The Dallas Cowboys are coming off of a 2018 campaign in which they won 10 games and captured the NFC East division title before eventually falling to the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
So, naturally, based on their success from this past year, the Cowboys should be considered the favorites to repeat as division champions and should be a playoff team in 2019.
But, as with almost everything else, there are no sure things.
For starters, Dallas has not made back-to-back playoff appearances since 2007, and even though there is a lot of talent on this roster, there are also numerous question marks.
Here are three things that need to happen for the Cowboys to make it back to the playoffs this coming season.
3. Michael Gallup Needs to Step Up
We know that Amari Cooper will be Dallas' No. 1 receiver, but the Cowboys don't really have a clear No. 2.
Nominally, that title goes to second-year wide out Michael Gallup, and while he had a decent rookie year in hauling in 33 receptions for 507 yards and a couple of touchdowns, he is yet to show that he can be a reliable No. 2 guy.
Dallas also signed Randall Cobb to replace Cole Beasley this offseason, but Cobb had a very rough 2018 and is expected by most to be the Cowboys' No. 3 receiver.
That leaves Gallup as the No. 2, and while it's not like he had a bad year at all in 2018, he needs to elevate his game to the next level in order to make Cooper's job easier and to make Dallas' offense better as a whole.
2. The Defense Needs to Generate More Takeaways
The Cowboys defense totaled just 20 takeaways this past year, which ranked 16th in the league. What's worse, they logged just nine interceptions, which ranked 26th.
Heck, there are some cornerbacks who can record nine picks by themselves, so Dallas' defense—primarily the secondary—definitely needs to do a better job of being more opportunistic to give the offense more chances in 2019.
It's not like the Cowboys are a bad defensive team. As a matter of fact, they're really good, as they ranked seventh in the NFL in total defense and sixth in points allowed in 2018.
But if Dallas' defense wants to take things up a notch and really become a formidable unit, it needs to start making quarterbacks think about their throws. That's one thing it didn't do this past season.
1. Dak Prescott Has to be More Impactful
Look: I get that Dak Prescott was good in 2018. He threw for 3,885 yards, 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 67.7 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 96.9 en route to a Pro Bowl appearance.
However, Eli Manning posted similar numbers in New York and everyone lit him up for it. Kirk Cousins registered even better numbers in Minnesota and was ripped.
Basically, Prescott needs to be more of a game-changer rather than a game manager under center. It seems like the Cowboys lean more on Ezekiel Elliott and their defense and simply hope that Prescott doesn't make mistakes, and that is something that has to change.
I like Prescott a lot and think he is a great leader and just an outstanding person in general, but there is no doubt that he has some improvements to make as a quarterback.
Whether or not Prescott is really capable of becoming that dude remains to be seen, but if he is, this is the year to show it.
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