Dallas Cowboys: 5 things to expect in 2022 NFL Season

#3 – Pressure on Mike McCarthy will mount

Pressure from Dallas Cowboys fans will make Mike McCarthy's job much harder

Many Dallas Cowboys fans have spoken about their uneasiness with Mike McCarthy continuing as the head coach of the franchise.

Jerry Jones gave the former Green Bay Packers coach his vote of confidence prior to the first game of the regular season, but that won’t dissuade some fans.

Conceding 17 penalties in a pre-season game hardly gave fans anything to be positive about, especially with penalties hindering their efforts against the 49ers in the playoffs last year.

With such a large section of a fanbase starting the season without faith in the coach, every mistake will be magnified and critiqued. McCarthy will feel the pressure from the first snap on Sunday. Realistically, this will last until his team wins the Super Bowl.

#4 – Micah Parsons will dominate

Micah Parsons... incoming Defensive Player of the Year?

Dallas Cowboys fans will not stop talking about Micah Parsons, and with good reason.

His rookie year was staggeringly good. His production from both the edge and as an outside linebacker were impressive. He assisted 20 tackles and produced 13 sacks as a rookie.

These are numbers show him to be the heir apparent to Aaron Donald, and you can expect him to continue in this form in 2022.

Every so often a player comes around like Donald that you can just look at and now is going to have a good season every single year.

Parsons is one such player, and they are rare, and if he stays healthy, you could be looking at upwards of 15 sacks in 2022.

#5 – Ezekiel Elliott will play his last game for the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys could be feeling the finanial pinch of Ezekiel Elliott's contract

Ezekiel Elliott was drafted as the next great hope for the Dallas Cowboys franchise, yet injuries and a lack of consistency have stopped him from ever hitting the heights expected.

Make no mistake, there have been some exceptional moments where he has carried the team’s offense, but as Kellen Moore has given more authority to Prescott, the reliance on the running game has dropped.

Jerry Jones rewarded Elliott with a hefty contract extension, but given the nature of the team’s play with Moore calling plays, that salary will become a millstone around the neck of America’s Team.

Fortunately, they have a cut option at the end of the 2022 season. It seems impossible to envision a scenario where they don’t exercise it.

In 2022, you will see Elliott play his last game with the Dallas Cowboys before moving onto another team with a more cap-friendly salary.