What Makes a Team "Built to Win" in the Playoffs

[kskboys]

Over the last 3 seasons, Dallas has had more regular season wins (36) than another other team aside from the Chiefs (37).

This team has led the league in scoring multiple times in the span, fielded a top-5 scoring defense, had league leaders in TDs, yards, has at least a few blue chip players on either side of the ball, but continues to fall flat in the playoffs.

This is what is so truly confusing about about this team.

Their regular season performance is among the best, but they just cannot beat good teams regularly. This narrative is only partially true though since this year they did beat Philly, LA, and Detroit, all of whom were playoff teams (but each of these wins was either the result of a good bit of fortune, or catching the other team in a slump).

They can stack up wins better than anyone, but for whatever reason when the playoffs come around, they are totally punchless. I don't get it.

A good example I can think of in other sports would be a team like the 2014 Atlanta Hawks (60-22). Regular season wood chippers, but when your go to guy is Al Horford, you probably aren't going to win big in the playoffs and that is exactly what happened. The 2009-2013 Denver Nuggets are another great case study. Won 50+ games in three of four seasons during that stretch but never made it out of the first found of the playoffs. Their best players were Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried.

If you want an NFL example, I present to you the 2013-2017 Cheifs. They averaged over 10 wins in that 5 year span, but could never advance past the divisional or WC round.

I believe Dallas is in a similar situation to these teams. They can win in the regular season, but are unable to close out games against tough opponents when it is win or go home. What we all should be asking, is why?

The question I have for you is this: What traits do you think makes a team "built to win" in the playoffs in the modern NFL?

Easy stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. Strong trenches.
2. QB who doesn't turn the ball over.

 

[kskboys]

Players that truly want it, and leadership that inspires that.

Coaching that can exploit the weaknesses of the opponent and hide their own.

We seem to just line up and do what we do. The better coaches/schemes always know how to beat us.

Jerry doesn’t think much of coaching, and thinks the culture isn’t a problem. I’m gonna go ahead and disagree.

Because no matter how much someone wants it, superior talent/size will trump that. Before all you said(and it's all important), you must absolutely have at the bare minimum players who don't get owned at the LOS. Because if you're getting owned there, you're not going to win a super bowl.

 

[Vtwin]

Built from the inside out. Discipline. Attention to the little things. Players buying in to the message coming from the coaching. Strong leadership from the coaches AND in the locker room. HEART.

History is littered with teams that light it up in the regular season only to flame out in the playoffs. They are usually teams that are able to hide their flaws with a high flying passing offense in the reg season, but when defenses take that away in the playoffs they are exposed.

 

[thunderpimp91]

If you have a dominate run game and can consistently dominate the time of possession, does that make your defenses job easier?

Complimentary football.

Of course. It also helps if your defense can stop the run and get opposing offenses off the field. It also makes your defenses job easier if you can air it out and rack up points. They all go together. The Cowboys really went all in on the passing games on both sides of the ball this year, which is exactly why when they got early leads they were dominant. Tougher to get those early leads in the post season though. I'd much rather have a more balanced team than one with high end talent, but extreme holes that the Cowboys had this season.

 

[kskboys]

Of course. It also helps if your defense can stop the run and get opposing offenses off the field. It also makes your defenses job easier if you can air it out and rack up points. They all go together. The Cowboys really went all in on the passing games on both sides of the ball this year, which is exactly why when they got early leads they were dominant. Tougher to get those early leads in the post season though. I'd much rather have a more balanced team than one with high end talent, but extreme holes that the Cowboys had this season.

Not necessarily true. There is history in the playoffs of teams scoring too quickly, which wears out your D. Latest example, ATL. That was the cause of the greatest comeback in playoff history, Bills vs Oilers.

High flying passing games pretty much always flame out in the playoffs. Marching down the field is much preferred.

 

[fivetwos]

I don’t know if it’s a ‘choke in the playoffs’ thing vs the fact that they generally just don’t play all that well against the better teams.

