In the last decade, the Cowboys have played in 7 playoff games, winning 2 and losing 5. The two wins in the last decade were a 2018 wild card win vs Seattle and a 2021 wild card win vs Tampa.
The five playoff losses in the last decade are what I want to focus on here because the similarities in what caused those losses are glaring. Those losses aren’t all on the defense. Yes, Dak has some blame for sure. But it’s not all on him either.
Here are the 5 playoff losses in the last decade:
- 2016 L 34-31 vs packers in divisional round at home.
- 2018 L 30-22 vs rams in divisional round on the road.
- 2021 L 23-17 vs niners in wild card round at home.
- 2022 L 19-12 vs niners in divisional round on the road.
- 2023 L 48-32 vs packers in wild card round at home.
I want to look at our common problems in these playoff losses and whether they have been addressed. Here are some stats that show patterns in the 5 playoff losses:
- Cowboys defense in the 5 playoff losses:
- Avg giving up 31 points per game. (Take out the GB loss and still avg giving up 27 ppg)
- Avg giving up 157 yards per game on the ground. (Take out the 273 in the 2018 rams L and we still avg giving up nearly 130 yds per game on the ground)
- 3rd down conversions. In the 5 playoff losses of the last decade, our defense allowed 30 of 58 3rd downs to be converted. 52%!! Horrible.
- Despite being one of the best sack teams in the league, the Cowboys only had 4 total sacks in all 5 playoff losses. Less than 1 per game.
- Despite being one of the better defenses to create TOs, our D only had 3 TOs created in the 5 playoff losses.
These 5 losses weren’t all on the defense. But if you avg giving up 30 points in a playoff game, avg giving up 157 yards rushing in the playoffs, and allow the opponents a 52% third down conversion rate, can’t sack the QB or get TOs, it’s pretty hard to win.
Does the FO understand this yet?
Offense is 11 players + Scheme+Playcalls+execution by 22 players on Offense , Offense is spelled OFFENSE not DAK Prescott...
You know what as much as some of that make sense,
you're leaving out things why do you use the word dak has some blame how about the offense has some to blame yes, the offense, the total offense that would be the offensive line, who in one game had 11 penalties, so our quarterback was supposed to function playing behind a chains all game? The one common thing on offense if you want to stay away from the defense, I get it the defense is responsible for most of the losses in the playoffs going back to the Romo days... However,
the one game 11 penalties on the offensive line, the most consistent thing is no run game under 3 YPC with no big runs, no significant key plays, is what they bring to the playoffs..
that would be on the offensive line, that will be on the runner ,that would be on the game plan, the execution, and then when there is any time to throw which every once in a while it did happen, there was a lack of separation, so let's bring in all of the offense when you're blaming the lack of scoring or the lack of 3rd down percentage put it on the offense not DAK alone....
I mean,
I'm doing this from memory,
I don't need to go back and look and by the way one of those 49er games, I don't care if it was a six point low scoring game,
in the first half they gave up 10 yards per carry to Deebo Samuels and kept the ball away from our offense and didn't give us much chances and it must be the same game or one of the 49er games that Trayvon Diggs dropped an easy interception and then failed to make contact with Kittles on a pass that he was bobbling..
if you just were to make contact, he probably doesn't catch that ball that was a big and I mean a big play in that game. Those were key bad execution by a defender that is supposed to be one of our prime time players but once again he's on defense and he didn't make the place he should have he didn't make the plays he's paid to make...
We're going to do this whole yes the defense is to blame and yes Prescott is somewhat to blame no no no no no let let let's call it the offense and not name our offense, prescott, he's one of 11 players ,he's not the coaches he's not the referees he's not responsible for all those mistakes yeah he looked bad in some of those games but there was a reason he looked bad it's called the offensive line and the run game was nonexistent in many of those games so let's stop calling our offense prescott that's not how it's spelled...
That's just some of the ones from memory but if we want to go just to the Green Bay game that looked mostly defensive and I realized Prescott made some mistakes but go cherry picked the two interceptions let's break those down and you'll realize the interference on Brandon Cooks not once but twice cause the leverage that created the interception had nothing to do with Prescott and also Lamb who didn't finish running his crossing route or post or whatever was supposed to be Prescott released that ball thinking that's what was going to happen and Lamb went rogue he went off script he broke his plate upfield because I guess he felt like the play was broke down and supposedly that is all on the quarterback now the interceptions must be on the quarterback unless we actually go reasonably break them down..
So yeah everyone blaming Prescott always started the game real bad it must be him the interceptions are not always on the quarterback we learned that in 2022 so why don't we just keep the blame where it needs to be we lost as a team there are significant problems across the entire three phases and the coaching staff in every one of those games...
