Cowboys Final 2020 Stat Leaders For 35 Categories

Total Offensive Snaps: Connor Williams (1,144)

In a season when the offensive line was largely decimated by injuries, the Cowboys relied on Williams. Of the 1,145 offensive snaps the Cowboys played, Williams remarkably only missed one.

Total Defensive Snaps: Jaylon Smith (1,081)

Mike Nolan's defensive scheme asked Smith to switch to the weakside (WILL) linebacker spot, and the move saw Smith on the field for 97.8 percent of the Cowboys' total defensive snaps in 2020.

Total Touchdowns: Ezekiel Elliott (8)

While it was mostly a disappointing statistical season for Elliott, he only missed one game and found the end zone more than any other Cowboy.

Total Rushing Yards: Ezekiel Elliott (979)

Elliott grinded out plenty of carries this season without a healthy offensive line or the threat of Dak Prescott's passing game, but failing to reach 1,000 yards on the season has to be a disappointment for the star running back.

Rushing Average: Garrett Gilbert* (9.3 yards per carry)

*While Gilbert did have three rushes for 28 yards in his sole start against the Steelers, of players who rushed over 100 times, Tony Pollard led the team with an average of 4.3 yards per carry.

Longest Rush: Tony Pollard (42 yards)

The Cowboys finally found an offensive groove when they squared off with the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11, which was capped off by a 42-yard burst of speed by Pollard, who didn't start the game but did find the end zone on the big play.

Rushing Touchdowns: Ezekiel Elliott (6)

The Cowboys didn't find themselves near the goal line in 2020 nearly as much as they would have, but when they did, there was still no better option than handing the ball to Elliott, who rushed into the end one on six separate occasions.

Receptions: Amari Cooper (92)

Cooper played with four different starting quarterbacks in 2020, but fresh off a new contract, still managed to get open and bring in the ball while being regularly covered by teams' top cornerback. His 92 catches was a career-high for Cooper, who became the fourth player in Cowboys history to surpass 90 receptions in a season.

Receiving Yards: Amari Cooper (1,114)

Cooper proved that he's an elite receiver this year by easily eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark with despite playing the majority of the season without Dak Prescott, who he'd established such great chemistry with in his still-young Cowboys career.

Average Per Catch: Michael Gallup (14.3 yards per catch)

It was Gallup who proved his growing potential to come up with big plays (usually in big moments). When Gallup caught a pass, it was usually for a first down.

Longest Reception: Amari Cooper (69 yards)

With the Cowboys' fighting for a playoff spot with division rival Philadelphia Eagles in Week 16, Cooper showed that he can take a little and turn it into a lot when he caught a short pass from Andy Dalton and out-ran numerous would-be tacklers for 69 yards into the red zone.

Receiving Touchdowns: Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb (5)

While Dak Prescott's season-ending ankle injury hampered what was supposed to be a dominant Cowboys' passing attack, the Cowboys three standout receivers showed their potential to all be equally dangerous by catching five touchdowns a piece in the 2020 season.

Passing Yards: Andy Dalton (2,169)

It's hard to be satisfied with anything less than the exciting season fans expected from Dak Prescott in 2020, but the Cowboys signed Dalton in case of emergency, and the former Pro Bowler delivered with starting-caliber performances for the majority of the season.

QB Rating: Cedrick Wilson* (154.2)

*The wide receiver was 2/2 on passes in 2020 (including a touchdown), but of passers with over 100 attempts, Dak Prescott led the Cowboys with a 99.6 QB rating.

Passing Touchdowns: Andy Dalton (14)

Dalton ended up starting 11 games in 2020, and he managed to throw 14 touchdowns in that span, a respectable number but far short of the spectacular aerial attack Cowboys fans were hoping for coming into the season.

Completion Percentage: Cedrick Wilson* (100 percent)

*Wilson proved he can deliver an on-the-money pass on a trick play, but the receiver only threw two passes all season. Of players with at least 100 pass attempts, Dak Prescott led the team with a 68 percent completion percentage.

Fumbles Lost: Ezekiel Elliott (5)

Elliott seemingly couldn't hold on to the ball in the first quarter of the season, fumbling the ball four times in the first four games. He managed to address the issue, and fumbled just once in the final 12 games.

