USAT: Cowboys Wire audio clip

USAT: Cowboys Wire

Jan 15, 2022

The Dallas Cowboys have reached the tournament, as former head coach Bill Parcells used to refer to it. The 2021 NFL playoffs begin on Saturday with the Cowboys waiting until Day 2 of 3 to square off with their wild-card round opponent, the San Francisco 49ers. On Sunday, the two storied rivals will renew their postseason animosity in the league’s featured matchup. While traditionally the 4-5 matchup is the most hotly contested, the analytics say that Dallas has drawn the most difficult of the matchups despite being the No. 3 seed.Fortunately for the club they enter the contest relatively healthy with only two intended starters looking like they are going to miss the matchup. That means that one of the NFL’s best rosters will be on full display. Here’s a look at that roster, ranked player by player based on several factors such as past performance and positional value, but primarily their performance over the course of the 2021 season. We last looked at the rankings going into Week 15 when linebacker Micah Parsons challenged Zack Martin for the throne as the Cowboys’ best player. Will either of them take the honor for the wild-card round?Normally each edition focuses on the Top 30, but in honor of the playoffs we’ll extend the published portion of the rankings all the way through No. 50.50. CB Maurice Canady49. LS Jake McQuaide48. DT Quinton Bohanna (rookie)47. LB Francis Bernard46. LB Keanu Neal45. TE Jeremy Sprinkle44. TE Sean McKeon43. K Greg Zuerlein42. QB Cooper Rush41. WR Noah Browns40. RB Corey Clement39. OL Connor McGovern38. DE Chauncey Golston (rookie)37. LB Luke Gifford36. CB Nahshon Wright (rookie)35. DE Tarell Basham34. TE Blake Jarwin33. P Bryan Anger32. DT Trysten Hill31. S Damontae Kazee

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Mar 17, 2022