Week 2 brings a quick chance for the Cowboys to reset after the loss to the New York football Giants, and the matchup with Washington creates a clear list of names worth watching in both directions.
George Pickens sits near the top of the buy list. His opener was messy, with several drops that hurt Dallas, and one of them may have gone for a touchdown.
Even so, he still managed to matter in the game, finishing with three catches for 28 yards on six targets while drawing 38 yards in penalties from the Giants. That’s not nothing.
The usage was encouraging too: Pickens led Dallas with a 16.1-yard average depth of target and accounted for 37.9% of the team’s air yards, which tells you how the Cowboys want to use him. Washington looks like the right spot for a rebound, especially with Trey Amos out and Mike Sainristil coming off a rough Week 1 showing.
Don’t get too comfortable with Jake Ferguson, though. His first game was quiet to the point of concern: two catches, six yards, six targets.
Dallas treats the tight end spot as more than a pass-catching job, and with Washington bringing an aggressive defensive plan, the Cowboys need that position to hold up in the run game and in formation. Ferguson also has to contend with Brevyn Spann-Ford’s rise and the number of receivers Dak Prescott can lean on.
His production looks capped unless he finds some of the splash plays he missed in Week 1. Then again, Washington did just surrender a huge day to Dallas Goedert, so there is at least some room for surprise.
On defense, Donovan Ezeiruaku is the other clear buy. He may have been Dallas’ most effective defender against the Giants, even with a few discipline issues on the edge and some shaky coverage moments.
The numbers were strong: 10 tackles, a half-sack, a tackle for loss and two pressures. Dallas’ official site also said he posted the team’s top PFF grade at 86.5.
The matchup gives him another real shot to pop. Washington’s starting left tackle is Brandon Coleman, who is filling in for the injured Laremy Tunsil, and Coleman gave up seven pressures and a sack against Philadelphia.
Washington’s starting tackles combined to allow 15 pressures. Add in Jayden Daniels’ tendency to hold the ball too long - he took a league-leading 3.41 seconds to throw in Week 1 - and the setup is there for Ezeiruaku to turn disruption into something bigger.
The sell side starts with the interior linebackers. This group already had plenty to sort through after Dallas gave up 165 rushing yards to the Giants and allowed New York to convert 82% of its third downs.
The defense had trouble fitting the run and communicating in coverage, and now the situation is even trickier with Overshown out. Rookie third-round pick Jaishawn Barham is stepping in at MIKE and wearing the green dot in just his second NFL game.
Brian Schottenheimer said Barham has “great command” of the defense, but that’s still a lot to place on a rookie.
Washington makes the challenge even tougher. Jayden Daniels can hurt teams as a runner, and the Commanders also ran for 132 yards against Philadelphia.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt had 16 carries for 63 yards, and Daniels added 31 more on the ground. That forces Dallas’ linebackers to process quickly while also keeping Daniels contained.
On top of that, Overshown’s absence changes how the defense operates, since he usually relays Christian Parker’s calls. Parker said he trusts Barham, Dee Winters and Shemar James to handle that responsibility, but the Cowboys are asking that group to do more than expected this early in the season.
The question is simple: can that linebacker group clean up its Week 1 issues while also absorbing the loss of the player who was supposed to run the defense? That’s a heavy lift.
In Other News...
Cowboys Brazil Opener Suddenly Comes With A Serious Prekickoff Concern
The Cowboys trip to Brazil now comes with a wrinkle that has nothing to do with travel or opponent prep. Dallas is slated to meet the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 27 at Maracan Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, but the grass pitch there is drawing concern because it remains in poor shape after weather and heavy soccer use.
For an NFL game, the surface matters almost as much as the matchup, and there is not much time for the league to clean things up before kickoff. Stadium officials and players have already acknowledged the field problems, leaving the Cowboys and Ravens with an opener that suddenly has a very real pregame question hanging over it. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Fans Will Appreciate Schottenheimers Response To That Pickens Theory
A viral Cowboys theory made the rounds this week after fans latched onto George Pickens and a mouthpiece as if it might be a clue to what Dallas was about to do on offense. It was one of those internet-driven football ideas that takes on a life of its own, especially when supporters are searching for any edge in reading the play sheet before the snap.
Brian Schottenheimer didnt bat the discussion away so much as lean into it with a laugh during a media appearance, acknowledging the buzz while talking through how tendencies can shape the way people view play-calling. The theory, at least in its simplest form, didnt hold up for long anyway, with one game example showing Pickens wearing the mouthpiece on a running play, which is the sort of wrinkle that keeps these decoding games from ever being all that clean. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Head Into Home Opener With One Familiar Stadium Frustration
The home opener at AT&T Stadium comes with a familiar backdrop for the Cowboys, and a familiar annoyance. Dallas has talked before about easing the late-afternoon sun glare that can interfere with play inside the building, with ideas such as window tinting and curtains surfacing after their success during the FIFA World Cup.
For now, though, no such measures have been put in place for the matchup with the Washington Commanders. It leaves the Cowboys heading into a game at a venue where the light can still become part of the story, especially in the kind of late kickoff that tends to bring the issue back into focus. [Read more 🡒]