Do you ever wonder who the must clutch Dallas Cowboys players are? Which Cowboys players fans can really count on to come through when the pressure is on. I am sure many of you have argued back and forth about which players tend to shine in the biggest moments and which players are likely to choke when it matters most. For the Dallas Cowboys of recent years, there hasn’t been any championship moments that we more tenured fans had grown accustomed to. Long gone are the days of Captain Comeback, Roger Staubach or the Triplets of the 90’s dynasty. Still, these modern Cowboys have been tested from time to time and a few have stood out among their peers in those high pressure situations. The following list of the most clutch Dallas Cowboys players was created from a deep analysis of player’s performances under pressure. The data comes courtesy of the Action Network using information obtained from PFF and Sharp Football in order to determine who the leagues top 10 pressure players are. The results may come as a big surprise to some Cowboys fans based on some preconceived notions of their favorite players.
5. AMARI COOPER
Amari Cooper is often criticized for his lack of consistency and even more so for failing to perform in big games. That is especially true when he is matched up against the opposition’s best cornerbacks. Despite that stigma, the numbers actually reveal that Amari Cooper is very effective at making those big catches late in games. Think back to the game against Philadelphia in 2018 when he torched the Eagles secondary in the 4th quarter and OT to help lead the Cowboys to a big divisional win and eventually the playoffs. More often than not, it is Amari Cooper who steps up to makes those sensational sideline catches on third down.
4. GREG ZUERLIEN
Greg Zuerlien provided the high point of the Dallas Cowboys dismal 2020 season with his “helicopter” onside kick against the Falcons in week 3. He also sealed the victory with the game winning kick as time expired. Since 1985 there have been 45 kickers who have attempted 15 clutch kicks. Greg “the leg” Zuerlien has highest average yards out of all of them at 48.4 and he has made an impressive 60% of those.
3. DAK PRESCOTT
Although his numbers in the clutch have dipped the last few seasons, in the last three years Dak Prescott has one of the best passer ratings in those pressure situations with 111.2. In his brief 2020 season, Dak clawed his team all the way back from huge deficits against the Falcons, Browns, and Seahawks but came up short in two out of three of those games. Imagine how differently it could have played out if Michael Gallup doesn’t get called for a bogus offensive pass interference against Jalen Ramsey in week 1 against the Rams; OR, if the Cowboys defense doesn’t allow Odell Beckham Jr to turn a 10 yard loss into a score against the Browns. Dak isn’t just a clutch performer with his arm, he also proven to be clutch with his legs throughout his career. His 3rd down run against the Seahawks in the 2019 playoffs is undoubtedly the most iconic moment in his career thus far.
2. CEEDEE LAMB
The outstanding wide receiver was on pace for 1400 receiving yards and 90+ catches in his rookie season before Dak Prescott got hurt in week 5. Although he was plagued with some uncharacteristic drops the rest of the year while catching passes from Andy Dalton, Garrett Gilbert, and Ben DiNucci, he still managed to be the go-to-guy for the Cowboys in the clutch with a 48% success rate.
1. EZEKIEL ELLIOTT
The 2020 season was a down year for Zeke who had career lows in average yards per game and yards/carry. He also had as many fumbles as he had rushing touchdowns, so ranking him as the most clutch player on the Cowboys might not sit well with some Cowboys fans. However, setting our emotions aside we must remember that Zeke was playing behind a depleted offensive line. Additionally, the Cowboys historically bad defense helped ensure that the run game became an after thought as the team had to play from way behind far too often. Despite all of that, Elliott still managed to perform 64% of the time in clutch spots. While that is a significant drop off from his 75% success rate in similar spots in 2019, it still makes him the most clutch Dallas Cowboys player on the current roster.
Unfortunately for the Cowboys, no players on their roster cracked the list of top clutch performers around the league. That should come as no surprise for a team that finished 6-10 last season. The 2021 season does provide an excellent opportunity for these clutch Dallas Cowboys players to crack that top 10 list and hopefully lead the Cowboys to long anticipated deep playoff run.
Photo by Joe Glorioso All-Pro Reels https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode
That list is 100% inaccurate!!!!