Dallas Cowboys won't win a playoff game in 2022 due to these 5 reasons

Dallas Cowboys fans are one of the more high-expectations/high-pressure fanbases in the NFL, yet heading into the upcoming 2022 NFL season, there is a lot of hope.

Based on the team's regular season prowess in 2021, fans expect the Dallas Cowboys to be one of the leading franchises again in 2022.

Failing to win a single playoff game was heart-wrenching last season, but those experiences can often be vital in the making of a championship team.

Mike McCarthy has been given Jerry Jones' vote of confidence, and with Dak Prescott fully healthy going into 2022, there are signs that this team could finally make their mark in the playoffs.

Unfortunately, there are as many signs that the Dallas Cowboys are set for more post-Christmas pain, with a repeat of the 2021 season a real possibility.

Here are five reasons why the Dallas Cowboys will fail to win a playoff game in 2022:

#1 – Kellen Moore's play-calling can be questionable

Dallas Cowboys fans worry about Kellen Moore's play-calling

Dallas Cowboys fans have admired the footballing IQ of their "wunderkind" offensive coordinator Kellen Moore in recent years, with it seeming primed for him to take the head coaching position at AT&T Stadium eventually.

However, what has become apparent as the team has failed year after year is that Moore's play-calling can be somewhat questionable, especially in key moments.

It's all well and good to have a mind for offense, but what separates the best coordinators from the computer whizz-kids is the ability to pick the right plays at the right time.

Too often, Moore has been overly risky in his selections; he doesn't have the emotional feel for a football game, despite having played the sport, and too often relies on data.

Fans have criticized him for overthinking play-calls and leaving points on the table by walking away from the running game.

His faith in Prescott is admirable, but Kellen Moore is wasting Ezekiel Elliott, which will cost the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs.

#2 – Mike McCarthy already has too many doubters

A large section of Dallas Cowboys fans don't believe in Mike McCarthy

Starting an NFL season under pressure is rarely the template for a Super Bowl run.

Mike McCarthy has been assured of his position by Jerry Jones, but there are simply too many doubters for him to succeed in 2022.

Fans make their voices heard, especially in Dallas, and a significant number of them have already turned on the former Green Bay Packers coach.

A pre-season game saw the Dallas Cowboys take 17 penalties, which left fans incredulous.

When a large section of fans have already made their minds up about the coach, any little mistake will be pounced upon and magnified. This happened with the 17 penalties and will happen again in the regular season.

McCarthy will feel more pressure every time this happens, and it's impossible to work at your best in those conditions.

#3 – Dallas Cowboys have a weak defense

Osa Odighizuwa has to improve on the interior against the run

As good as the Cowboys' offense is, there are glaring weaknesses on the other side of the ball. The team lacks any real quality or leadership through the inside of the defensive line.

Micah Parsons is outstanding from the outside, but the pass-rush on the inside can lack punch. This makes you susceptible to run-first offenses tearing you to pieces, as the Dallas Cowboys found in their dismal post-season defeat to San Francisco last season.

Efforts haven't been made to improve this area, and hope will once again be put on the shoulders of Neville Gallimore and Osa Odighizuwa, who need to improve hugely for the team to be a threat in the playoffs.

As soon as Jones' franchise comes up against an effective rushing offense, they will falter.

#4 – Dak Prescott panics in key moments

Dak Prescott felt the pressure and bottled it during the last seconds of the Cowboys' 2021 season

Dallas Cowboys fans need no reminders of the final seconds of their playoff defeat to the 49ers last season.

Depending on which side of the fence you sit on, that moment was either endlessly comical or harrowing.

Watching the franchise quarterback lose his head and run out the clock with an intended spike was a dagger in the hearts of Dallas fans.

They finally have a quarterback worthy of winning a Super Bowl on natural talent, and yet he showed he couldn't handle the pressure in big moments.

Tom Brady would never have made such a mistake. Game-changing quarterbacks live life on the field in slow motion. Nothing fazes them, yet Prescott collapsed under the weight of playoff football and immediately looked to blame the officials as a defense mechanism.

If your quarterback panics in key moments, you will never do anything in the post-season.

#5 – NFC competition is even stronger in 2022

Deebo Samuel has run through the Dallas Cowboys and will do it again.

Ahead of the 2022 NFL season, it's clear that teams around the Dallas Cowboys have gotten a lot stronger.

The 49ers will be there again with Trey Lance and a motivated Deebo Samuel, while the Bears, Rams, and Buccaneers will all be strong.

The Dallas Cowboys will have much stronger competition in 2022 and will not have life as easy as they did in 2021.

With the regular season games set to be tougher, the chances of getting 12 wins for the second successive year have come right down. This opens up harder potential meetings in the post-season, and if the team couldn't even win a playoff game last year, their chances of doing so in 2022 are seriously slim.

Justin Fields is set for a breakout year and will be a star with the Bears, while exceptional rushers like Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara will cause that weak Cowboys interior to struggle… and struggle hard.