A new decade of the NFL is on the horizon. With that in mind, it’s an easy time to take a look back on another frustrating stretch of Dallas Cowboys football. ESPN, in conjunction with Football Outsiders, has put a bow on the 2010’s by compiling the DVOA (a opponent-adjusted metric used to compare teams) by year. The snapshot it provides perfectly sums up the Jason Garrett era in Dallas.
Each edition of the Cowboys over the past decade had one thing in common: an offense held together by an under-appreciated quarterback. First it was Tony Romo, whose shortcomings in the playoffs submarined the casual fans view of his play. That same exact brush is currently being used to paint Dak Prescott.
Despite the article being behind a paywall, this information is readily available at FootballOutsiders.com.
There are three subpar offensive years on the lists. In 2010, the team fell apart after Romo broke his clavicle for the first time in Week 7 against the New York Giants. Before that, Dallas was tracking closer to a top 10 offense. In the disastrous 2015 campaign, Romo again played just four games after suffering the same type of injury in Week 2 against another divisional foe in the Philadelphia Eagles.
In what must be a devastating blow to the people who dedicate their online lives to the devaluing of Prescott, the two best years of offense came with No. 4 at the helm. His 2016 rookie season remains a pleasant surprise, but the true leap came last year, despite the meme-inducing 8-8 record. Even Prescott’s worst year in terms of quarterback play resulted in a 10-win season, a trip to the playoffs and a wild card win against the Seattle Seahawks.
Since former head coach Wade Phillips’ departure, the defense was never able to find its footing. The team had just one above average performance on that side of the ball, and played dismally just as often as not despite cycling through five defensive coordinators.
The next 10 years of football in Dallas is yet to be written. But with a quarterback of Prescott’s caliber in tow, history has shown at least the offense will pull its weight and give the team a puncher’s chance of the playoffs ever season.