Not breaking news, but beating the crap out of bad teams creates an illusion of being better than they are.

 

[12+88=7]

It's about stepping up.

The playoffs require more focus, more intensity. Everything is amplified.

Dallas isn't rising to the next level in the playoffs. Every player needs to play well.

You can't have a player or a unit not show up. You will lose.

Dallas has the players and talent to win. They just don't have the mental fortitude. This is where coaching comes in. The coaches need to set the players up for success both physically and mentally.

The other team imposes their will on Dallas in the playoffs, instead of the other way around. If Dallas had the mental fortitude, they could win with the team as currently assembled.

 

[kskboys]

I don’t know if it’s a ‘choke in the playoffs’ thing vs the fact that they generally just don’t play all that well against the better teams.

Not breaking news, but beating the crap out of bad teams creates an illusion of being better than they are.

So, that begs the question as to why. On D, we have a small front that gets owned. All the other problems are related to that.

On O, we have a QB who turns the ball over and has too many short drives.

Those two things.

 

[kskboys]

It's about stepping up.

The playoffs require more focus, more intensity. Everything is amplified.

Dallas isn't rising to the next level in the playoffs. Every player needs to play well.

You can't have a player or a unit not show up. You will lose.

Dallas has the players and talent to win. They just don't have the mental fortitude. This is where coaching comes in. The coaches need to set the players up for success both physically and mentally.

The other team imposes their will on Dallas in the playoffs, instead of the other way around. If Dallas had the mental fortitude, they could win with the team as currently assembled.

They don't, not in the playoffs. No matter how hard you try, getting owned at the LOS negates everything. We DO NOT HAVE THE TALENT ON D.

 

[CowboyFrog]

I don’t know if it’s a ‘choke in the playoffs’ thing vs the fact that they generally just don’t play all that well against the better teams.

Not breaking news, but beating the crap out of bad teams creates an illusion of being better than they are.

the only problem with this theory is GB wasn't better, now no doubt we had big problems but in no way shape or form should that GB team been able to dismantle this team like that..you can see it, everytime a penalty doesnt go thier way..something bad happens they wilt because the GM's job is not on the line..at this point they need to clean the core because everyone of these core players.. they are all now involved in the "28 years" quicksand...it probably wont change much because the GM refuses to change the culture.."Headlines over Trophies" is this Owner/GM's team building plan...he ruined #11 in record time...

 

[kskboys]

the only problem with this theory is GB wasn't better, now no doubt we had big problems but in no way shape or form should that GB team been able to dismantle this team like that..you can see it, everytime a penalty doesnt go thier way..something bad happens they wilt because the GM's job is not on the line..at this point they need to clean the core because everyone of these core players.. they are all now involved in the "28 years" quicksand...it probably wont change much because the GM refuses to change the culture.."Headlines over Trophies" is this Owner/GM's team building plan...he ruined #11 in record time...

They were better at the LOS on O. That's where it really really matters.

ARI is a crapp team, but they were better than us due to their OL dominating our DL.

 

[SwagSurfer]

Good qb play(protecting the ball), run game, stout defense and a winning culture.

 

[nalam]

Over the last 3 seasons, Dallas has had more regular season wins (36) than another other team aside from the Chiefs (37).

This team has led the league in scoring multiple times in the span, fielded a top-5 scoring defense, had league leaders in TDs, yards, has at least a few blue chip players on either side of the ball, but continues to fall flat in the playoffs.

This is what is so truly confusing about about this team.

Their regular season performance is among the best, but they just cannot beat good teams regularly. This narrative is only partially true though since this year they did beat Philly, LA, and Detroit, all of whom were playoff teams (but each of these wins was either the result of a good bit of fortune, or catching the other team in a slump).

They can stack up wins better than anyone, but for whatever reason when the playoffs come around, they are totally punchless. I don't get it.

