Cowboys 2024 Postmortem: 6 sick things that submarined the season

The disease didn’t begin in September, rather that’s when the symptoms were finally taken seriously. The groundwork for the Cowboys’ collapse came in the months leading up to season. When free agency arrived last March, Jerry and Stephen Jones began their annual rite of Spring, sitting out while the rest of the league spent money in efforts to improve their team.

Despite Jones telling fans the team would be “all-in” the Cowboys barely made a peep on the open market. Not in the first wave, nor the second wave where they usually announce they have a pulse. They made nary a ripple until it was OK to sign free agents without affecting the compensatory formula. The organization made just one legit external acquisition, somehow prying linebacker Eric Kendricks away from the San Francisco 49ers.

Management took forever to sign quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb to extensions, waiting until the first day of the regular season to sign their franchise QB. It cost the Cowboys valuable resources and the ability to improve by waiting so long to sign their cornerstone free agents.

After giving both the top-of-market deals each sought, many wonder if the front office was using their situations as cover for not wanting to spend money on outsiders, all the while lying to fans who knew better, spitting nonsense about the salary cap and how the pieces of the pie must fit to sign players.

It was easy to see the disaster that was coming, but at least the Cowboys sold out their season tickets in record time!

Many fans believed Mike McCarthy should have been given his walking papers after the playoff debacle blow-out loss to the Green Bay Packers. However, the Joneses weren’t going to pay McCarthy to coach elsewhere, and retained him without extending his deal.

That left a lame-duck coach to finally find answers to the Cowboys’ lack of playoff success. Only this time, McCarthy would have a new defensive coordinator.

Mike Zimmer was brought in to install his defense on a one-year deal, which looked like it would be tied to McCarthy. If the duo could get over the hump, perhaps new contracts would be in order. Many of the other coaches and coordinators were also on the final years of their deals.

It didn’t work.

McCarthy’s offense looked inept all year, even when playing a healthy Prescott, and it took a while for Zimmer’s coaching style and scheme to click. Zimmer even admitted he took on a different personality early in the year to not rock the boat too much from what had been successful for the past few years under former DC Dan Quinn.

The staff couldn’t figure out their best lineup and players. It somehow took over half the season to realize Rico Dowdle was the best option at running back, and the offensive line shuffling was maddening.

McCarthy looked the part of the lame duck who didn’t have the answers, and his team played like they were hoping for a new leader, despite their outcries for him to stay. It was a mistake to keep McCarthy after how the 2023 season finished and this year’s results were just as damning.

The Cowboys were already behind the eight ball after an offseason that saw much of their depth poached in free agency, but injuries exacerbated the problems.

It began in training camp when pass rusher Sam Williams was lost for the year. Set for a breakout season, he tore his ACL early in camp.

All-Pro corner DaRon Bland injured his foot before the season and missed 10 games, while counterpart All-Pro Trevon Diggs played in just 11 before bowing out for the year.

Prescott was lost after just eight games, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence only played the first four. His booked Micah Parsons missed the first four games Lawrence was out, and rookie DE Marshawn Kneeland missed a chunk of time starting the next week.

Right guard Zack Martin was ineffectively struggling play through multiple injuries before shutting himself down in early December. Another All-Pro, WR CeeDee Lamb, battled through a painful shoulder injury that had him leave several games for stretches before finally shutting it down once the team was officially eliminated from the playoff hunt.

The best players for the Cowboys all missed significant time this season.

Other starters and valuable players who weren’t able to play a full year include rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton, swing tackle Chuma Edoga, left guard Tyler Smith, CB Jourdan Lewis, tight end Jake Ferguson, and rookie CB Caelen Carson.

The injury gods had no mercy for the Cowboys this season. A healthy team wasn’t likely to save Dallas in 2024, but the injuries zapped the team from being able to withstand everything else that occurred.

One of the issues that plagued the Cowboys for much of the season, was their defense getting embarrassed weekly. A high school varsity team looked like they would be able to put up 30 points on Zimmer’s group for the first half of the year. Players were expected to have a learning curve, but the defense was one of the worst in the league until late November.

Dallas’ defense allowed two teams to rush for over 200 yards, including a season high 274 against the Ravens, and six ran for at least 175 yards as the team finished the year 29th in the league, giving up over 137 yards per game. The Cowboys gave up 25 rushing scores, which was the worst in the NFL.

Zimmers’ unit was also next to last in points allowed, at 27.5 per game, and had three games where they gave up over 40 points, matching the number of 40-point games the team allowed in the previous three seasons combined.

Things got better late in the year when Parsons came back to help spark a turnaround, but the defense was putrid for much of the 2024 season.

The Cowboys are known for shooting themselves in the foot, but 2024 was their worst flagfest in 25 years. McCarthy’s team committed 128 infractions, good for fourth-worst in the league. It was the highest number of penalties the teams had since 1999 when they committed a league-leading 136.

It was also the type of infractions that burned the Cowboys. They led the NFL in false starts with 29, with way too many pre-snap penalties and mental mistakes.