ passing attack has been one of the strengths of the team since McCarthy’s arrival in 2020.
He hasn’t needed to use his legs to spark the offense, but this season is a different story. Teams have figured out that the Cowboys’ running game isn’t a threat, and outside of WR CeeDee Lamb, nobody on offense scares the defense.
Prescott was one of the best rushers from the quarterback position early in his career. In 61 games before his injury, Dak rushed 259 times for 1,314 yards and 24 touchdowns. In 45 games after his injury, those numbers have significantly dropped to 157 rushes for 595 yards and five touchdowns.
Involving Prescott in the offense with more designed runs can be the key to unlocking success for the rest of the season.