Photo by John Smolek/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The Cowboys are close to the middle of the pack when it comes to NFL Draft capital. We can all understand that the Dallas Cowboys are not going to tank their season. Players, coaches, staffers… nobody affiliated with the team is going to actively try to lose. Understanding that, the winning that they are doing is really impacting their future draft capital. As we have discussed as of late, the Cowboys have won three of their last four games. With that being the case they currently hold the 14th overall pick in the NFL Draft. Tankathon The Cowboys are the only team of the bottom 18 (aka the non-playoff groups) who can claim that they have won three of their last four. The teams near the top of the draft order are either fully committed to their own tank or are even worse than we think the Cowboys are this season. On the subject of playoffs, all three games remaining for Dallas are against teams currently projected to reach the postseason tournament. This means that Dallas can’t lose to a team and pick up double the ground on them in this particular race like they could have if they’d lost to the Carolina Panthers for example. For what it’s worth, the Cowboys are underdogs this week and likely will be for their final two games as well. If we assume that they finish the season with six wins then it is possible (pretty low odds, though) that they could squeak into the top 10, but just barely. We are looking at something around picks 13-16 in all likelihood as far as the first round is concerned.

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images Micah Parsons is playing at as high of a level as he ever has. The Dallas Cowboys defense took a huge hit when All-Pro linebacker/edge rusher Micah Parsons went down with an ankle sprain and missed four games. The three-time All-Pro has been back for six games now, and although the team is just 3-3 with their win against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Parsons has been reminding everyone that he is the most unique defender in the NFL. Parsons only had one sack in the first four games of the season. He has totaled 7.5 sacks since his return. What adds a little extra sizzle on it is that Parsons has recorded three multi-sack games over that span, which is tied for the second-most he’s had in one season during his career (also had three in 2021). This now gives Parsons 14 games with two or more sacks recorded. That is tied for the fourth-most games with multiple sacks by a player in his first four years in NFL history. Only Reggie White, Richard Dent, and J.J. Watt has more. When you break this down, it’s truly incredible how often Parsons can sack the quarterback in bunches. He’s played in 60 games so far in his career. That’s means he has a multi-sack performance every four to five games, which is an unbelievable pace. Micah Parsons picking pockets pic.twitter.com/n5RTzLk4EV — Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) December 15, 2024 Micah Parsons having a day with his second sack. : #DALvsCAR on FOX : https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/JCfjSKeiVV — NFL (@NFL) December 15, 2024 The former 12th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft is now up to 8.5 sacks on the season. With three games left and the tear that he’s currently on, smart money says that Parsons will hit double digits again in sacks. Once he achieves that, he’ll be the fifth player in league history to have double-digit sacks in each of his first four seasons. Parsons would join the aforementioned White, Derrick Thomas, Dwight Freeney, and Claude Humphrey. All four of those players are in the Hall of Fame. Parsons has amassed 13 quarterback hits since he came back to action. That is tied for the third-most by any player over the last seven weeks. Even when he doesn’t get to the quarterback, Parsons has made life very difficult for them. He has racked up 39 pressures and 23 hurries over the six games he’s been back. Another key note about how well Parsons is playing is that if he was able to sack the quarterback at the pace he has since his return for the entire season, he would record 21 sacks, which would be the third-most ever in one year. It hasn’t been the best season for the Cowboys on defense, mainly due to injuries. However, since Parsons has returned, the unit is playing with a lot more effectiveness, and that’s because his presence draws so much attention that it allows others guys to make plays. There simply isn’t a player like Parsons anywhere else in the NFL.

Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images The Dallas Cowboys are moving up once again in the latest round of power rankings. There are only three weeks left in the NFL season which is incredibly hard to believe. On some level it feels like everything just started, but in another way the process of the 2024 Dallas Cowboys has been a slow and agonizing one. I think we are all well aware of how long it has been since things felt stable with the team we all know and painfully tolerate love. We are embarking upon perhaps the greatest week that football will offer us, though. Beginning Thursday there will be at least one NFL game on six of the eight days to follow it. What’s more is that the College Football Playoff will begin in a 12-team format for the first time ever. Throw in other bowl games and whatever is going on in your backyard, and it is the football-iest time of the year. Before we get to all of that though we have to tie a proper bow on the week that was, one where the Cowboys won for the third time in a month. It is power rankings time! You can view last week’s rankings right here. 1 – Buffalo Bills (LW: 3) What they have done this season is remarkable. I have never felt more confident that this is finally the year for them. Obviously that means that heartbreak awaits. 2 – Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 2) Buffalo might be the only team standing in the way of our worst nightmare around here. It is so frustrating and annoying to admit, but the Eagles are a machine. The worst part about it all is it seems like Nick Sirianni has finally figured out how to stay out of the way and just do his job which is helping things all the more. 3 – Baltimore Ravens (LW: 5) It is going to be so strange if they do not even wind up winning their own division. I would not bet against Baltimore… unless they are playing Buffalo. 4 – Detroit Lions (LW: 1) Has the bow broken? Is the cradle falling? Times seem rather tense around the Lions right now and injuries are certainly a very real part of it. Being the hunted on a weekly basis is not for the weary and maybe, just maybe, it is taking its toll on the Lions. 5 – Minnesota Vikings (LW: 7) I’m going to say right now that I firmly believe that one of the Vikings or Packers are going to beat the Lions in the playoffs. Minnesota is so wildly impressive. I am very jealous. 6 – Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 4) One loss hardly seems like a reason to panic here. Pittsburgh will be fine and will still likely win the AFC North as noted. Big game Saturday! 7 – Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 6) It feels so strange and quite honestly stupid to have them this low given their record, but I do not know how anyone can feel like they are robust at the moment. We have said all season long that if anyone deserves the benefit of the doubt it is them and that certainly holds true, but their reputation is doing most of the work. 8 – Green Bay Packers (LW: 8) In no way am I trying to make up for the Cowboys’ playoff loss last year. It was the worst. But the Packers appear to be a truly elite team. Isn’t that context important? 9 – Washington Commanders (LW: 9) Reaching the playoffs in the first year of Dan Quinn will be celebrated. It should be. What they are doing is impressive. 10 – Denver Broncos (LW: 10) While it certainly took a minute, the reality is that Sean Payton in Denver may wind up being something quite interesting. He has them playing so good and hitting all of the right notes. 11 – Los Angeles Rams (LW: 12) On some level I think they can be viewed as the most surprising division winner of the year, assuming they take it home. Sean McVay’s finest coaching has all come after the Rams won the Super Bowl. 12 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 13) We will see you on Sunday night. 13 – Houston Texans (LW: 15) They feel similar to the Chiefs in that there is a lot more that we want to see from a team in their position. Houston has already clinched their division and is likely set at the #4 spot in the conference. Funny that they play Kansas City on Saturday. 14 – Seattle Seahawks (LW: 11) The wheels may be falling off. It is unfortunate. They have been fun to watch. 15 – Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 14) In all likelihood this is still a playoff team. But that nobody made a big deal about them getting embarrassed by the Buccaneers is pretty representative of how little juice the Chargers ultimately have, even with Jim Harbaugh. 16 – Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 17) Their fans are going to look back on the early part of this season and be so frustrated that things got to the point that they did. 17 – Arizona Cardinals (LW: 19) Don’t look now, but my Cardinals have a shot! 18 – Dallas Cowboys (LW: 21) They are winners of three of their last four. Obviously how they got there matters. But they are not going out with a whimper and that is commendable. 19 – Atlanta Falcons (LW: 24) Congratulations on winning on Monday night. It was done in literally the least impressive way possible. 20 – San Francisco 49ers (LW: 16) On one hand there was a player who literally quit the team during their latest outing. On the other hand there was a mutiny from the locker room against that player. Either way… there is quite the mess going on here. 21 – Indianapolis Colts (LW: 18) Sometimes you

Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons are in some pretty rare historical places after Sunday. The Dallas Cowboys took care of business on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers and in the process improved to 6-8 on the season. There have been accolades for Rico Dowdle who put forth another impressive game running the ball for America’s Team. Big-time things like Dowdle excelling get touched on by the broadcast, but there are often details about what the Cowboys are accomplishing that take a little bit more digging to uncover. This is where the wonderful tools from Stathead and Pro Football Reference come into play. They allow us to sift and sort through both franchise and league history to see and measure what the Cowboys are doing against all of time. Here are this week’s findings. What Rico Dowdle is doing currently is very special Rico Dowdle had quite the day against Carolina. It was the third game in a row in which he set a career high from a rushing yardage standpoint. That alone is an absurd statement. What was particularly impressive about Dowdle’s work though was that he averaged six yards per carry while carrying the ball for over 145 yards. He is just the 10th player in franchise history to do this in the 21st century, and the first since Ezekiel Elliott on the night where Zeke hurdled at Philadelphia back in 2018. We are past the point of Dowdle having normal or nice numbers from a running back. This is elite production. This 4-game stretch specifically has been incredible from Dowdle While Dowdle has had over 100 yards in each of his last three games, it was the one before the run started where things started to really click for him. We are talking about the win at Washington. Since then Dowdle has had 84 carries for 478 yards. Surprisingly, he only has a single touchdown to show for all of that work. As far as the yardage is concerned though, Dowdle is the first Cowboys running back to have 475+ rushing yards in a four-game span since Zeke did it in 2017. Again, we are seeing some incredible production from him ever since the Cowboys began to feed him more. The last defensive coordinator to oversee that kind of domination, amazingly, was Mike Zimmer On the other side of the ball, Mike Zimmer’s group was absolutely dominant against the Panthers. Across the day as a whole the Cowboys defense had four takeaways and recorded six sacks. No NFL defense had reached both of those marks in a single game all season prior to Dallas doing it. The Cowboys actually did it on almost the one-year anniversary of the latest occurrence which was the Miami Dolphins a year ago. Amazingly, the last instance of Dallas reaching these defensive thresholds in a game came over 20 years ago back during the 2004 season. This means that Mike Zimmer’s group did it for the first time since another Mike Zimmer group did it. Mike Zimmer is mirroring his first stint with the Cowboys in an impressive way In registering at least one takeaway the Cowboys stretched their streak of doing so to seven consecutive games. They never reached this mark in a single season under Dan Quinn, for what it’s worth. That is not a slight against Quinn by any means, just a note in how difficult it is to do. 2024 is the 25th season since the turn of the century and the Cowboys have had a streak of seven games with a turnover on 13 different occasions now. To the point of Zimmer finding his own fountain of youth within the Cowboys, the first five instances of it happening this century were all under his watch! Micah Parsons had another game with multiple sacks On Sunday, Micah Parsons got to Bryce Young on two different occasions which made it a multi-sack day for him. Those have become quite common for Parsons throughout his career to this point. It was actually the 14th game in which Parsons has had at least two sacks which is tied for the fourth-most through the first four years of a player’s career in NFL history. With three games left to go it is possible for Parsons to tie or even pass J.J. Watt’s production through his first four seasons. Micah Parsons is on the verge of some impressive history thanks to those two sacks On the subject of Parsons, his two sacks gave him 8.5 on the season which means he has 1.5 to go in order to reach double digits. Should he get there then he will have had double-digit sacks in each of his first four NFL seasons, truly impressive and unbelievable stuff. Only four players in NFL history have had double-digit sacks in each of their first four seasons as you can see. They are all in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. CeeDee Lamb is continuing his impressive form in his fifth NFL season Back to the offense for a final moment, CeeDee Lamb had an impressive outing to say the least. He completely dominated the first half and was a big reason for all of the success at that point. Ultimately Lamb crossed the 100-yard mark in the game and did so for the 22nd time in his career (counting the postseason). He is now one of 19 players in NFL history to have 22 games with 100 yards receiving through his first five NFL seasons. If it is not obvious, Lamb has the most 100-yard games through the first five seasons of a player’s career with the Dallas Cowboys specifically.

