In the debut season of Mike McCarthy’s offense in Dallas last year, the Dallas Cowboys finished in the top five in yards per game, points per game, time of possession and third-down conversions. Coming into the second year in McCarthy’s offense — the same starting quarterback ( Dak Prescott ), same top playmaker ( CeeDee Lamb ) and same security blanket ( Jake Ferguson ) — the expectation was that the offense could hit the ground running in 2024. Advertisement Instead, after four weeks, the Cowboys sit outside of the top 10 in each of the aforementioned categories.
The defense, struggling through a change at defensive coordinator and now a rash of key injuries, hasn’t been there to pick up the slack. In fairness, this is not the same Cowboys’ offense from a year ago. Most of the key pillars remain but there are a couple of rookies on the offensive line, including left tackle Tyler Guyton , who has been decent but is going through growing pains.
The running back room lost its lead back and the front office chose to replace its philosophy at running back instead of the player. Now, No. 2 receiver Brandin Cooks , who was already struggling to produce, is out with a knee infection without a timetable for return.
All of it sets the stage for what may be McCarthy’s defining stretch in Dallas. One of McCarthy’s most impressive achievements as Cowboys head coach came early in the 2022 season when the Cowboys managed to go 4-1 in a five-game stretch Prescott missed wit.
