2016 Record - 13-3-0
Head Coach - Jason Garrett
Offensive Rank - 5th (377 yards per game, 26.3 points per game)
Defensive Rank - 14th (344 yards allowed per game, 19.1 points allowed per game)
Quarterback Dak Prescott (3,667 yards passing with 23 touchdowns and only four interceptions) returns to start and will likely be backed up by Kellen Moore.
Pending a six-game suspension, running back Ezekiel Elliott is back for his second season after leading the NFL in rushing with 1,631 yards and 15 touchdowns. If Elliott has to miss so many games, then Darren McFadden (only three games played in 2016) and Alfred Morris (243 yards and two TD) will have to fill the bill until Zeke returns.
The wide receiving unit has Dez Bryant (50 receptions for 796 yards and eight TD), Cole Beasley (75, 833, five TD), Terrance Williams (44, 594, four TD), Brice Butler (16, 219, three TD) and tight end Jason Witten, who made 69 catches for 673 yards and three touchdowns.
The defense is led by linebacker Sean Lee (team high 145 tackles), Benson Mayowa (six QB sacks), Maliek Collins (five sacks), Anthony Hitchens and Anthony Brown. Rookies Taco Charlton (Michigan), Chidobe Awuzie (Colorado) and Jourdan Lewis (Michigan) were picked in the first two rounds of the draft and should get a chance to contribute.
OUTLOOK FOR 2017 - The offense is loaded with second year players Prescott and Elliott leading the way along with Bryant, Witten and perhaps the best offensive line in the NFL.
Head Coach Jason Garrett saw the team bounce back from a disastrous 2015 season to having the best record in the NFC (13-3) last season before losing to Green Bay in the divisional round of the playoffs.
The defense needs to step it up this season if the team wants to go further in the playoffs and make it to the Super Bowl for the first time in 22 years. The Cowboys defense went trough some wholesale changes this off-season with many new faces donning the roster this year. How quickly that defense can come together will make the difference for the Cowboys this season.
An 11-5 record and another NFC East title should happen in 2017 barring injuries to key players (Elliott's pending suspension doesn't help either), but if Dallas wants to win it all then the defense must keep pace with their high powered offense.
Stay tuned.
TEAM SCHEDULE
Week One - vs. NY Giants
Week Two - at Denver
Week Three - at Arizona
Week Four - vs. LA Rams
Week Five - vs. Green Bay
Week Six - BYE
Week Seven - at San Francisco
Week Eight - at Washington
Week Nine - vs. Kansas City
Week Ten - at Atlanta
Week Eleven - vs. Philadelphia
Week Twelve - vs. LA Chargers
Week Thirteen - vs. Washington
Week Fourteen - at NY Giants
Week Fifteen - at Oakland
Week Sixteen - vs. Seattle
Week Seventeen - at Philadelphia
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