Biggest Studs, Duds and Surprises of Dallas Cowboys' 2017 Season
Sitting at 7-6, the Dallas Cowboys have managed to keep their playoff hopes alive.
On Sunday, the Cowboys blew out the New York Giants on their home turf in a must-win game. With just three weeks left, they have to win out if they are to secure a playoff spot.
It's been a roller-coaster season for the Cowboys in many ways. The team has had to overcome a lot to get to this point, but their inability to close out games has put them in a tough spot.
Without further ado, here are the biggest studs, duds, and surprises for the Cowboys in the 2017 season.
Stud: DeMarcus Lawrence
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Week in and week out, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence has been the team's most consistent and impressive player.
After just one sack in 2016, the 25-year-old rebounded in a big way in his fourth year in the NFL. In 2017, he has 13.5 sacks through 13 weeks. That's just the start of his impressive play, though. He's become the team's best run defender and the alpha dog the defense has lacked for some time.
Lawrence has recorded just two sacks over the past four weeks of the season, but he's starting to demand the kind of attention elite rushers receive. However, the Cowboys' defense should benefit from it in the long term. His impact has boosted the play of guys around him, such as David Irving and Tyrone Crawford.
Lawrence is scheduled to hit free agency after the 2017 season, but you can bet the Cowboys won't let him hit the market anytime soon.
Dud: Anthony Brown
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After a fantastic rookie season, cornerback Anthony Brown has taken a major step back in his sophomore season.
In 2016, he played so well that the Cowboys had to try to find ways to get him on the field. As a rookie, he played both inside as a slot corner and on the outside when needed.
This season, the 23-year-old has struggled. He's been asked to primarily play on the outside and that's just not his best spot. His technique has been inconsistent, and he has been flagged 10 times this season (tied for the sixth-most in the NFL), according to NFL Penalties.
In the past few weeks, Brown has played fewer snaps as he has been benched in favor of rookies Jourdan Lewis, Chidobe Awuzie and Xavier Woods.
In the long term, Brown still figures to factor into the Cowboys' plans in the secondary, but he just hasn't been able to reach the level of play we saw him at last season.
Surprise: Anthony Hitchens
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Heading into 2017, Anthony Hitchens was thought to be an average linebacker who had a lot of starting experience and versatility. All of a sudden, though, he has become one of the more important pieces in the Cowboys' defense.
In the last two weeks, Hitchens has played multiple roles for the Cowboys. In Week 13, he started at weakside linebacker and racked up 15 total tackles for a career high; this week, he split snaps with Jaylon Smith as the team's middle linebacker and tallied 14 tackles and forced a fumble.
His play has been very impressive over the last two months.
With free agency approaching, the Cowboys have an interesting decision to make. Should they pay their reliable, versatile linebacker who is playing the best football of his career? Or do they opt to let him test the free-agent waters to save cap space and leave Smith as the team's primary middle linebacker?
With Sean Lee's injury history and the shakiness of Smith this season, it would be wise for Dallas to lock up Hitchens considering how well he has played this season. He's taken his game to another level and has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the year.
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Surprise: Alfred Morris
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One of the biggest surprises this season has been how well Alfred Morris has played in the absence of Ezekiel Elliott.
While the team itself is just 2-3 without Elliott, that's not because of Morris. In the five games in which he has started, he has carried the ball 83 times for 369 yards (4.45 yards per carry). It hasn't been flashy or thrilling, but he's been dependable.
What is even more unbelievable about Morris' season is that he entered training camp competing with Darren McFadden for No. 2 duties.
From preseason on, Morris has been highly consistent. Throughout the season, he has averaged five yards per carry on 97 total carries. That's pretty impressive from the 29-year old running back from Florida Atlantic University.
The Cowboys have just one game left to survive without Elliott, but it's nice to know they have a suitable backup in case something were to happen down the stretch.
Morris has played well enough to keep the Cowboys in the hunt.
Stud: Sean Lee
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Sean Lee's individual stats aren't jaw-dropping (although, his 18-tackle performance against the New York Giants was impressive), but it's his value to the team that makes him a stud.
In the eight games Lee has played this season, opposing teams are averaging just 17.3 points per game against Dallas. That number drops even further (down to 15.8 PPG) if you exclude the Atlanta Falcons' game in which the linebacker was injured in the first half.
When you remove Lee from the Cowboys' defense, though, the wheels fall off. In the five full games he missed, the Cowboys surrendered nearly 30 points per game. Even in the Falcons' game, the Cowboys' defense allowed 27 points once the linebacker left the field.
