DALLAS — The Cowboys are back off the bye looking for a re-boot in front of a national television audience Sunday night against the Niners.
There is sooooo much going on with this franchise now, and Cowboys nation has to hope focusing on football will be a positive.
The Cowboys are a four-point underdog on the road against the also-ailing 49ers.
Here are 5 Things to Watch Sunday night in Santa Clara:
1. Battle of Attrition
Both teams come into this Sunday night affair with their rosters looking like MASH units. The Cowboys were hopeful that all everything defender Micah Parsons (ankle) and cornerback Duron Bland (foot) could return to action, but neither practiced on Wednesday or Thursday, putting their availability in serious question.
The Niners offense will be down at least three major contributors. Receiver Brandon Aiyuk tore his ACL and MCL against the Chiefs last week and is done for the year. Running back Christian McCaffrey (achilles) and recevier Jauan Jennings (hip) aren't expected to play. And receiver Deebo Samuel was in the hospital Monday dealing with pneumonia. Samuel could give it a go, but this won't be the same Niners team that has dominated the Cowboys in recent memory.
2. Filter out the noise
From the owner threatening to fire his radio show hosts and calling out his head coach for bad concepts, to a hall of fame former Cowboy calling out the receiving corps (more on this in a moment), to former Cowboys players saying tours at the Star are a distraction. There's even more off the field noise than normal for this organization.
This biggest issue for me is how Mike McCarthy will handle Jerry Jones taking a shot at him and his concepts and plays, while calling for the offense to play better. McCarthy tried to half-heartedly laugh it off when pressed by the media. But he had to directly refute what the team owner said because Jones made his displeasure public. I'm looking to see how McCarthy calls this game to prove his boss is off base.
3. Lamb vs. Aikman
Cowboys Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman studies the game to prepare for his Monday Night Football analyst duties. So, when he said Cowboys receivers are running lazy routes, it holds weight. Jerry Jones did not dismiss the notion. Mike McCarthy said he didn't agree with the language Aikman used. Receiver CeeDee Lamb, who Aikman singled out, gave a terse response to the criticism saying, "got to be better overall." When asked directly about the assessment, he refused to answer.
On it's face, it would seem that the lack of production between Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb makes no sense, given Lamb led the NFL in receptions (135) and finished second in yards (1,749) last season. But that's not how football works.
The Cowboys have the worst rushing attack in the league, ranked dead last in yard per game and yard per attempt. A second option in the receiving corps hasn't emerged following Brandin Cooks injury. Opposing defenses are only concerned with Lamb. He's seeing more attention than ever and the Cowboys have zero explosive players elsewhere in the offense.
Somehow, someway - against ridiculous odds - Prescott and Lamb have to find a way to lead the offense forward.
Good luck.
4. Cowboys defense must stand up against run
It's been a constant refrain this season, but Mike Zimmer needs to scheme a way for this squad to slow down the Niners rushing attack. With all of their offensive injuries, expect head coach and play-caller Kyle Shanahan to feature running back Jordan Mason, the NFL's second-leading rusher (667 yards) this season. If Shanahan can get him going, he can scheme wide open receivers in the play-action passing game and it won't matter who is running the routes.
Zimmer admitted that he panicked early against the Lions who not only dominated, but embarrassed the Cowboys. In the NFL, that's normally the greatest motivator there is. So, I'll be watching the effort level of this defense closely. If we witness another tepid show of intensity there may be even bigger issues on the horizon.
5. Make the rest count
The next five weeks will go a long way in determining Mike McCarthy's future in Dallas. He's a couple of bad losses away from this season being terminal.
There is a silver lining for Cowboys fans though. McCarthy has been more than solid after bye weeks with a 12-5 record overall. And here with the Cowboys he's three-of-four following the off week. The Cowboys need to continue that trend in the worst way to right the ship and get this season back on track.
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