Dallas Cowboys' Biggest Obstacles for Deep Playoff Run

The Dallas Cowboys control their own playoff destiny. They are 9-4 and have just three games standing in between them and the playoffs.

First up is their division rival, the Philadelphia Eagles (9-4), in a game that will likely decide the winner of the NFC East. After that tough test, the Cowboys host Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts (9-4) and finish up the season against their most storied rival, the Washington Redskins (3-10). 

That means the Cowboys are likely facing two playoff teams and one that always gives them a tough game regardless of the state or record of its team. 

That's a very tough final stretch of games in which the Cowboys will likely have to go 3-0 to win the division and at least 2-1 to have a chance at the wild card. 

With that in mind, let's take a look at various aspects that may keep the Cowboys from getting into and making a deep playoff run. 

Lack of Pass Rush

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Through their first 13 games, the Cowboys' biggest weakness has been their lack of a pass rush. The Cowboys are 32nd in adjusted sack rate (represents sacks divided by pass plays, which include passes, sacks and aborted snaps), per Football Outsiders, and 28th in total sacks. 

Those numbers are just abysmal and help paint a picture as to why the Cowboys defense has struggled against the likes of Colt McCoy and Mark Sanchez. The fact that the Cowboys can't get pressure with their four defensive linemen totally changes the way they play defense. 

It causes them to allocate more players to rushing the quarterback, which leaves less people in coverage. It also doesn't help that the Cowboys aren't exactly a great blitzing team, as they rarely get pressure when they blitz. 

If the Cowboys aren't able to get some type of consistent pressure against Andrew Luck and, to a lesser extent, Mark Sanchez, they will struggle mightily against both teams. The only chance the Cowboys would have in this scenario would be to win a high-scoring shootout. 

If the Cowboys don't get pressure, it means they will have to be nearly perfect in the secondary, which leads us to our next obstacle the Cowboys face in their attempt to get into the playoffs and make a deep run.  

For more about the Cowboys' lack of a pass rush, I suggest you take a look at Bob Sturm's "Marinelli Report" for Week 14. 

Secondary

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The Cowboys secondary has been very inconsistent throughout the season. It has had some great games where it stops great receivers and others where it can't cover even pedestrian receivers. 

It isn't being helped by the lack of a pass rush, but the 25th-ranked passing defense will not cut it going forward. 

Orlando Scandrick is the defensive back who has been the most consistent for the Cowboys throughout the season. He is one of the best slot cornerbacks in the NFL, as his incredible quickness and fluidity allow him to thrive in those situations. 

Brandon Carr has had a subpar year for the most part, even though he is coming off his best game of the year against the Chicago Bears. The Cowboys need Carr to build off that performance, as they play very potent passing attacks in the next two weeks. 

With the Cowboys' abysmal pass rush, the secondary has to play at an extremely high level to have a chance. A lot of the Cowboys' struggles have been when they have played zone, as their defensive backs are much more comfortable in man coverage.

They struggle to get to the right depth in their zone, and they have had trouble passing off receivers in between their zones, which has led to some big plays for opposing offenses. 

The Cowboys can't expect their offense to carry them into and through the playoffs all by itself, as they will need the defense to contribute in some fashion. 

Tony Romo's Health

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While they need their defense to step up and play better, the Cowboys are not going to suddenly get an exceptional, or even above average, defense for the stretch run. This puts a great deal of pressure on Tony Romo and the Cowboys offense. 

Dallas' offense has been exceptional for most of the season. It has been able to have a dominant rushing game with an efficient passing attack.

Nevertheless, there has been a common theme in each of the Cowboys' four losses, which have also been four of the offense's worst performances. In each of the four losses, Tony Romo has had significant issues with his health. 

In the loss against the San Francisco 49ers, Romo's injured back was a huge detriment to his ability to throw the ball. His passes lacked zip, and his mechanics were bad as he tried to make up for it. He didn't take the Wednesday off before the game, which has become sort of a tradition since. 

Against the Redskins, Romo injured the transverse process in his back when he took a knee from Redskins linebacker Keenan Robinson, and he looked like a shell of himself when he returned as the Cowboys lost in overtime. 

Romo didn't play against the Arizona Cardinals because of the injury he sustained against the Redskins, which led to the Cowboys offense's worst game of the season. 

Finally, the Cowboys' loss to the Eagles came on a short week in which Romo wasn't able to take sufficient time to let his back heal, and he once again could not take off the Wednesday practice. Romo looked a lot like he did in the 49ers game, as he lacked zip on his passes, which led him to make fundamental mistakes to compensate for it. 

Furthermore, Romo has come out and said that he has been dealing with a rib cartilage issue this season. 

As is always the case, the Cowboys' season rests on the health of Romo. If he is able to get adequate rest and not sustain any more injuries, the Cowboys will have a great chance to beat anyone in the NFL. 

Third-Down Efficiency

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The last thing that has the potential to keep the Cowboys from making a deep run in the playoffs relates to both the offense and defense: third downs.

On the surface, the Cowboys appear to be very efficient on third downs, as they convert on third down 48.8 percent of the time, which is the best in the NFL. However, that number is propped up by the torrid pace they set in the first seven weeks of the season.

In the first seven games, the Cowboys never converted less than 50 percent of their third-down conversions; however, they never converted more than 41 percent of their third downs in games eight through 12. That is not exactly the way you want your offense to be trending coming into the most crucial stretch of the season. 

On the bright side, Dallas converted 50 percent of its third-down conversions against the Bears, which hopefully means the Cowboys are going to start trending upward once again. 

With how much the Cowboys rely on their offense to be great, it needs to be similar to the offense from the first seven games instead of the one from the last six.