Interceptions Thrown: Andy Dalton (8)

Dalton had a disastrous first start against Arizona that included two interceptions. He only managed two games in which he didn't throw the ball to the defense, while often playing from behind and with an injured offensive line.

Penalties: Jourdan Lewis and Jaylon Smith (8)

The defense was a weakness for the majority of the 2020 season and costly penalties from two of their best playmakers at the cornerback and linebacker position certainly didn't help.

Punt Return Yards: CeeDee Lamb (172)

Lamb's got the hands, quickness, and general elusiveness to warrant getting the ball in his hands as much as possible. He has yet to take a punt to the end zone, but he did manage to run an onside-kick 47 yards for a touchdown in Week 15 against the 49ers.

Kickoff Return Yards: Tony Pollard (766)

Pollard managed three separate games of over 97 kick return yards and proved again that if the opportunity presents itself, he can make a big play to set up the offense.

Points Scored: Greg Zuerlein (135)

In his first year as a Dallas Cowboy, Zerlein had his struggles here and there, but the Cowboys had enough faith in him to let him rack up more points than any other player on the roster.

Punting Average: Hunter Niswander (47.2 yards per punt)

Niswander only played eight games after being called up from the practice squad, but his 47.2 yards per punt is actually the highest by any player in Cowboys history.

Field Goals Made: Greg Zuerlein (35)

In an ideal world, Zuerlein would have had more extra points in 2020 and less field goals, but Greg the Leg did come through for the Cowboys plenty of time this year.

Total Tackles: Jaylon Smith (161)

Smith was criticized plenty for his play in 2020, but he still found the ball carrier more than any other player on the Cowboys' defense. Perhaps that's a misleading stat, but it's certainly not a low number. Smith is the second player in Cowboys history to record over 160 tackles in consecutive years, behind only Bradie James, who did it three straight years from 2008-10.

Tackles For Loss: DeMarcus Lawrence (7)

The defensive line goes as far as DeMarcus Lawrence is able to take it, and no other player was able to break through into the backfield and make a play for the Cowboys' defense.

Special Teams Tackles: C.J. Goodwin (10)

There's no question that Goodwin is the Cowboys' special teams leader, and the organization appreciates that. His performance once again backed up the reasons the team values him.

Sacks: DeMarcus Lawrence (6.5)

It was a safe bet that Lawrence would bring down quarterbacks more than any other defender, but newly acquired Aldon Smith was right behind him with five sacks.

QB Pressures: DeMarcus Lawrence (37)

Lawrence pressured the quarterback more than any other player, but Aldon Smith was again right there in pressures with 35, proving the two served as strong counterpoints to each other on the defensive line.

Forced Fumbles: DeMarcus Lawrence (4)

Lawrence's primary job is to wreak havoc on offenses, and he managed to do that by forcing more fumbles than anyone else on the defense.

Fumble Recoveries: Aldon Smith, Donovan Smith, and Jaylon Smith (2)

Players from the defensive line, linebacking core, and defensive backs all recovered two fumbles. Aldon Smith even managed to pick the ball up and take it 78 yards for a touchdown. Brown also had a scoop-and-score against the Giants in Week 5.

Pass Deflections: Trevon Diggs (14)

Quarterbacks tried to pick on the cornerback starting at corner plenty, but Diggs was right there with his defender the majority of the time to deflect away potential receptions.

Interceptions: Trevon Diggs (3)

Diggs still has room to grow as a defender, but a Cowboys defense that seemed starved for turnovers in recent years drafted a cornerback who managed to take away the ball three times in his rookie season.

Longest Defensive Play: Aldon Smith (78 yards)

You'd typically expect a defensive touchdown this long to be from a player in the secondary, but when the Cincinnati Bengals fumbled the ball near the red zone, Smith picked it up and reminded people why he was once considered possibly the most physically gifted defensive player in the NFL.

Longest Special Teams Play: C.J. Goodwin (73 yards)

This 73-yard punt return was a product of special teams coordinator Jon Fassell's creativity. Cedrick Wilson actually caught the punt while backed up near his own goal line and ran forward a few yards before lateraling it cross-field to Goodwin, who took it the majority of the field.