It wasn’t hard to find Cowboys players who need to do more in Week 2. After a flat showing across all three phases in the opener, Dallas is leaning on a short list of names to tilt this game against the Commanders and get its first win of the season.
The offensive side starts and ends with CeeDee Lamb. Dallas couldn’t settle in last week against the Giants, and the cleanest fix is the simplest one: get No. 88 the ball early with quick, high-percentage throws and let the chains start moving.
Once that happens, the rest of the offense can breathe a little. The running game should have better lanes, and George Pickens can stretch things downfield.
Lamb remains the player who makes this attack go, so the Cowboys should keep feeding him early and often.
Jake Ferguson is the other offensive name to watch. The Commanders were gashed by Dallas Goedert last week, who put up 77 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and that kind of production points straight at the middle of the field.
Ferguson barely got involved in the opener, seeing just two targets and turning them into six yards. With Lamb and Pickens drawing attention, No. 87 should have chances to work the seams and find softer matchups.
On defense, Quinnen Williams is the guy Dallas needs to look like Quinnen Williams. He posted the fifth-highest PFF grade on the team last week at 77.6, but it still felt like he left something on the table.
Maybe it was preseason rust after sitting on the sideline, maybe it was the way the Giants came out physical. Either way, the Cowboys are counting on a sharper version of him against the Commanders.
Donovan Ezeiruaku might be the most intriguing defensive player in the group. He actually led the Cowboys with an 86.8 PFF grade against the Giants and finished as the team’s leading tackler.
That came against Andrew Thomas, one of the better young left tackles in the league. This week brings a different challenge in Brandon Coleman, an injury fill-in for Laremy Tunsil.
Coleman is a capable starter on the blind side, but the expectation here is that Ezeiruaku has another strong outing, and maybe more than that. Don’t be surprised if he comes out of Week 2 with multiple QB sacks.
In Other News...
Former Cowboys Pass Rusher Returns With Something To Prove In Dallas
Dorance Armstrong is set to make his 2026 debut Sunday against the Cowboys, a familiar opponent for a pass rusher who spent years in Dallas before moving on to Washington. After serving a one-game suspension and working back from the torn ACL that wiped out most of last season, Armstrong enters the matchup with a fresh chance to reestablish himself in a game that still carries some extra edge for everyone involved.
Washington's staff has said it is confident Armstrong is ready to go, and the plan is to rotate him with the rest of the pass-rush group to keep his workload manageable. For Dallas, that means facing a former defensive end who knows the building, the personnel and the stage, even if the bigger question now is how much of Armstrong's old burst has returned after such a long absence. [Read more 🡒]
Jerry Jones Just Raised The Stakes For Dallas' Shaky Defense
Jerry Jones didnt sound interested in pretending the Cowboys defensive performance in Week 1 was anything close to where it needs to be. The team owner acknowledged Dallas underestimated the Giants in the opener, and with Washington up next, he pointed to the defense as the area most likely to show a better version of itself in a game that already feels important for setting the tone of the season.
The challenge for Dallas is that belief and execution are two different things, and the defense has given plenty of reasons for skepticism already. Jones is framing the Commanders matchup as a chance to reset, but until the Cowboys actually string together a cleaner outing, every promise of improvement comes with a layer of doubt that the schedule will quickly test. [Read more 🡒]
Jerry Jones May Soon Face A Cowboys Decision He Hates
Brian Schottenheimers second season in Dallas already carries the sort of early pressure that tends to come with this franchise, even if the Cowboys have historically shown more patience with head coaches than most. After going 7-9-1 in his first year, Schottenheimer watched the team open a new defensive chapter by moving on from Matt Eberflus and turning the unit over to Christian Parker, a change meant to steady a side of the ball that has been a major point of concern.
Instead, the defense stumbled in Week 1 against the New York Giants, and that is where the unease begins to creep in for a team that cannot afford another losing year. There is already speculation about Schottenheimers seat if the record goes the wrong way again, and for Jerry Jones, the uncomfortable part may be less about making a change than having to consider one at all. [Read more 🡒]