Frisco — The Cowboys try to keep their season going by avenging one of the most awful losses of the Jason Garrett/Scott Linehan era. The Cowboys face the Falcons at noon Sunday with a chance to try and set up an NFC East showdown with Washington on Thanksgiving. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, first up we need ‘A Cup of Joe’ to get this week’s storylines.
Returning to the scene of the coaching crime
The Cowboys week 10 debacle last season featured the crime of coaching negligence. Once it was obvious to all watching that former Cowboys tackle Chaz Green couldn’t handle Adrian Clayborn, Cowboys coaches did little to offer help. Clayborn finished with six sacks, the Falcons had eight total and Dak Prescott seemingly hasn’t been the same since. Garrett was guilty of not acting quickly enough, which is one of his biggest issues.
But a week ago in Philadelphia Garrett displayed the kind of punch-first aggressive mentality the Cowboys will need down the stretch. The Cowboys will need more of the same this week at Mercedes Benz stadium. I had a high school coach tell me recently their motto this season is, “all gas no breaks.” The Cowboys would be smart to adopt that mindset.
Pass to set up the run
I’m curious to see if quarterback Dak Prescott can be as good on first down as he was in Philadelphia. In what seems like a nod to the impact Amari Cooper has on the game, the Cowboys were a sterling 12-of-16 on first-down passes against the Eagles. The math is easy. That’s a 75% completion rate.
Cooper's arrival has also given Prescott more room to operate. According to the NFL's NextGen stats the Cowboys have made a significant jump in terms of wide receivers gaining separation with Coopers on board. They went from dead last in the NFL without him to 11th best now that he's here. Granted, it's a small sample of two games, but the Cooper effect can't be denied.
Add it together and the aerial success softened the Eagles defense allowing Zeke Elliott to bust free for 151 rushing yard and 186 total yard from scrimmage with a pair of touchdowns. Look for more of the same here as the Cowboys have to think they’ve found an offensive formula they can count on moving forward.
Don’t let Julio Jones wreck the game
Coaches talk about the best impact players in the game as having the ability to “wreck the game.” Julio Jones is a prime example. Forget about his issues with scoring touchdowns this season. Jones is a beast who can turn the game on a dime. Good news for Cowboys fans is the way the Cowboys secondary, Byron Jones, in particular, has played so far this season. He’s been near the top the defensive back ranking on pro football focus and he’s the poster child for Kris Richard’s coaching ability. I’m curious to see if the Cowboys will have Byron Jones travel to cover Julio Jones all over the field. However they do it, it can’t be a 2 touchdown, 150 receiving yard days or the Cowboys could be in trouble.
Who wins?
I’ll give Jason Garrett this, he is quite accomplished at circling the wagons. The Cowboys came out with a game plan and performance in Philadelphia that few expected. And while I’m not convinced that the Cowboys won’t have a slip-up somewhere down the stretch, I don’t think it’s this week. The specter of that horrible loss last season will act as a positive, keeping this group as locked in as they need to be. And they’ll ride their newfound offensive formula to a close road win. I’m calling Cowboys over the Falcons 27-23.
