The Only Formula For The Cowboys To Succeed In 2024

The 2014 Cowboys created the blueprint for this year's team to flourish. Can this year's Cowboys follow that script 10 years later?

Who will be Demarco Murray for Cowboys?

Mistakes. From the hierarchy of the Cowboys brass to the stars that wear the stars on their helmet in the fall come Sundays. Mistakes are the reason the Dallas Cowboys sputter in the postseason like clockwork. If the 2024 Dallas Cowboys are going to be successful, they have to follow a game plan laid out 10 years ago by the 2014 squad.

The 2024 Cowboys were coming off a season of another 8-8 season of mediocrity and not many pundits, or fans, expected the team to go far especially since they were bringing back a historically bad NFL defense. Instead, they won the NFC East with a 12-4 record.

For this year’s Cowboys to be successful they must copy that season’s blueprint. The 2014 Cowboys relied heavily on a running game and allowed Tony Romo to shine in spurts of greatness instead of spurts of consistency. Who will ever forget him dancing out of a JJ Watt sack and throwing a touchdown pass to Terrance Williams during a regular season interstate showdown with Houston Texans?

Dak Prescott is the same type of quarterback. Capable of being electrifying within the box. That box is an offensive line and running game capable of only needing Prescott to manage and then make a couple of plays to secure victories, which he is more than capable of. By now we know who Dak is and there is no point in calling on Dak to do more within the offense because that doesn't lead to deep playoff runs.  

The 2014 Dallas Cowboys knew Tony Romo could only thrive in such an environment. And did he ever. Tasked with not having to be a down-in and down-out quarterback savior, Romo was magical within the framework of the run-heavy offense (3,705 yards, 34  touchdowns, 9 interceptions and a 113.2 quarterback rating. Prescott could thrive within the same concept.

Run the ball and ask him to make one or two plays a game and that will get the Prescott-led Cowboys further than they have ever gone before.

Romo converted a third and 20 against the reigning World Champion Seattle Seahawks “Legion of Boom” defense to lead the Cowboys to an upset victory during the 2014 season, which could be the signature play of his career. He was capable of such quarterback brilliance when the Cowboys didn’t ask him to make magic on every throw he attempted. Dak is the same type of quarterback. That is no knock to him, but give Dak a ground game like the 2014 Cowboys had and he can produce as Romo did 10 years ago.

Minimize his mistakes and let him play within the framework of the offense.

The 2014 Dallas Cowboys rode the churning legs of DeMarco Murray, who led the league with 392 carries for 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns. That type of productivity helped guide the Cowboys to within a Dez “catch/no catch” reception of getting the franchise to the NFC Championship game, which no Pokes roster has seen since 1995.

The 2014 Dallas Cowboys leaned on a vaunted running game to reach unexpected highlights, limit Romo’s mistakes and mask a defensive line that played above their Madden grade.

The 2014 Dallas Cowboys must do the same. Run the ball down opponents’ throats. Allow Dak to be magical for a handful of plays instead of a whole game. Let Cee Dee play the role of Dez Bryant (88 catches, 1,320 yards, and 16 touchdowns) when need be, and let a defense prone to getting shoved pushed around late in the season have enough juice to put up a fight.         

That is the only way the Dallas Cowboys can finally make an NFC Championship game since they beat the Green Bay Packers 38-27 on Jan. 14, 1996, to progress to Super Bowl XXX.

The only problem? While the 2024 Cowboys offensive line is capable of being as great as their 2014 counterparts, who will play the role of DeMarco Murray? 

If the Cowboys don’t have a bonafide answer to that question, it will be another mistake.

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