The investment the Dallas Cowboys have made on the offensive side of the ball over the years better pay off in 2020 because their season likely depends on it.
The Dallas Cowboys had arguably the best offense in the league last season and luckily for them they have eight out of 11 starters returning this year. Gone is Travis Frederick, Jason Witten, and Randall Cobb, but all the others will return to what should be a formidable unit once again.
Make no mistake, losing Frederick, Witten, and Cobb would be a deathblow to just about any other team in the league. Not the Cowboys though. Who replaces Travis Frederick is the biggest question right now, but they could do a lot worse than Joe Looney – who started all 16 games in 2018 – the favorite to start at center right now.
As far as replacing Jason Witten and Randall Cobb is concerned, the Cowboys may have upgraded from those two. Blake Jarwin isn't quite the blocker Witten was, but he's got a real shot of being a mismatch weapon in the receiving game. Cobb's replacement, CeeDee Lamb, could potentially take the Cowboys passing game to an entirely different level.
Let that sink in for a little bit…
That's quite a bit of talent on the offensive side of the ball. Anyway you look at it this should be at the very least a Top 5 unit in 2020. And if last season was any indication, they have a chance to be even better under the guidance of second-year Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore.
Success or failure likely depends on the Dallas Cowboys offensive unit this year. With the majority of the starters returning, they should literally be able to hit the ground running and hopefully pick up where they left off last year. Defensively, there's really no way of knowing how they will perform.
They're just way too many moving parts right now on the defensive side of the ball to know for sure what they're capable of. They're installing a new system, lost their best cover corner (Byron Jones) and a starting safety (Jeff Heath), and don't have much of an offseason to get everything installed and up and running. The shortened offseason has hurt them most of all.
The defense doesn't have to be great. Their job will be to get the ball back in the hands of the offense, whether through turnovers or forcing a few three and outs. The more time the offense has the ball the better. Keeping it away from the opponent and hopefully putting points the board will be the blueprint in which games are won in 2020.
The Dallas Cowboys should be able to hang with any team in the league with the weapons they have at their disposal on the offensive side of the ball. Anything they get from the defense and special teams will be icing on the cake. It's not the best recipe for success, but that's the way the cards have been dealt. Now they have to let the chips fall as they may.
