3 biggest disappointments from the Dallas Cowboys 2022 season

Ouch! The 2022 season will go down as yet another disappointing year in the history of the Dallas Cowboys organization. This was one of the more complete and talented rosters the Cowboys have fielded probably since their Super Bowl winning teams back in the 90s, which makes the way the season ended all the more gut-wrenching.

While focusing on more of the positive aspects in 2022 for the Cowboys may help get us out of any funk we are currently in, rehashing some the disappointments can help us better understand what the future may hold. That’s exactly what we will attempt to do today because despite another disappointing exit from the postseason, the future still looks bright for this team.

Dak Prescott

Usually when a player hits a career-high in something it’s a good thing, but that wasn’t the case for Dak Prescott in 2022. Even after missing five games with a thumb injury, the Dallas Cowboys starting QB threw a career-high 17 interceptions this year. He’s only come close to hitting that number once before in his career in his second-year in the league when he threw 13, but that was with him playing a full 16-game season. The Dallas Cowboys have hitched their wagons to No. 4 for the foreseeable future and may have to learn to live with this glaring concern if it isn’t corrected during the offseason.

Ezekiel Elliott

As far as numbers go, rushing for a total of 876 yards and scoring 12 touchdowns would typically be considered a successful season for just about any other running back around the league, but not for Ezekiel Elliott. 2022 was by far a down year for Zeke and it’s not only because he took somewhat of a backseat to Tony Pollard, who had a breakout year. The sad truth is No. 21 is no longer the top-flight RB he once was. He’s clearly lost a step and his numbers reflect it, evidenced by his career low 3.8 yards per carry and 58.4 yards per game. That’s all pretty concerning considering he’s still getting paid top RB money.

Michael Gallup

We all knew Michael Gallup may get off to a slow start in 2022 after working his way back from a season-ending ACL injury he sustained late in the 2021 season, but no one probably could’ve imagined him having such a non-impactful season. Playing on a new five-year, $57.5 million contract he signed last offseason, No. 13 looked and played like a shadow of his former self. He surprisingly only managed to haul in 39 catches for 424 yards and four touchdowns in a total of 14 games. Not terrible numbers by any means, but nothing close to what many of us and the Cowboys were expecting from a player of his caliber.