A good example I can think of in other sports would be a team like the 2014 Atlanta Hawks (60-22). Regular season wood chippers, but when your go to guy is Al Horford, you probably aren't going to win big in the playoffs and that is exactly what happened. The 2009-2013 Denver Nuggets are another great case study. Won 50+ games in three of four seasons during that stretch but never made it out of the first found of the playoffs. Their best players were Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried.

If you want an NFL example, I present to you the 2013-2017 Cheifs. They averaged over 10 wins in that 5 year span, but could never advance past the divisional or WC round.

I believe Dallas is in a similar situation to these teams. They can win in the regular season, but are unable to close out games against tough opponents when it is win or go home. What we all should be asking, is why?

The question I have for you is this: What traits do you think makes a team "built to win" in the playoffs in the modern NFL?

See which teams cowboys beat up and which teams they lose to. cowboys is finesse team which relies on speed and not Power or strength, so we have issues with playing physical tough teams who beat us up in the trenches , beat our WRs and RBs into caution. these teams mostly makes the playoffs and we face reality.

 

[thunderpimp91]

Not necessarily true. There is history in the playoffs of teams scoring too quickly, which wears out your D. Latest example, ATL. That was the cause of the greatest comeback in playoff history, Bills vs Oilers.

High flying passing games pretty much always flame out in the playoffs. Marching down the field is much preferred.

Well of course there are always going to be exceptions. My point though was really that you need to be at least average in all major areas (Run D, Pass D, Run O, Pass O) or you're going to get exposed in the post season more often than not. Being above average or elite in one area helps mask a issue in another, however playing in the postseason and having to go 3-5 games straight against quality teams makes that difficult.

 

[Havic]

Trenches, then qb imo

 

[Chasing6]

I don’t know if it’s a ‘choke in the playoffs’ thing vs the fact that they generally just don’t play all that well against the better teams.

Not breaking news, but beating the crap out of bad teams creates an illusion of being better than they are.

Weaknesses get exposed by good teams and good coaches in the playoffs.

If your team success is dependent and built around 2 players(ex CD and Micah) it is easy to neutralize them.

 

[fivetwos]

So, that begs the question as to why. On D, we have a small front that gets owned. All the other problems are related to that.

On O, we have a QB who turns the ball over and has too many short drives.

Those two things

I don’t disagree with you.

We are typically short somewhere personnel wise and having a GM and son that no other team would ever consider hiring probably goes a long way toward explaining why.

Certain coaches can sometimes do more with less, but that’s not gonna happen around here as long as Jerry wants to be a celebrity.

They say teams take on the personality of their head coach, but in this case it’s all Jerry. Money and glam first, everyone is friends, etc, etc…the players are infected before long. They know the HC isn’t the man.

And we wonder why they don’t have the edge to play good playoff football.

I hold a slight hope that once Jerry is gone Stephen won’t demand to be the face of the franchise and actually allow his staff to run things properly. Doubtful but hope is all I’ve got.

 

[Chasing6]

So, that begs the question as to why. On D, we have a small front that gets owned. All the other problems are related to that.

On O, we have a QB who turns the ball over and has too many short drives.

Those two things.

That's what happens when you have a poor running game.

Why is it easy for us to understand our D can be dominate when we have a lead and can force an offense to be 1 dimensional.

However, we don't understand why our offense struggles because it is 1 dimensional.

 

[doomsday808]

This team lacks a front office who fear losing their jobs if they don't deliver results. PERIOD.

 

[12+88=7]

They don't, not in the playoffs. No matter how hard you try, getting owned at the LOS negates everything. We DO NOT HAVE THE TALENT ON D.

A team with no talent defense doesn't finish the year 5th in yards against and 5th in points allowed. It just doesn't happen.

Dallas has the talent on both sides of the ball. Every list, poll, or opinion of anyone outside of the fanbase says this.

In the playoffs Dallas wilts under pressure. They don't execute. They are not mentally ready for the challenge.

The playoffs are more mental. The teams are all good. What separates the winners from the losers is a very slim margin. Those with the mental will and fortitude move on. Those that don't have it go home..