OXNARD, Calif. – Stephen Jones remembers the Lions game last October. The last-minute loss to the Packers still stings, too. And of course, the Broncos game was another that bothers him. When you consider the Cowboys went 8-8 and missed the playoffs by a single game, any one of those close losses likely would've changed the outcome of 2013.
All three of those games saw the Cowboys struggle to hold a late lead.
"All you have to do is turn on ESPN and three of the best games of the year were all us, losing at the end after we had good leads that we could have won. We win those three games I don't have to tell you what that means."
Obviously, closing out games is something Jones wants to see improved. To do that, this team needs to be better at running the ball. And to do that, they need to be more commitment.
[embedded_ad]
Jones said Thursday he expects both scenarios to occur.
"I think our offensive line is better than it was last year and I think we ran the ball pretty well last year," Jones said. "I think we'll run it better this year and I think there will be a bigger commitment to running it."
Committed-running teams have documented success and Jones even has statistical ranking goal in mind.
"I think we've been pretty successful when DeMarco has gotten over 20 carries. Our winning percentage is pretty good. So yes, I'd like to see us in the top 10 in terms of our rushing attack. I think that's a good recipe in terms of us winning. We will be running the ball more."
