“Dak Prescott is going to be out of action at least four weeks with an injury to his throwing hand? Oh, Dallas is absolutely going to go 0-4 in that stretch.”
So, thought most everyone that isn’t a diehard Cowboys fan. Two weeks later, the Cowboys defense has shown it they who are the backbone of the team in Dallas.
No doubt, Commanders, Eagles and Giants fans wrote off the Cowboys, and now at 2-1, winning both games started by Cooper Rush at quarterback, we now know we wrote off the Cowboys too soon.
The Commanders travel to Dallas for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff in Week 4. In the last two weeks, it is the Commanders who have looked nothing short of terrible in the first half of both games being outscored 46-0 by the Lions and Eagles. The Commanders yielded 17 QB hits to the Eagles.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys’ front seven defense has led the way in their victories over the Bengals and Giants. Often in team sports, it is matchups that are crucial in making a difference. If the Commanders’ offensive line is no better than they were the first two halves against the Lions and the Eagles, it will be the third consecutive halftime blowout the Commanders will suffer.
On the flip side, the Cowboys running game splitting time between Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 178 yards in 28 carries prior to Cooper Rush taking a knee on the last two snaps. That means Dallas averaged 6.35 yards each time Pollard or Elliott carried the ball. Consequently, the clock was running, and the Dallas defense was getting rested, permitting Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence to be energized to rush Daniel Jones for 5 sacks and 9 QB hits.
The Eagles’ Brandon Graham was the NFC defensive player of the week because of his huge success against the Commanders in Week 3. DeMarcus Lawrence against the NY Giants accumulated 6 solo tackles, 3 QB sacks, 3 TFL and 3 QB hits.
The Commanders’ offensive line will also have to prepare for and execute well against the explosive Micah Parsons.
What can offensive line coach John Matsko do to improve the Commanders’ performance enough in one week?
