The Cowboys are heading into their home opener with a little more urgency than anyone in Dallas wanted this early in the season. After dropping Week 1 to the Giants, they’re staring at the kind of 0-2 start that usually puts a team on shaky ground fast, and the matchup with the Washington Commanders carries real weight for a group trying to avoid digging itself into a hole.
One of the biggest adjustments comes on defense, where rookie Jaishawn Barham will make his first start at middle linebacker and wear the green dot in place of the injured DeMarvion Overshown. Brian Schottenheimer made that call official Friday, trusting Barham to handle the communication duties in the middle despite a rocky first NFL outing.
“He’s got great command of what we’re doing,” Schottenheimer said of Barham. “Again, had to get into a little teaching moment this morning on the radio.
Again, the green dot, I think gets overblown at times, basically what you’re doing, you’re repeating the call and then you’re setting the fronts and all that. And then the entire defense needs to communicate.”
Overshown is out after suffering a hamstring strain in the season opener against the Giants, and the Cowboys also won’t have safety Malik Hooker, who is dealing with a forearm fracture and is expected to miss a few weeks. Friday’s injury report was otherwise relatively light, but those two absences leave Dallas thinner on defense than it wants to be.
The rookie spotlight doesn’t stop there. Caleb Downs, who was one of Dallas’ best defensive players in Week 1, is trying to keep building after an impressive debut.
He played 60 defensive snaps against the Giants and finished with seven tackles, three quarterback pressures and a sack. Now he gets his first turn at AT&T Stadium.
“Excitement, honestly,” Downs said about Sunday’s game. “It’s the best feeling to be able to play this game.
There’s no really other way to feel about it then just straight joy. I’m excited to do that, and we’re excited to do what we need to do to get a win.”
On the other side, CeeDee Lamb is looking for a much bigger day after a quiet opener. He caught five passes for 44 yards against New York, but he sounded ready to explode in front of the home crowd.
“Can’t wait. Can’t wait,” the three-time All-Pro receiver said.
“ I know the city gonna be rocking. The game iss gonna be fire.
I can’t wait to just go out there and have everybody excited, score a couple of touchdowns and blow the roof off the place.”
Dallas also knows the start matters. The offense opened last week with a three-and-out, and the Commanders bring enough ground-game threat to make the Cowboys prove they can control the line of scrimmage early. Washington ranked around league average in rushing EPA in Week 1, but that came against Philadelphia, and the Cowboys are being warned not to trust the numbers at face value.
The bigger picture is simple enough: if Dallas wants to avoid an 0-2 start - especially one that includes a second NFC East loss - Sunday is the time to clean things up. The Cowboys are trying to get their first win, and they’re doing it with a rookie linebacker calling the defense, another rookie trying to build on a strong debut, and a star receiver hungry to make noise in the home opener.
In Other News...
Caleb Downs Just Added To A Cowboys Debate Nobody Wanted
Caleb Downs arrived in his NFL debut with the kind of energy the Cowboys were hoping to see, piling up eight tackles, a sack and a forced fumble in the loss to the Giants. For a team that needed some early defensive juice, the rookie safety made an immediate impression, and he did it in a game that already left Dallas searching for answers after its opening stumble.
Downs then nudged the conversation in a direction the Cowboys probably would rather avoid. On a podcast, he said some Dallas coaches spend more time on Twitter than the players, a remark that adds a new layer to the noise around the team as it tries to reset for its upcoming home game against the Commanders. With the first week already behind them, Dallas now has to sort through both the on-field issues and the latest distraction circling its sideline. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Face An Early Test That Could Raise Bigger Questions
The Cowboys defense left enough questions hanging after the Giants game to make the next one feel like more than just another early-season trip through the schedule. Dallas now heads into a matchup with Washington carrying the kind of scrutiny that follows a rough defensive outing, especially with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens looming as the kind of receiver duo that can make any game plan look fragile if the coverage and pressure are not sharper.
There is also a layer of coaching intrigue here, because both teams are working through the adjustments that come with first-time defensive coordinators. For Dallas, that means the Commanders are not just another opponent, but a useful measuring stick for how quickly the Cowboys can tighten up in the areas that matter most and avoid turning one uneven performance into a bigger defensive conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys-Ravens Brazil Trip Comes With One Serious Concern
The Cowboys Week 3 trip to Rio de Janeiro is shaping up as one of the seasons most intriguing international showcases, with Baltimore waiting at Maracan Stadium in a matchup that carries plenty of novelty and a fair amount of uncertainty. Beyond the travel and the unfamiliar setting, the most immediate concern has nothing to do with the opponent and everything to do with the playing surface, which has already drawn complaints from soccer players and NFL participants familiar with what can happen when field conditions are less than ideal.
Brian Schottenheimer has already been talking about the logistical side of taking an NFL team to Brazil, and those details matter even more when the stadium itself is under scrutiny. The league has dealt with similar field issues in So Paulo before, so this is not just a one-off inconvenience for the Cowboys and Ravens - it is the kind of backdrop that can influence how both teams prepare, practice and protect players once they arrive in Rio. [Read more 🡒]