Dak Prescott's season-ending Week 5 injury ensured 2020 was a wasted year for the Dallas Cowboys.
Rather than bolster their defense, the Cowboys gave Prescott an exciting new weapon with the 17th overall pick in the NFL Draft last April.
But wide receiver CeeDee Lamb's impact was diminished after Dallas' quarterback sustained a compound fracture and dislocation of his ankle.
Without their talisman, the Cowboys stumbled to a 6-10 record, only good enough for third in the poor NFC East.
However, Prescott is set to return in 2021 and has committed his future to the franchise following a long-awaited breakthrough in contract talks.
This year's draft also provides the opportunity for a re-do, which should address the key flaws highlighted here with the help of Stats Perform data.
Offense
Prescott's lay-off makes an assessment of the Cowboys' offense last year rather tricky, but the team showed enough in his limited time on the field to encourage optimism.
Dallas finished 17th in the league for total points scored with 24.7 per game, yet this average was 32.6 points across the five games Prescott played. Over the course of the season, the Green Bay Packers led the league with an inferior 31.8 points.
Likewise, for five weeks, Prescott threw a sensational 371.2 yards per game, the most of any QB in the NFL in 2020. It is an achievement even more impressive when considering he bowed out in the third quarter of his fifth outing.
To put the Cowboys' miserable results in perspective, backup QB Andy Dalton (197.3 yards per game) ranked 37th. In the NFC East, he outperformed only Philadelphia Eagles rookie Jalen Hurts (70.7 yards per game) among players with 100 attempts.
Even with Dalton applying the handbrake, Amari Cooper put up 1,114 yards from 92 receptions for five touchdowns. Lamb also had five TDs on 74 catches for 935 yards, while Michael Gallup's own five came from 59 receptions and 843 yards.
Cooper had contributed eight scores the previous season when paired with Prescott throughout, and Lamb will hope he can similarly profit from the starting QB's return.
The receiving corps could still be more efficient, however. Lamb dropped 8.1 per cent of the passes sent in his direction, while running back Ezekiel Elliott dropped 8.5 per cent - the Dallas pair ranking third and second-worst among players with 50 or more targets.
Behind an offensive line also ravaged by injury, Elliott - another former first-round pick on offense - led the way on the ground with 244 carries for 979 yards and six rushing TDs. The Cowboys' 111.8 rushing yards per game ranked 17th.
So there is still plenty of room for improvement but reason to believe Prescott's return will lift this offense into the upper echelons.
Bills sign veteran pass-rusher Leonard Floyd to one-year deal
The Buffalo Bills have upgraded their pass rush, agreeing to a one-year deal with veteran outside linebacker Leonard Floyd.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network was the first to report the agreement on Monday.
Drafted with the ninth overall pick by the Chicago Bears in 2016, the 30-year-old Floyd is entering his eighth NFL season after spending the last three with the Los Angeles Rams following his first four years with the Bears.
He won a Super Bowl with the Rams two years ago while playing on the opposite side of the defense as Von Miller, who he'll be reunited with in Buffalo.
The Bills were tied for 14th in the NFL in sacks last season with 40, but their production dipped after Miller tore the ACL in his right knee in November and missed the rest of the season.
Following Miller's injury, Buffalo had two or fewer sacks in five of their final seven games.
Floyd had nine sacks while playing in all 17 games last season and has 47 1/2 sacks in his career.
Since the start of the 2020 season, his 29 sacks rank 10th in the league.
The Bills have lost in the divisional round of the playoffs each of the last two seasons, and hope the addition of Floyd will help them get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1993 season.
Buffalo opens the 2023 season with a highly anticipated Monday night showdown against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets on September 11, and Miller is optimistic he'll be able to play.
Bills agree to terms with OLB Leonard Floyd on a 1-year deal. (via @rapsheet) pic.twitter.com/4NKBxj1Lcr
— NFL (@NFL) June 5, 2023
Milan 3-1 Hellas Verona: Leao double condemns visitors to Serie A relegation play-off
Milan signed off the Serie A season with a 3-1 victory as Rafael Leao's double condemned Hellas Verona to a relegation play-off with Spezia.
The Rossoneri wrapped up a frustrating campaign on a winning note at San Siro, with a late Leao brace enough to seal three points.
Milan had already secured Champions League football for another term but struggled at times against the visitors, who cancelled out Olivier Giroud's first-half penalty through Marco Faraoni's 72nd-minute strike.
Yet Leao struck in the 85th minute and again seven minutes later, leaving Verona to face a relegation decider with Spezia, who succumbed to a late 2-1 loss at Roma.
Udinese 0-1 Juventus: Chiesa strikes but Bianconeri miss out on top-six Serie A finish
Juventus missed the chance to finish sixth in Serie A despite Federico Chiesa's strike sealing a 1-0 victory over Udinese at Dacia Arena.
After Paulo Dybala's late penalty helped Roma to a 2-1 victory over Spezia, Massimiliano Allegri's side were unable to leapfrog the Giallorossi and were forced to settle for a seventh-place finish in the league.
Chiesa's second-half strike was the difference for Juve, who were deducted 10 points for violating financial rules earlier in a rollercoaster campaign, but they suffered their lowest finish in Serie A for 12 years.
Meanwhile, Udinese finished 12th in Serie A following their 10th defeat in 12 meetings with the Old Lady.
Udinese had lost their last three but went close after just four minutes when Beto somehow headed Florian Thauvin's cross over from inside the six-yard box.
Federico Chiesa’s deflected effort hit the side-netting before Juve saw a headed opportunity go begging as Leonardo Bonucci nodded against the crossbar from seven yards out following Arkadiusz Milik's flick-on.
Chiesa continued to cause Udinese problems down the left flank, yet the sides headed into half-time goalless after a profligate showing from both teams.
Juve squandered a great chance to break the deadlock just after the hour mark, Adrien Rabiot firing wide despite being found by Milik in acres of space inside the box.
But the visitors eventually opened the scoring in the 68th minute, Chiesa receiving the ball from Manuel Locatelli before bending a brilliant shot into the bottom-right corner.
Locatelli and Angel Di Maria went close to extending the advantage and though the single goal was enough, former Juve forward Dybala was to snatch sixth place for Roma from under his old club's nose.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
