The Cowboys don’t have the luxury of easing into Week 2. After a rough opening against the Giants, Sunday’s trip to face the Commanders already feels like a get-right game Dallas can’t afford to waste.
The defense was supposed to look different after an offseason overhaul, with Jalen Thompson, Rashan Gary, and Caleb Downs brought in to help change the script. Instead, the first week looked a lot like the old one.
That makes the matchup in Washington all the more important, especially with Dallas trying to avoid an 0-2 hole. The biggest concern from Week 1 carries over immediately: can the Cowboys keep a running quarterback from taking over the game?
Jaxson Dart did plenty of damage on the ground against Dallas, finishing with 54 rushing yards and averaging almost five yards per carry. His scrambling helped keep the Cowboys’ defense on the field far too long.
Now comes Jayden Daniels, another quarterback who can punish a defense with his legs. Against the Eagles, Daniels didn’t pile up as many rushing yards as Dart did against Dallas, but he was efficient when he ran.
He finished with five carries for 31 yards and averaged more than six yards per attempt. If Dallas lets that kind of mobility dictate the pace again, the Commanders can stretch drives and keep the Cowboys’ offense watching from the sideline.
Offensively, the answer has to start with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Brian Schottenheimer has talked about wanting to establish the run and set the tone, but Dallas’ best answers are on the perimeter. The Cowboys need both receivers involved early and often, because when they’re rolling, they can overwhelm a defense.
That’s the version Dallas wants to see - the one that earned Lamb and Pickens the nickname “the terror twins.” It’s the opposite of the shaky version from last week, when Pickens and Prescott didn’t always seem in sync and Lamb, as usual, needed the right rhythm to get going.
Against the Commanders’ smaller cornerbacks, the Cowboys have a chance to lean into what those two do best. Last year at AT&T Stadium against Washington, Lamb had 110 receiving yards and Pickens added 85, with both averaging more than 20 yards per catch.
Anything less than that kind of impact leaves Dallas settling for the wrong kind of game.
There’s also a coaching subplot worth watching on the other side of the ball. Washington’s defensive coordinator, Daronte Jones, is a familiar name around Cowboys circles because he was in the running for Dallas’ opening as well.
Jones spent most of his career with the Vikings and worked under Brian Flores over the last three seasons. He also served as LSU’s defensive coordinator in 2021, his only season in that role at any level.
The Commanders’ defense showed some promise against the Eagles, forcing Philadelphia out of rhythm on several drives. But there were also explosive plays where the secondary appeared out of sorts.
That should sound familiar to Dallas fans. With both teams relying on first-time coordinators, Sunday could produce a lot of questions for whichever side ends up 0-2.
Linebacker depth is another issue hanging over the Cowboys. DeMarvion Overshown left Week 1 with a hamstring injury that could keep him out one to two weeks, and that only sharpens the concern around a unit that was already viewed as a weak spot before the offseason and draft. Jaishawn Barham and Dee Winters were added, while Dallas also needed Shemar James to keep developing in his second season.
Barham may be the next man up and could take on green-dot duties, but that comes with real pressure if communication becomes a problem on defense. The Cowboys do have Curtis Robinson and Justin Barron on the practice squad and could elevate one of them for Sunday, though neither is at Overshown’s level. Dallas was encouraged by Barham all offseason and in the first preseason game, and if that version of him shows up again, the Cowboys will need it badly.
And then there’s the kicking game, which is not where Dallas wants another headache. Brandon Aubrey has now missed a kick of some kind in three straight games, dating back to last season, the first such stretch of his career. He is still one of the NFL’s best kickers, but when a team is already fighting defensive issues and trying to maximize every scoring chance, even a rare miss matters.
That concern only grows with the memory of last season’s special teams issues under Nick Sorensen. Sorensen remained in place, but after one game, that unit still hasn’t shown much improvement in year two.
Aubrey earned his historic deal this offseason, and he deserved it. Still, if this game comes down to a field goal or two, Dallas can’t afford to wonder what happened to one of the league’s most reliable legs.
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-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 🡒]
Cooper Beebe Just Gave Cowboys Fans Hope Up Front
The first glimpse of the Cowboys line this season gave the team something it has been looking for up front: stability. Cooper Beebe handled 58 snaps in Week 1 without a penalty or a pressure allowed, a clean outing that also came with a 68.6 overall grade from PFF. After moving from guard to center and starting 16 games as a rookie, he looks more settled in the middle than plenty of young linemen do this early in their careers.
Tyler Guyton added to that sense of progress on the edge, too, turning in a strong showing at left tackle against a New York pass rush that was supposed to test Dallas. For a unit that has spent too much time under scrutiny, seeing Beebe and Guyton take a step forward in the same game matters. The Cowboys still need more than one encouraging Sunday to make the front a real strength, but for once the early signs are pointing in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]