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images There are some important free agents to be on the Cowboys roster. The Dallas Cowboys’ 30-14 blowout win over the Carolina Panthers had plenty of contributors. Three of the biggest were RB Rico Dowdle, DT Osa Odighizuwa, and CB Jourdan Lewis, all of whom will be free agents in 2025. Their performances remind us that if Dallas wants to progress from this year’s struggles, it can’t take a passive approach to another offseason. Rico Dowdle In what’s suddenly become a weekly trend for him, Dowdle set a new career high with 149 rushing yards. Finally getting treated like a true starter in Dallas, and enjoying a series of bad opposing defenses, Dowdle is becoming a hot topic ahead of his first offseason as an unrestricted free agent. And with nobody else on the RB depth chart worthy of replacing him next year, it forces the Cowboys back into deciding how much they want to invest in the position. Dowdle should feel a sense of loyalty to Dallas after years of their sticking with him through multiple major injuries. But turning 27 in June, Dowdle could hardly be blamed for looking elsewhere if the Cowboys aren’t willing to offer him market value. This offseason is probably his one shot at a multi-million dollar NFL contract, hoping some teams focus on his current production and relatively low mileage instead of his age. Osa Odighizuwa A more traditional free agent will be Osa Odighizuwa, who’s closing out his original rookie deal with a strong fourth season. Dallas’ top DT, who sometimes goes unnoticed in the dirty work of the trenches, was very visible on Sunday. With a sack and multiple other hits and pressures on Panthers QB Bryce Young, Odighizuwa played a noticeably huge part in disrupting Carolina’s offense. Like at RB, there’s no in-house replacement for Odighizuwa if he departs next March. Mazi Smith is the other starting DT and Dallas is hoping he’ll make a big third-year leap. But beyond him are aged veterans like Linval Joseph and Carlos Watkins who can’t be expected to fill the spot and keep the defense solvent. Odighizuwa should have a strong market. He can play inside in a 4-3 or potentially play DE for a 3-4 team. Just this past Sunday we saw him lining up on the edge in a creative package with Micah Parsons. He’s been consistently effective throughout his career and is standing out now under Mike Zimmer. If the Cowboys are going to stick to a draft-focused philosophy for team building, allowing too many of their homegrown talents to leave after four years isn’t sustainable. Jourdan Lewis While older than the last two guys we’ve discussed, Jourdan Lewis is still getting it done as a play-making slot corner. The eight-year veteran deflected the pass that became an Eric Kendricks interception and had a sack later in the game. Lewis has consistently been able to make an impact and brings a lot of toughness for a smaller guy. Lewis turns 30 next August and that will likely affect interest in his services. In the modern pass-happy NFL, your third corner is essentially a starter and plays way more snaps than your third linebacker. So while you have to be concerned about age with that, you have to keep that balanced with ability and performance. From what we’ve seen this year, Lewis still has plenty to offer. The Cowboys do have more assets to work with at CB than other positions. Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland are still here and prospects Caelen Carson and Josh Butler are under contract. But with three of those guys currently injured, and Diggs’ status for 2025 now a point of controversy, Dallas may want to hedge its bet with a reliable guy like Lewis. There was a time when we could easily predict players like these getting new deals from the Cowboys, but the days of Jerry Jones’ dogged loyalty to his players seem to be over. As Stephen Jones and other voices become more influential in how the team is run, we’re seeing the shift to a more financially conservative and cap-cautious approach. But if the front office learns one lesson from 2024, hopefully it’s that that you get what you pay for. They didn’t invest in the present and have a losing team to show for it.

