With DeMarvion Overshown dealing with a potential hamstring injury, the Cowboys may have to lean even harder on rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham. That makes Sunday’s debut all the more frustrating, because Barham flashed enough to notice - and then blew that goodwill with one ugly fourth-quarter rep.
Barham was on the field for 34 of Dallas’ 69 defensive snaps against the Giants, third-most among Cowboys defenders behind Overshown’s 51 and Dee Winters’ 40. He even turned in a respectable individual grade, finishing as the team’s fourth-highest-graded defender with a 75.9 mark from Pro Football Focus. Early on, he also got Jaxson Dart to bait him into a neutral zone infraction, a rookie mistake that didn’t define his night.
What did define it was Devin Singletary’s receiving touchdown late in the fourth quarter, the score that pushed New York ahead 28-14. On the replay, Barham appears to give up on the play despite having a chance to run Singletary down and maybe keep him out of the end zone.
That’s the part that sticks. The Giants were facing 3rd-and-5 after ripping off three straight wide-open completions in the flat, and Dallas had already seen the same soft spot exploited over and over.
That should have been the moment for the defense to respond with urgency. Instead, Barham was slow to react and looked far too casual chasing the ball.
For a linebacker whose appeal is built on motor and violence at the point of attack, that kind of effort is hard to swallow. A rookie can miss a read or take a bad angle. What you can’t overlook is pulling up when the game is still there to be grabbed.
Barham did himself no favors in his first game for Dallas, and it’s fair to say he’s in the Cowboys’ doghouse for now. He can start digging out of it against the Commanders this Sunday, but the standard is simple: the effort has to match the talent. Positive plays won’t erase a snap like that.
And with Overshown’s status still uncertain, the Cowboys may need Barham on the field even more in Week 2 than they did on Sunday.
In Other News...
ESPN Just Reignited An NFL Double Standard Debate Fans Know Well
ESPNs Monday Night Football coverage of the Broncos-Chiefs game briefly shifted away from the action when sideline reporter Laura Rutledge explained why Denver defender Jonathon Cooper was unavailable, noting his placement on the commissioners exempt list after domestic violence charges. The mention instantly turned a routine injury-and-availability update into something much bigger, because it touched on one of the NFLs most sensitive and inconsistently handled issues.
Former Broncos safety Justin Simmons was quick to criticize ESPN for bringing Coopers legal situation into the broadcast, and the reaction rippled well beyond the sideline report. Some former players and fans defended the network, arguing the explanation was relevant context for his absence, while others zeroed in on the broader double standard debate that always seems to follow when similar situations come up with different players and different teams. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Suddenly Have More Than One Problem After Week 1
The Cowboys came out of Week 1 with more than a loss on the ledger. Dallas looked unsettled on both sides of the ball against the Giants, with the offense unable to find much rhythm around Dak Prescott and the defense failing to provide the usual cushion the team expects early in the season. It was the kind of opener that leaves a staff sorting through several different issues at once instead of one clean fix.
DeMarvion Overshowns injury only added to the unease on a defense already trying to regain its footing, and even Brandon Aubreys status as a reliable edge has started to draw more attention after the shaky showing. For a team that entered the season expecting to compete right away, the challenge now is figuring out which problems are temporary and which ones might linger long enough to shape the next few weeks. [Read more 🡒]
Caleb Downs Already Forced A Big Cowboys Defensive Decision
Caleb Downs wasted little time making his presence felt in his first NFL game, and the Cowboys are already sorting out how much they can ask of the rookie safety. In Week 1, Downs earned a 68.9 grade from Pro Football Focus and turned in a debut that included a strip sack, all while logging 61 defensive snaps in a variety of roles. With Malik Hooker injured, the opening in the secondary is real, and Dallas has a decision to make about how quickly it wants to lean on the young defender.
The bigger question now is not whether Downs belongs on the field, but where he fits best once the Cowboys start tailoring the scheme around him. His early showing suggested he can handle multiple assignments, and that versatility gives Dallas options in coverage and elsewhere in the defense. The challenge is finding the right balance between expanding his workload and making sure his usage plays to what he already does well. [Read more 🡒]