Mailbag: Some positives from the season?

(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)

This was a difficult season for the Cowboys, and understandably there has been a lot of talk about what went wrong. However, what are the positives from 2024? What can give Cowboys fans hope for next season?– Marty Monforte/Endicott, NY**

Nick: Those last two questions you asked are different and that's why it's not an easy answer here. Yeah, there were some positives, but they don't exactly give fans hope for next year. One of the biggest ones is DeMarvion Overshown, who was having a stellar first season with the Cowboys before suffering a terrible-looking knee injury. Let's not forget he missed all of last year rehabbing his other knee, only to have the season cut short with yet another torn-ligament injury. Now, you wonder if he can make it back in time to be the type of player for next year. He was a positive, but it doesn't come with hope.

What about Rico Dowdle finding his groove in the running game? That was a positive down the stretch but now he's a free agent and who knows what the running game will look like next year. KaVontae Turpin looks like a big-time weapon in the return game, but he's a restricted free agent. Brandon Aubrey was a huge bright spot, but no one wants their kicker to be the MVP of the team.

There were some bright spots here and there. But because of the uncertainty with the coaches and so many free agents, it's hard to assume it will carry over into 2025.

Patrik: I know, it's very, very difficult to sift through the rubble of such a collapsed season and find positives but, since you asked, I can name a couple; though the latter will be attached to bad news because of course, amirite? The first positive takeaway is in how the team never gave up and in seeing the locker room not cannibalize itself when it certainly could have (e.g., 49ers, Dolphins, etc.) has to be seen as a nod to the culture that's been established by the coaching staff here and players like CeeDee Lamb, who set records despite being in excruciating pain with one of his arms barely attached to his body. Seeing what they were all up against while the next man up and then the next next next man up still made gamebreaking plays was unreal, and deserves an ovation.

The second thing is a bit more individualized, and it's aimed right at DeMarvion Overshown. The young man proved he can and likely will be everything we all hoped for and more, delivering a Pro Bowl caliber season and showing flashes of All-Pro ability without the benefit of a rookie season due to a torn ACL. The bad news, as you know, is a contact injury to his other knee ended his season and will cost him some time in 2025 as well, but he's already shown what he can do in return from a major injury and I couldn't be more excited to see the next chapter for the newly-crowned winner of the Ed Block Courage Award.