As long as the Cowboys can keep Lee healthy, they will be an above-average defense. He might not produce a bunch of turnovers or splash plays, but his importance to the team is well-documented. His health and play over the final three games will be vital to Dallas' playoff hopes.
Lee is the team's best defender and possibly the best overall player on the roster.
Dud: No. 2 Receiver
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The Cowboys' offense has been up and down all season. They have had eight games in which they have scored at least 28 points. In their other five games, though, they've failed to score more than 19 points in any single game.
Part of the reason their offense has struggled so much this season is the lack of a reliable No. 2 target opposite Dez Bryant.
Terrance Williams, the team's No. 2 receiver, has just over 500 receiving in 13 games this season. He has failed to score a single touchdown this season and has just one game over 70 receiving yards (141 versus Kansas City Chiefs).
Not only has he failed to score a touchdown, he has also had multiple passes bounce off his chest that ended up being intercepted. For a player who signed a new four-year deal in the offseason, Williams hasn't provided much in return for Dallas.
The other player who has somewhat disappointed in the Cowboys' receiving core is Brice Butler. After a few impressive plays early in the season, he has failed to exceed 300 receiving yards through 13 weeks.
Combined, Williams and Butler have just 768 yards and two touchdowns. That's not enough production from two of their outside receivers.
It's highly unlikely the Cowboys will invest more money into the wide receiver unit. They just need these two to play better over the next three weeks. If that can happen, it would help the offense become more of a consistent unit.
Stud: Tyron Smith
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The least surprising news this season is Tyron Smith has been outstanding once again.
Despite clearly not being 100 percent healthy, Smith has played like an All-Pro. And while he's playing at an elite level, it's when he's not on the field that you notice his impact.
In the two games in which the 26-year-old didn't start this season, the offense struggled dramatically.
Everyone remembers the infamous game in which the Cowboys allowed eight sacks against the Atlanta Falcons. But they also struggled the following week against the Philadelphia Eagles when Dak Prescott was sacked four times in a blowout loss.
In the two games without Smith, the Cowboys scored a combined 16 points. In their other 11 games with him, they are averaging more than 27 points per game. He's the most important offensive linemen on the team and Prescott's success is tied into how comfortable he feels with his blindside protection.
Smith is dealing with a back and groin injury, but he's still one of the best left tackles the league has seen over the last decade. As long as he's on the field, the Cowboys will be an elite offense.
Dud: Maliek Collins
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Much like Anthony Brown, Maliek Collins is another player suffering through a sophomore slump. However, it's not necessarily his fault.
In 2016, he was Dallas' 3-technique and performed well. As a 21-year old rookie defensive tackle, he racked up five sacks and was a big reason why the Cowboys were so stout in the middle of their defense.
This year, though, the Cowboys have moved Collins all over the place. The rash of injuries on the interior defensive line has forced him to play 1-technique while David Irving has been the team's primary 3-technique.
Unfortunately for Collins, his skill set does not suit that role well. He's a penetrating defensive tackle who wins with quickness, not holding up against double teams.
Ideally, the Cowboys would invest in a true 1-technique this offseason so they can move Collins back to his natural position.
The 22-year-old hasn't played poorly at his new position, but the sooner he can get back to rushing the quarterback, the better the Cowboys' defense will be.
Surprise: Young Defensive Backs
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When the Cowboys decided to overhaul their secondary in one offseason, they knew there were going to be some early-season bumps.
Dallas drafted four defensive backs in April, and three of them started on Sunday in the win over the New York Giants.
In the first half of the season, the young defensive backs struggled. Chidobe Awuzie missed most of the offseason and a ton of regular-season time with a hamstring injury, and Jourdan Lewis never made it on the field for any preseason action. Their lack of preparation showed as the team couldn't slow down a handful of offenses early in the year.
Over the past few weeks, though, the young defensive backs have been the bright spot of the defense.
Awuzie is starting on the outside and looks like he's going to keep that job for the time being, while Lewis might have the best ball skills on the team and his competitiveness shows on every snap.
Woods is the team's most versatile defender as he can line up all over the field. He's been the team's primary slot cornerback over the past two weeks.
No matter how the final three weeks fall for the Cowboys, their young secondary will give them many reasons to be optimistic in 2018.
With a secondary that is only getting better each week and a pass rush that looks to be much improved, the defense may be able to take a massive step next season. That's quite surprising given the turnover the Cowboys had on defense in just one season.
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