The Dallas Cowboys have a monumental offseason ahead with so many potentially franchise-changing moves to make.
Owner Jerry Jones has made it clear the Cowboys are going “all-in” for 2024 and decided to retain Mike McCarthy for one more season to see if he can get the talented roster past the first round in the playoffs and possibly reach the Super Bowl expectations Jones expects.
After a fantastic regular season where Dallas won the NFC East with a (12-5) record which gave them home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs, the Cowboys were dominated by a young, surging Green Bay Packers team.
Suddenly one of the league’s top defenses couldn’t stop the run and allowed first-year starting QB Jordan Love to look like Patrick Mahomes, while Dak Prescott and the offense sputtered which was rare for 2023.
Prescott was in the discussion for NFL MVP this season and closed out arguably the best regular season of his career. The Cowboys entered the wildcard round matchup as two-score favorites over the Green. Bay Packers, who have a first-year starting QB and the youngest roster in the NFL.
Dak Prescott closed out the 2023 regular season ranked in the top five in several major categories for NFL QB. He came into Sunday’s playoff matchup against the Green Bay Packers with 4,516 yards (3rd), 36 touchdowns (1st), 9 interceptions and a QB rating of 72.5 (2nd).
Although some rolled there eyes when Jerry Jones and company decided to fire Kellen Moore at the end of last season — as he’s regarded as one of the up and coming young and brilliant offensive minds — head coach Mike McCarthy took over play calling and the Dallas Cowboys offense looked elite for the majority of the year.
Finally, Prescott and CeeDee Lamb found the perfect chemistry and emerged as arguably the top QB/WR tandem in the league.
Beyond Dak Prescott and the explosive offense that averaged 389 yards and 30 points per game and finished with 77 touchdowns in the regular season, the Dallas Cowboys had a defense that finished the season ranked 5th in the NFL.
Now, the Cowboys will enter 2024 with more pressure than ever, from head coach to the QB. Prescott his expected to get a record-breaking extension and Lamb is up for one soon too, but nothing will matter if the team can’t find a way to win in big moments.
One thing “America’s Team” would likely not have to worry about are workplace conditions as Jerry Jones was at the forefront of building a state-of-the art arena and impressive practice facility for the team.
But a recent study showed Dallas is lacking in a few key areas and players aren’t happy about it.
Dallas Cowboys See Largest Drop In Annual NFLPA Survey About Workplace Conditions
The Dallas Cowboys’ overall grade dropped in the annual NFLPA survey released Wednesday.
The Cowboys’ fell to 12th among the 32 NFL teams in the players’ survey about workplace conditions. In 2022, the Cowboys finished third. That represents the biggest drop across the league
Players thought there were a lack of resources in the training room, from financial investments to staffing. The CBA mandates clubs have at least three people on the training staff. The Cowboys have four staffers and two grad assistants on the training staff.
“Joke of a minimum,” NFLPA president JC Tretter said Wednesday.
The NFLPA survey of 1,706 players was conducted between Aug. 27 and Nov. 14 through an independent company.
The Miami Dolphins finished first overall while Minnesota was second. The Washington Commanders ranked last among players in workplace conditions.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, in addition to his coordinators, received high grades from the players. McCarthy received an A grade, ninth in the NFL. Jerry Jones, the team owner, was given a B grade, 19th in the NFL.
In a surprise, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt was given the worst grade among owners. The Chiefs have one of the worst team facilities in the NFL. Stephen Ross of the Dolphins finished first.
Dallas Cowboys players graded the training room a C-minus and the training staff a D-plus.
The NFLPA survey reported only 62% of Cowboys players feel like they get an adequate amount of one-on-one treatment time, which ranks 30th in the NFL. The other issue mentioned was players indicated the training room lacks standard equipment expected of any training facility.
Cowboys players had high grades for how their families were treated, an A-minus which ranked fourth in the league. The locker room also received an A grade, second-highest in the NFL. Also, the Cowboys’ strength and conditioning coaches received a B-plus, 17th in the NFL.