Year in Review: Recapping Dallas Cowboys' 2017 Season
Sitting at 8-7, the Dallas Cowboys' season is over. Technically, they still have one more meaningless game to play in Week 17, against the Philadelphia Eagles, but that matchup won't mean anything for either team, as the Cowboys are out of the playoffs and the Eagles have clinched home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
For the second season in a row, the teams will meet in Philadelphia for what is essentially an exhibition game. But with the season coming to a close, it is time to look back at the Cowboys' roller coaster of a year.
As always in Dallas, it was an eventful season for a variety of reasons. Considering the expectations the team had coming into the season, it was disappointing. However, it's time to look back at the team's best win, biggest surprise, biggest disappointment and the most valuable player from each phase of the game. Without further ado, here is a recap of the Cowboys' 2017 season.
Best Win: Kansas City
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If you were to look back at the Cowboys' schedule this season, you would find the team didn't have many impressive wins. In fact, if you combine the records of every team they have beaten this season, it comes out to just 45-75. Dallas has beaten just one team that has more than seven wins: the Kansas City Chiefs.
That win came in Week 9, which just so happened to be Ezekiel Elliott's last game before he began to serve his six-game suspension. In that matchup, the offense was able to move the ball at will against the Chiefs defense, as they recorded 24 first downs, totaled 375 yards and scored 28 points. The Cowboys protected quarterback Dak Prescott well, and in return, he scored three touchdowns and had a passer rating of 106.8.
However, the defense was the story of this game for the Cowboys. Outside of one slip-up before halftime on a pass to Tyreek Hill, the defense was phenomenal. Dallas held Kareem Hunt to just 37 rushing yards and Hill caught just one other pass for eight yards.
This was the type of game that made us believe Dallas was going to figure everything out and become a powerhouse in the second half of the season. Unfortunately, Elliott's suspension and the loss of Tyron Smith late in this contest doomed the rest of the Cowboys' season. However, this was an impressive beatdown of one of the best teams in the NFL at the time the two met.
Toughest Loss: Green Bay Packers
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Picking the best win for the Cowboys was easy, but choosing the toughest loss was difficult. Dallas had a handful of rough losses this season, including one against the Los Angeles Rams at home and another against the Seattle Seahawks, which knocked the team out of playoff contention.
However, their worst loss of the season came in Week 5 against the team that eliminated them from the 2016 playoffs: the Green Bay Packers.
In that brutal Week 5 loss, the Cowboys had more than 400 yards of offense and scored 31 points at home. They even took a three-point lead with just 73 seconds remaining on the clock. But once again, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers torched this defense at the end. Rodgers and the Packers went 75 yards with just one time out and scored the game-winning touchdown in only 62 seconds. In a loss that came back to bite Dallas, Rodgers carved up Rod Marinelli's defense when it mattered the most.
Over his career, Rodgers has torched the Cowboys. In the seven games in which he has played against Dallas, he has a passer rating 101.7 and has thrown for 11 touchdowns and just one interception. Next season, the Cowboys will not face the Packers during the regular season, but like so many other times in the playoffs, Dallas may meet up with them again. They are going to need to find some way to beat this rival if they want to make a run at a Super Bowl anytime soon.
Biggest Surprise: DeMarcus Lawrence's Breakout Season
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It wasn't all bad for the Cowboys this season. Despite the team's failure to make the playoffs, they did happen to find an elite pass-rusher in fourth-year player DeMarcus Lawrence. For the first time since DeMarcus Ware's departure in 2013, the Cowboys were able to have a dominant presence on the outside rushing the quarterback.
Through 15 games, Lawrence has racked up 14.5 sacks and has accumulated by far the most lost-yardage through sacks (160) in the NFL, according to ESPN.com. Only one other player in the league has surpassed 100 yards lost on sacks, and that was Chandler Jones (104) of the Arizona Cardinals. The statistics that Lawrence posted in 2017 were staggering. He forced four fumbles, recovered two and racked up 15 total tackles for a loss.
The biggest question remaining relates to whether the Cowboys are going to pay Lawrence this offseason, as he is scheduled to hit free agency. Before his 2017 breakout, Lawrence had just nine total sacks in his first three seasons, during which he dealt with foot and back injuries.
However, game-changing 25-year old pass-rushers don't come around too often, so expect Dallas to give Lawrence a hefty deal this offseason. He's one of the best edge-rushers in the league and has a good chance of being named a first-team All-Pro selection this season.
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Biggest Disappointment: Dez Bryant
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Since signing his extension after the 2014 season, Dez Bryant hasn't been able to get back to his elite form for a prolonged period of time. He's battled numerous injuries, including a broken foot in 2015 and a fractured knee in 2016. Bryant recently admitted to dealing with tendinitis in his knee. However, that doesn't excuse his poor 2017 season.
Through 15 games, Bryant has just 815 yards and 6 touchdowns on 124 targets, according to Pro Football Reference. Bryant is averaging a career-low 12.3 yards per reception and has six dropped passes this season, joint-fifth-most in the NFL, per Fox Sports. All around, it's been a poor year for the 29-year old Bryant.
The question everyone wants the answer to is, can Bryant get back on track in this offense? Or is he just not a fit with Prescott? If he is healthy, there is no doubt Bryant can still produce in the NFL. Even this year, he showed flashes of dominance in games and was still one of the league's biggest threats in the red zone. However, the team will need to adapt its scheme some for the aging Bryant if it does decide to keep him on the roster.
