The Dallas Cowboys missed out on the playoffs in 2024, a season that was all but lost from moment last offseason began.

However, if the organization is smart, they should be watching the postseason results and learning how they can get back into the race next year. There are always lessons in failure, but if there’s one thing the opening weekend of playoff results prove it’s that the Cowboys’ recent approach won’t work.

Being aggressive in talent acquisition is part of building a team, and the Cowboys bypassing that part of the process isn’t a winning strategy.

Most of the teams who won their wild card games on Saturday and Sunday were aggressive in adding pieces to be better than they were the previous season, while the Cowboys used an alternate strategy. Jerry and Stephen Jones are no strangers to sitting out the first and second waves of free agency, but they have managed to find some players to plug holes and keep the team competitive later in the open market. That philosophy was altered slightly last offseason, where the organization decided to almost forgo free agency entirely.

It didn’t work and the Cowboys fell flat on their faces, just as many people predicted.

If the results from their own team during the 2024 campaign weren’t enough to convince the Joneses how broken their approach to talent acquisition is, perhaps the early stages of the postseason can shed a light for them.

Most of the winning teams got significant contributions from their offseason acquisitions, starting with the Houston Texans in the early kickoff last Saturday. The Texans traded a seventh-round pick for running back Joe Mixon, who had a second straight 1,000-yard season. In the win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Mixon led the way for the offense with 106 yards and a touchdown.

In the Baltimore Ravens’ win, Derrick Henry paved the way with a monster effort. The veteran RB rushed for 186 yards and two scores as the Ravens ran away with the victory. Henry was a free agent this offseason and had interest in the Cowboys, who didn’t reciprocate those feelings.

Instead of signing with the Cowboys, Henry was added by the Ravens, who signed him to a modest two-year deal. Not only did Henry have a ridiculous regular season, where he ran for 1,921 yards, but he had a stellar first playoff game with the Ravens.

Not to be outdone, RB Saquon Barkley proved why he was a smart addition with the Philadelphia Eagles. Barkley topped 2,000 yards rushing in the regular season and backed that up with a 119-yard effort in the win over the Green Bay Packers. While the Eagles couldn’t move the ball through the air, Barkley provided most of the leg work in rushing for almost five yards a carry.

Like Henry, Barkley’s cost wasn’t prohibitive for the Cowboys, who never chose to look into one of the best RBs on the market. It’s not always the player, but the fit with the team in free agency that makes sense, and the Ravens and Eagles matched perfectly with their additions.

The Eagles also got a big game from another free agent pickup, linebacker Zack Baun, who had an interception in the win.

Even in a loss, the Packers were led by their top free agent pickup on offense, RB Josh Jacobs. After a dominant season where he ran for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns, Jacobs provided the offense for Packers, scoring their only touchdown and totaling 121 yards.

The Washington Commanders snuck out a win by getting a helping hand from their offseason pickups as well. Former Cowboys defensive end Dorance Armstrong had a sack, and knifed through the backfield on the biggest third down stop of the season late in the fourth quarter to help the Commanders win the game.

It was a defensive effort by the Commanders that saw the top four players in tackles in the game come from guys who were signed in free agency, including linebacker Bobby Wagner, whom the Cowboys had no interest in a few years ago, fellow LB Frankie Luvu, and safety Jeremy Chinn, added from the Carolina Panthers in March.

Of course, the Commanders were also aided by coach Dan Quinn, whom the Cowboys let leave the building to keep Mike McCarthy. Now Quinn’s team is headed to the divisional round of the playoffs, while McCarthy’s contract has run out in Dallas.

Everywhere one looked on wild card weekend, teams who were aggressive in adding talent saw those players come through. The Texans, Ravens, Eagles, and Commanders saw their acquisitions pay off in the regular season and continued to help their respective teams win games in the playoffs.

Free agency doesn’t have to be who spends the most, or who signs the best player on the open market, but finding free agents who meet needs can do wonders. This means good players who can be found relatively early on the open market, not the dime-store pickups three weeks after free agency opens like the Cowboys tend to pursue. The teams that won didn’t add players who cost them a fortune, but they were aggressive in finding the right fits.

Utilizing free agency to find good players is something Jones’ organization hasn’t done in a long time. This past weekend was another lesson for the Cowboys in how to use free agency, but it’s unlikely they were paying enough attention to notice.