Bob Donnan-Imagn Images All the Dallas Cowboys news that’s fit to print Micah Parsons lays out powerful reason to keep playing winning football despite Cowboys’ low playoff chances – Mauricio Rodriguez, A to Z Sports Micah Parsons has been the most vocal leader of the anti-tank team in Dallas, and after a two-sack game against the Panthers this message was clear. For Micah Parsons, who picked up two sacks and two tackles for loss on Sunday’s 30-14 win over the Carolina Panthers, there are even more reasons to be all in, even if they don’t necessarily have to do with the Cowboys’ chances of making the playoffs. “We’re not going to give up, as long as I’m part of this unit, as long as we believe in each other, at the end of the day I can look to my left and know I can count on them,” Parsons told reporters postgame. “We’re fighting for each other. There’s a lot of guys fighting for new contracts, guys fighting to take care of their families, so there’s still a lot of football to be played. You don’t want to put anything bad on film or things like that. We’re fighting for each other at this point.” For fans, it’s easy to get caught up in playoff chances and even draft positioning when things aren’t going great. But for players, every game matters. That’s why tanking isn’t a thing in the NFL. These are grown men fighting for their livelihood week in and week out. And even for stars like Parsons, whose future appears to be more than safe with a looming contract extension, fighting for teammates is highly important. Parsons says that’s enough to be motivated on gameday, calling it a “special feeling” to fight for the locker room. “At the end of the day, the record is the record, the game is the game,” the Cowboys superstar said. “We’re going to lose some, we’re going to win some, but it’s a special feeling when you can fight for each other.” Underrated Cowboys star prices himself out of Dallas with latest dominant game – Jerry Trotta, The Landry Hat Osa Odighizuwa is putting together a very productive season, and it’s come in a contract year. Osa Odighizuwa might be too expensive for the Cowboys to re-sign Odighizuwa has been one of the most dominant interior defenders in the NFL this season. That continued on Sunday to the tune of six pressures, one sack, three quarterback hits, four defensive stops and a career-high 91.6 pass-rush grade, via Pro Football Focus. Only Chiefs superstar Chris Jones (66) and Broncos standout Zach Allen (56) have more pressures this season than Odighizuwa (51) this year, per PFF (subscription required). The former third-round pick also ranks second in QB hits, third in pressure rate and top 10 in hurries. No defensive player in football has more QB hits than Odighizuwa’s 16 over the last seven weeks. That list includes Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons and Defensive Player of the Year favorite T.J. Watt, who might just be the three best defenders in the league. There’s been a lot of talk about the Cowboys signing the best defensive tackle in free agency this offseason. Make no mistake about it: That player is Odighizuwa. Unfortunately, Stephen Jones has already announced Dallas’ intention to tighten its budget this spring. Report: Cowboys could be without CB Trevon Diggs for quite some time – Todd Brock, The Cowboys Wire The Cowboys secondary has played well without Trevon Diggs for long stretches this season, but the thought of starting 2025 without him is a very tough pill to swallow. Diggs will undergo surgery to repair his left knee after suffering an injury in the team’s Week 14 loss to Cincinnati, the Cowboys announced over the weekend. The issue is reportedly with his articular cartilage, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, and apparently separate from the knee ailment that kept him out of Weeks 12 and 13. “This is something that occurred during the [Week 14] game,” head coach Mike McCarthy confirmed in his postgame press conference after the team’s 30-14 win over the Panthers. Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones elaborated on Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan on Monday, saying he did not expect Diggs to be ready for training camp next summer and adding, “but I think his timeline will be right at the start of the season.” Diggs had played every defensive snap of the Monday night meeting with the Bengals and then consulted with the Cowboys’ medical staff during the week. After missing multiple practices and some testing, the decision was made to keep Diggs home from the trip to Charlotte and proceed with plans for surgery. “He was having to play with fluid in his knee. He was out there doing everything he can because he wants to play, he wants to compete, he wants to contribute,” Jones said of the 26-year-old Diggs. “It’s certainly a very legitimate injury that’s gonna take him some time to recover from. We got a vision that we can get him ready to do next year.” In his Monday post to X, Rapoport put the recovery time at “up to eight months.” Cowboys DE DeMarcus Lawrence won’t return this week – Charean Williams, Pro Football Talk Veteran defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence is running out of time to play again this season. Lawrence, who has not played since Week 4, will not return this week. “I don’t see DeMarcus being available this week,” head coach Mike McCarthy said, via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. “He wasn’t part of the conversation.” The Cowboys have only three games remaining, and almost out of playoff contention, it makes no sense to bring back Lawrence, who becomes a free agent in March. He is recovering from a Lisfranc injury in his right foot that was expected to keep him out 4-8 weeks.