Biggest Questions Cowboys Must Answer Before 2022 NFL Playoffs
The Dallas Cowboys enter Week 15 on a four-game winning streak.
But they still have a lot of questions to answer about their playoff potential after barely getting by the Houston Texans in Week 14.
Sunday's win should have set off some alarm bells that certain areas of the team need to be fixed in the next four weeks.
Three of the next four games will be like playoff matchups, as Dallas finishes with the Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans and Washington Commanders.
The Week 15 clash with the Jacksonville Jaguars should give the Cowboys an opportunity to fix some of their flaws while winning big.
But if they do not clean up certain things, the Cowboys could be headed for an early playoff exit instead of chasing a Super Bowl berth.
Can The Cowboys End Turnover Streak?
Dallas has six giveaways in the last three games.
The Cowboys turned the ball over three times against the Texans. That matched the season high set against Philadelphia in Week 6.
Since coming back from their Week 9 bye, the Cowboys committed multiple turnovers in three of five games.
Dak Prescott was at fault on Sunday, as he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.
Prescott has five interceptions in his last three games. He now has a trio of multi-interception games since the bye.
Dallas needed to clean up its turnover issue because it will come back to bite it in the postseason.
The Cowboys were able to absorb their mistakes on Sunday because the Texans are that bad and could not capitalize on every mistake.
Teams like the Eagles, Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers will take advantage of those mistakes by producing scoring plays.
Dallas' three tests to end the season will help it prove that it can limit turnovers. That will be the litmus test for its playoff contention.
Can Rushing Defense Improve?
Dallas conceded over 100 rushing yards in each of its last two games against the Texans and Indianapolis Colts.
The Cowboys have allowed over 100 ground yards in nine of their 13 games.
That is a concern moving forward because of the potential postseason opposition.
Philadelphia, Minnesota and San Francisco can all run the ball well. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have to resort to that if their pass attack slows down.
The good news for Dallas is one of its sub-100-yard concessions came against Minnesota in the 40-3 blowout win in Week 11.
But it is concerning that the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers and New York Giants were the most successful teams running the ball against the Cowboys.
The argument could be made that if those three teams can run for over 160 rushing yards, teams with better offensive lines can produce higher totals.
Dallas will be put to the test on the ground by Philadelphia and Tennessee in Weeks 16 and 17. Those games will be the true marker of whether Dallas can hold up in its rushing defense.
What Will Cowboys Get Out of Wide Receiver Depth?
The months-long chase of Odell Beckham Jr. has so far resulted in nothing.
The Cowboys have signed T.Y. Hilton and got James Washington back from injury, though.
Hilton and Washington are solid pieces to have behind CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup and Noah Brown, but they have to be effective.
The concern with Hilton and Washington is that it will take a few more weeks to get them up to speed, and they will not contribute until late in the regular season or in the playoffs.
The Cowboys are not desperate for help in the passing game, but it would be nice to have one or both of those players add depth for the postseason push.
If that happens, the Cowboys may not be slowed down by many opponents and they can match the scoring output of anyone in the NFC because of their abundance of passing options plus their pair of running backs.