The Bright Spots: Five positives that the Dallas Cowboys can take into December

Despite stringing a couple of division wins together, the Dallas Cowboys 2024 season is still filled with lost potential, disappointment and injuries that have decimated playoff chances.

While the 12-5 seasons that fans had gotten accustomed to under Mike McCarthy are a lost cause for this go-around, there are still positives to draw on both sides of the ball from what the season has shown so far.

If anything is for certain, the impending offseason will see change that will reshape what the product looks like on the field almost entirely in 2025.

With that in mind, the Cowboys will need to know what they have in hand to better address what they need moving forward.

Here are the bright spots that the Cowboys can take away from the season thus far.

TRENCH TRUST

For the first time in well over a decade, the Cowboys have had an inconsistent offensive line after years of putting multiple future Hall of Famers up front and having comfort in the protection unit from start-to-finish.

Before 2024, the only bumps you could find on the offensive line during the Dak Prescott era (since 2016) were injuries to guys like Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick.

It’s almost a given that the five players up front will look a lot different next season, and it begins with the potential retirement of right guard Zack Martin.

However, as he’s been battling injuries that have kept him out of the last two games, undrafted third-year interior lineman Brock Hoffman has emerged in his place.

In 163 snaps played at right guard this season in place of Zack Martin, Hoffman has allowed just one quarterback pressure and zero sacks.

His starts in the last two games have been a factor in Rico Dowdle accounting for 198 rushing yards over the two-game span and pulling Dallas out of the bottom of the NFL in total rushing.

While there has been a game of musical chairs happening at left tackle all season, the Cowboys may have found something in second-year tackle Asim Richards.

In 124 snaps, Richards has allowed just five pressures and one sack. As the team continues to develop rookie Tyler Guyton with the possibility of him moving to right tackle in 2025, having the luxury of Richards could help them make switches with more confidence.

In all, the Cowboys offensive line is not perfect.

In fact, there are more holes than not this season as compared to years past.

But it isn’t a total disaster like it is for the Giants or Bears in 2024. There are pieces that have to be moved on from, but more importantly there are pieces to build around. Tyler Smith continues to play at a high level, Cooper Beebe has the makings of a consistent center and while Tyler Guyton has had his first year bumps, there is still a lot of potential in his 6-foot-7, 322-pound frame. But when you factor in the depth that has stepped up on the offensive line this season, there should be confidence around what the protection unit can put forth in 2025 and beyond.

OVEREXCEEDING OVERSHOWN

Has there been a better breakout story this season than DeMarvion Overshown?

Hopes were high for the third-round pick out of Texas entering his rookie season in 2023, and his performance at training camp continued that narrative into the preseason. However, his fast start to his NFL career was brought to a halt when he suffered a torn ACL while making a routine tackle in a preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks.

His rookie season expectations went from possibly being a defensive centerpiece on his way to an all-rookie season to having to rehab a serious knee injury all the way through the following offseason.

His return to the field in 2024 was met with similarly high expectations with the caveat that it might take him a little while to get his feet back under him after having missed an entire season.

That simply has not been the case. Through 12 games, Overshown is second on the team with 84 tackles and five sacks. His performance in a standalone Thanksgiving Day win over the Giants put him squarely on the map of young and rising defensive stars in the NFL.

The confidence that he has taken to the field in his first season playing in the league has been fed directly into his teammates and coaches as well.

“I think we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg [with Overshown,” head coach Mike McCarthy said. “Really, I’m so impressed with him and his consistency in his approach and that’s just going to keep putting him in the position to progress.”

The linebacker room will see a couple of players rotate in and out over the offseason, but Overshown is proving that he is the centerpiece to build around for years to come.

DOWN WITH DOWDLE

The Cowboys did themselves no favors by entering 2024 without an established running back to help carry the load for a Mike McCarthy offense that has routinely relied on a healthy running game to sustain offensive success.

It took well over half the season, but Rico Dowdle is starting to pave an opportunity for his future in Dallas after rushing for 198 yards in two games that included his two longest carries of the season against the Giants on Thanksgiving. Undoubtedly, Dallas cannot go two draft cycles without drafting a running back.

The case could even be made for the team to grab two just as it did in 2008 with Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. Similar to how the Cowboys built that position room around Marion Barber III with speed and athleticism, an approach could be made to build speed and athleticism around Dowdle in 2025.

“Rico is a young man who’s worked incredibly hard,” head coach Mike McCarthy said. “He’s fought through the injury challenges in the early part of his career. You’re just getting to see what we see every day. This team needs that. We need to run the ball not only for our offense but for our football team.”

He won’t break the century mark in rushing. He won’t be an RB1 that can carry you through a playoff run. But who’s to say that Dowdle couldn’t be a proven and reliable complementary back for the future with the season he’s experiencing in 2024?

GETTING HOME

The Mike Zimmer defense drew early criticisms for its lack of ability to get to the quarterback and generate sacks. Despite an opening game that saw Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence help power the Cowboys defense to a six-sack day on Browns quarterback DeShaun Watson, there hadn’t been much production going into the bye week. Injuries to Parsons and Lawrence stunted the unit and new faces such as Carl Lawson and Linval Joseph having to get accustomed to the defense made an impact.

But since the bye week, the pass rush unit has found its stride. Parsons has returned to the fold and is back on pace to earning double-digit sacks for the fourth time in four years.

Lawson has all but replaced the void left by fellow rotational pass rusher Dante Fowler Jr. from 2023 with four sacks and 18 pressures on 192 pass rush snaps. The aforementioned Overshown has accounted for five sacks from the second level, and defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa has accounted for three sacks. Decisions will have to be made over the offseason as Odighizuwa, Joseph, Lawrence and Lawson will all hit free agency.

With youth such as Marshawn Kneeland available, it’s safe to assume that not all of those names will be back. But with a core around Parsons and Overshown, the pass rush will continue to be a mainstay for this defense beyond this season, with or without some of its personnel or its coordinator.

CEE THE VISION

It hasn’t been a perfect year for CeeDee Lamb. His 10.2-percent drop percentage is the highest in his career and is among the highest in the NFL this season.

His average depth of target of 8.3 yards is proof that the big-play threat hasn’t quite been there with both Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush. But when you look at what he has done, it’s hard not to see just how valuable he is to an otherwise poor offense.

For the second season in a row, Lamb is on pace to lead all wide receivers in the league in receptions while also being fifth in the NFL in receiving yards entering week 14. He’s accomplished this while not being present for training camp, only having his starting quarterback for eight games and being, in his own words, the “most banged-up” he’s been in his entire career with a nagging AC joint injury in his right shoulder.

Even if this season is lost by most accounts, Lamb is continuing to show that he is among the NFL’s elite at the wide receiver position and that his franchise record-setting 2023 season was not a fluke. Despite disarray happening around him, he has stayed the course and offers optimism for the explosiveness of the offense in 2025 and beyond.

NICK HARRIS FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM

Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.