Dallas Cowboys vs Washington Redskins – September 27, 2004
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is on the field before play against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field, September 27, 2004 in Landover, Maryland. The Cowboys defeated the Redskins 21 to 18. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
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Cowboys face uphill battle in 2018

Matt Verderame News NFL

The Dallas Cowboys are the most iconic team in the National Football league, leading to the moniker, America’s Team. However, the Cowboys let down their fans in 2017, finishing 9-7 and missing the playoffs after a 13-3 campaign the year prior.

Going into this offseason, many expected owner/general manager Jerry Jones to make some sweeping changes. The Cowboys struggled to stop the pass last year, despite the emergence of pass-rushing threat DeMarcus Lawrence. The secondary had lost J.J. Wilcox, Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne and others, and it showed.

To the surprise of many, though, Jones mostly stood pat. Dallas was one of the quietest teams in free agency, mostly adding moderate reinforcements along the offensive and defensive lines. The secondary looks the exact same as the one that got torched in Week 17, except Orlando Scandrick is now with the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s hard to sell hope when nothing changes.

There has also been the cloud of what will happen with Dez Bryant. The 29-year-old star has not recorded an 1,000-yard campaign since 2014, making it nearly impossible to pay him the $16.5 million owed against the cap this fall. If Bryant is released, the Cowboys will be relying heavily on free-agent addition Allen Hurns, the only big-ticket item brought into Big D. Should Jones decide to part ways with the former Pro Bowler, he will likely do so after June 1, splitting his dead cap hit of $8 million between this year and next.

Unless the draft provides some major and immediate reinforcements, the Cowboys look like a team willing to fight out another season with a cast of characters that are interesting and talented, but short on results.

Dallas is hoping that the duo of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott can rise to new heights, a notion that has merit but also pitfalls. Prescott threw for 3,324 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2017, both numbers that could be raised up, although something made tougher by the potential release of Bryant. Elliott was suspended for six games last season, limiting him to 983 yards and seven touchdowns. Provided he has good health, Elliott is a great bet to improve those numbers.

All that said, the Cowboys will have to find better defensive efforts and a more forgiving conference. Dallas has more hope with the former than the latter, considering how tough the NFC is. Should the Eagles repeat as NFC East champs, the Cowboys would have to compete with the Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers for wild card spots.

Dallas will be fun and competitive, but the road ahead is long and daunting after a silent offseason.

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