The Dallas Cowboys have a roster full of talent, making them a favorite to make the Super Bowl from the NFC, but one major flaw could hold them back

The Dallas Cowboys got off to a rocky start. After playing poorly, and watching Dak Prescott go down with injury, many thought that America's Team wouldn't even reach the playoffs. But Cooper Rush delivered about as well as any backup could have, and now the Cowboys are sitting second in their division behind the 12-1 Philadelphia Eagles, with a prime view of the postseason.

But the Cowboys have their sights set beyond January. Not having competed in an NFC Championship game or Super Bowl since the 1995 season, Jerry Jones has grown ever more impatient with his players and staff, as he looks for one last chance to capture postseason glory.

Currently, most sports books have the Cowboys as the third most likely team to win the NFC, behind the San Francisco 49ers and rival Philadelphia Eagles. Below, however, are three reasons why the Cowboys can make it to the Super Bowl and win, as well as one major fault that could prevent them from making a deep playoff run.

Why Cowboys can win Super Bowl: Team Offense

At the start of the season, much of the conversation surrounded the loss of Amari Cooper and questions about whether the Cowboys had enough weapons on offense to pose a threat. While it's been up and down at times, the Cowboys have dialed up the offense, putting up 54 points on the Colts, 40 points on the Vikings, and 49 points on the Bears.

While none of these teams have the most impressive defenses, it's still difficult to score 40+ points in any NFL game. Dak and company have been firing on all cylinders, but they're not just doing it through the air. The Cowboys have had one of the more balanced offensive approaches, with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard each nearing 1,000 yards rushing for the season.

The major concern with their offense, however, has been consistency. But if the Cowboys offense can post similar performances to the Colts and Vikings games, they will be difficult to stop in the postseason.

Why Cowboys can win Super Bowl: Micah Parsons

One player does not a defense make. The Dallas Cowboys have had one of the best defenses across the board this season. In terms of points allowed, they are third behind only the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers. And they are fifth in total yards allowed. Their passing defense is second overall, having only given up 2,371 yards this season. And Trevon Diggs has been a major factor in shutting down opponent passing attacks.

Still, the cornerstone of this unit is the sophomore outside linebacker from Penn State, Micah Parsons, who has quickly become one of the most dominant defensive stars in the NFL. After his first season, which resulted in the Defensive Rookie of the Year award, Parsons is following it up with another worthy performance.

He has 12 sacks, one behind last year's total, and 57 combined tackles. Parsons will be a defensive anchor for the Cowboys in years to come, but right now he is the most important piece of the defense and key reason why this team could make a Super Bowl run.

One of the major reasons the Cowboys were able to put together a string of wins early in the season without Dak was because Parsons and the defense stepped up to fill the gap. A Cowboys postseason run would require four games against top-tier opponents. Inconsistency has been key in the Dak era, but one way to make up for it is to lean on the defensive stars on the other side of the ball.

Why Cowboys can win Super Bowl: Weak NFC

The final reason that the Dallas Cowboys can make a deep postseason run is the lack of competition in the NFC this season. This could make it all the more likely that the Cowboys find themselves in the hunt for the Super Bowl.

As of now, most Vegas oddsmakers have the Cowboys as the third most likely team to win the NFC. Their NFC East division rival Philadelphia Eagles have proven to be the most complete team in the NFC, but the Cowboys played the Eagles closely when they squared off in October (and that was without Dak Prescott). The Cowboys face the Eagles on Christmas Eve in Dallas, which could be the most important game of the regular season and determine who has the momentum going into January.

The other team ahead of the Cowboys is the San Francisco 49ers. Kyle Shanahan's squad has perhaps the best defense in the NFL, along with two of the most dynamic playmakers in the league, in Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel. But the 49ers are also down to their third string QB Brock Purdy. And while he's had some early success in the regular season, it'll remain an open question how he'll perform once the stakes get bigger.

But beyond the Eagles and 49ers, the NFC has no other legitimate contenders. The NFC South might be one of the weakest divisions in NFL history, and Cowboys have already made light work of the 10-3 Vikings, who don't seem as strong as their record indicates. Given all this, if the Cowboys are playing their best football in January, there's no reason they can't compete for the NFC crown.

Why Cowboys can't win Super Bowl: Coaching and discipline

Most Dallas Cowboys fans are probably still having nightmares about last season's playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Dak runs for the first down but goes just a bit too far, and then everyone seemed to forget that the ball needed to be set by the official. There was plenty of blame to go along with this play, but at the end of the day, it should fall solely and squarely on the shoulders of Mike McCarthy.

Luckily receiving another chance this season, one would think that McCarthy would have focused on making sure the Cowboys showed up for the 2022 season more disciplined. Not so much. Last season, the Cowboys averaged a total of 7.8 penalties per game, the worst in the NFL. In 2022, they have decreased that embarrassing total to 6.8 penalties per game, but that total is still good enough for third worst in the league.

The Dallas Cowboys have the talent to make a deep playoff run with one of the most potent offenses out there, along with a defensive superstar in Micah Parsons. But to win a title, teams need to put three or four near perfect games together. Super Bowl teams can't afford is giving games away to dumb penalties or clock management, and Mike McCarthy's Cowboys haven't proven that they'll be able to clean this up in time for January, let alone February, football.