According to Spotrac, Bryant will count $16.5 million against the cap in 2018, which may be too pricey for Dallas given his recent production. What happens to Bryant in the offseason will be one of the biggest talking points of the spring, but bet on him coming back next season and producing at a much higher level given his competitiveness.
Best Play: Dez Bryant's Touchdown vs Arizona Cardinals
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While Dez Bryant's overall play has been less than stellar this season, he has given the Cowboys numerous highlight plays throughout the year. The best play from the Cowboys' season happened in Week 3 in Arizona on what looked to be a simple throw-and-catch from Prescott to Bryant.
On Monday Night Football, Bryant scored a touchdown with five defenders hanging off of him. Bryant caught the pass at the 12-yard line, and he was able to avoid two defenders before multiple Arizona Cardinals players tried to stop him from crossing the goal line. But in this case, five defenders wasn't enough, as Bryant was able to back into the end zone for a score. It was an impressive display of heart and power by Dallas' best receiver.
It's that determination that has endeared Bryant to so many Cowboys supporters over the years. Whenever he is close to the end zone, there is no defender who can bring him down. His size and strength are just too much for any one player to stop him. Bryant only got into the end zone six times in 2017, but this one was one of the better scores of his career.
Worst Play: Tyreek Hill's Touchdown
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While the Cowboys' best play of the season could have been any one of many options, the worst play of the year is pretty obvious. In the Week 9 win over the Chiefs, Dallas' defense played extremely well. However, there was one play everyone would like to forget.
With two seconds left in the first half, the Chiefs snapped the ball on their own 43-yard line. Knowing quarterback Alex Smith wouldn't be able to throw the ball to the end zone for a Hail Mary, he decided to throw a pass down the middle of the field to Tyreek Hill, hoping he would be able to make some sort of play. And that's exactly what happened.
Hill followed a few blockers before heading down the sideline, where he evaded multiple Dallas defenders. He cut back at the 15-yard line and found an open lane to the end zone. Down 14-3 for most of the first half, Hill, and the Chiefs were able to cut the deficit down to four heading into the third quarter.
Luckily for the Cowboys, that play didn't slow down their momentum, and they were able to continue to control the game in the second half. However, it's a play Dallas will wish had never happened and one you likely won't see again for a long time.
Offensive MVP: Tyron Smith
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Choosing an offensive MVP this season was difficult, to say the least. Prescott took major steps backward. Elliott missed six games through suspension, and he struggled earlier in the year. We have already mentioned Bryant and his disappointing campaign, with none of the other receivers stepping up this season.
The one player who was the most valuable to this offense this season was Tyron Smith. When he was on the field and healthy, the Cowboys were an elite offense. They were able to throw or run the ball with ease, and their offense looked like one of the most dominant in the NFL. In the 11 games in which Smith started and finished, the team averaged more 33 points per game.
Smith missed just two starts this season, but he was unable to finish two other games (against the Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks). In the four games Smith missed significant time or did not play, Dallas' offense dramatically fell off. The team averaged just 12 points per game and under 270 yards per game. That's more than a 20-point difference when Smith was on the field compared to when he wasn't. Obviously, the sample size is small, but there is no debating just how big of an impact Smith has on this offense.
Assuming Smith can get back to full strength next season, expect the Cowboys offense to jump back up to the top of the league in points and yards per game. That's the difference Smith can make. He is the best left tackle in the league, even when he is not 100 percent healthy.
Defensive MVP: Sean Lee
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Statistically, Lawrence should probably be the Cowboys' defensive MVP. However, everyone knows who the most important player on the Cowboys' roster is. With Sean Lee on the field, the Dallas defense can reach elite levels despite not always having top-end talent.
Like the offense without Smith, the defense can't function at the same level without its most talented player. That was even truer this season whenever Lee missed time. In the nine games Lee started and finished (not including the Week 10 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons in which he was knocked out of the game in the first half), the Cowboys surrendered just 17.3 points per game. That number drops even further down when you remove two pick-sixes by Prescott that came at no fault of Lee in the defense.
In 10 games, Lee has racked up 94 combined tackles and 12 tackles for a loss, according to Team Rankings. Lee wasn't selected to the Pro Bowl this season because he missed too many games, but he is the Cowboys' best defensive player, and any time he is on the field, Dallas possesses one of the better defenses in the league. He's just that good.
Special Teams MVP: Chris Jones
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For the first time in several seasons, Dan Bailey wasn't the team's best or most valuable special teams player. This season, it was punter Chris Jones, and he was the most valuable by quite a large margin. Despite not being selected to the Pro Bowl, Jones was one of the best and most consistent punters in the NFL this season. Jones averaged just 44 yards per punt this season (26th in the NFL), but that's not why he was so impressive.
Jones and the Cowboys allowed just 64 return yards through 15 games this season. That is good for first in the NFL, according to ESPN.com. Opponents averaged just 4.3 yards per return on 15 returns this season. Jones had more than 50 percent of his punts (30 of 58) down inside the 20-yard line and had just three touchbacks all season long. He was a weapon for the Cowboys this year.
And we have to mention his incredible run in Oakland to save the Cowboys' season for one more week. In a 10-10 game against the Raiders, Jones took off on 4th-and-11, backed up near his own end zone. Jones headed down the right sideline and gained 24 yards, kickstarting the Dallas offense. The Cowboys went on to score a touchdown on the drive and won the game. It's the second year in a row in which Jones has faked a punt and gone on to gain a first down.
While Jones has proved to be quite the athlete, he doesn't get the attention he deserves as a punter. Jones was one of the best players on Dallas' roster in 2017.
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