There are two ways to look at the Dallas Cowboys season. The team has only won two of its first six games for the second season in a row; the defense is one of the worst in the league, again, statistically; and the offense has scored fewer than 20 points in back-to-back Dak Prescott starts for the first time this decade. They lost to New England (13-9) and Buffalo (26-15) in 2019. That team went on to miss the playoffs.
The team is also a win behind the first-place New York Giants, who still have to play a game in Arlington. The first and only time the Giants beat Dak Prescott in Arlington was his first start of his rookie year. The defense should soon see the return of linebacker and captain DeMarvion Overshown (D-Mo), who has missed every game since Week 1; cornerback Cobie Durant, who has not played since Week 2; and linebacker Marist Liufau, who has not played all season after fracturing his forearm in the preseason against the New Orleans Saints.
“D-Mo worked back in (Thursday). Excited to see how he does. Cobie Durant should get some work in practice, and then Joey Porter (Jr.) should be back. Opening the window for Marist (Liufau). So getting healthier,” Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer said.
Porter Jr. has impressed his teammates, including defensive lineman Quinnen Williams.
“He’s unbelievable. I watched the film last week and to see him cover guys one-on-one and be able to the energy he brings and the celebration he do every time he locks somebody up is super dope to see,” Williams said. “That’s one of the guys you see on tape every single day. He’s going to play with swag; he’s going to play it with consistency.”
Dee Winters and Kavontae Turpin did not practice Thursday.
The offense has been the weakest link over the past two weeks, scoring fewer than 20 points in back-to-back games for the first time under Schottenheimer. He said the team needs to run the ball more efficiently and more often, which should help the offense be more consistent and hit more big plays in the passing game.
“It starts with calling more runs, which requires being in more, I keep using the word normal, close games where you’re not having to play from behind,” Schottenheimer said. “I do think that the more you run it, the better you feel. You figure out combination blocks and things like that. I will say early on in most of our games, we’ve not run it as well as we are capable of. And there’s been times where, again, as the head coach and the play caller, I have to make the decision of… ‘Okay, the clock says X, we’re down X. What is it? All right, it’s time to go.’ And so those are decisions that we discuss, and we make those decisions. But it starts with just letting these guys get into a groove. Let these guys get bats at the plate, if you will. And that’s a big part. But the negative runs have to- we gotta clean those up.”
“Teams are obviously trying to keep the ball away from us. That’s the plan. They want to try to limit our (opportunities) because they know how talented we are and how explosive we can be,” Schottenheimer said, addressing the pass-heavy offense seen Sunday. The Cowboys attempted 54 passes (and were sacked an additional three times), but only ran it 15 times total, including only once in a span of 38 plays.
“We felt like it was really important for us to go fast. And like I alluded to the other day, just because the ball doesn’t get handed off doesn’t mean a run wasn’t called. There were a number of runs that were called. But based on the defense that they were showing, that 8-up, 7-up things like that, they were daring us to throw it. I thought we actually moved the ball well. But no one wants to drop back and throw it, whatever, 39 out of 40 snaps. That was not the design. Were we gonna throw it a lot? Yeah. But there were probably another five to six runs that were called. And because of what they did, the response is to go to the best play versus that defense. And that’s why you saw us throwing the ball,” Schottenheimer said.
There’s also getting the ball to George Pickens (GP). Pickens actually has more targets through six weeks than last season, but only one more catch for nearly 100 fewer yards and 5 fewer touchdowns. Schottenheimer was more critical of Pickens’ play than he had been through the first month of the season.
“He needs to understand that he impacts us in the running game as well. And, you know, he’s got to do the same thing in the run game, picking up safeties and blocking corners, just like Javonte does, picking up blitzes so he can catch balls. That’s part of the team-first mindset, and GP does understand that. And when he’s going, they’re going to play soft to his side. When he’s not going, then the safeties get pretty good runs at our backs, and that’s got to improve,” Schottenheimer said.
Schottenheimer said the offense is taking what the defense gives them, but wants to be more aggressive.
“Dak’s actually done a really good job of being patient against some of these teams that want to push out deep and put an umbrella over the top of our elite weapons. But we’re also aware of the you know, explosive plays make it a lot easier to score. And I think as you look at our last two games, we just haven’t been able to produce those. So it’s a mix between when we call them, you know executing them and taking the shots when they’re there, but also, you know when they are not there, we got to manage it and make good decisions,” Schottenheimer said.
The Cowboys have struggled against the blitz, specifically against Tampa Bay and Green Bay, despite the return of Pro Bowl Guard Tyler Smith. Schottenheimer said it’s nothing they have not solved before, but some of the solution could be more running.
“When you look at the last two games, I give those guys credit, but we didn’t execute very well. We didn’t adjust quickly enough. We didn’t make some of the sight adjustments and hot responses that we normally do, but I’ve seen us do it. This was not the first time we’ve seen a lot of blitzes. But again, the balance is really where I say, no one wants to get in those games where you’re throwing it 54 times against a good opponent. And they’re a really good pass defense. So what gives me confidence is knowing who’s out there playing, starting up front with the offensive line; how much pride they take in protecting the quarterback. The running backs, what a great job that they do with their blitz pickup. But at the end of the day, Dak got hit way too much in these last two games. And that pisses me off, and it pisses us off because it shouldn’t happen. And we got to keep him clean,” Schottenheimer said.
Running back Javonte Williams said he was sore from all the pass protection he had to do.
“Green Bay was blitzing a lot. So picking up those blitzes was, I mean I was kind of sore. But I mean, that’s my job. Whatever they want me to do, that’s what I’ve got to do,” Williams said.
“One’s got nothing to do with the other; you know, blitzes don’t go through the guard all the time. It’s certainly not Tyler Smith’s responsibility to have a solution,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s more of a scheme thing that we can improve on, and that’s more of Dak and the perimeter and myself and the coaching staff.”
Schottenheimer said teams are blitzing because they do not want the Cowboys’ passing game to have time.
“We’re better than having all those free runners on us. There are things that we have not done at a high enough standard. But if teams want to either cover zero you or overload or hold blitzes and things like that, they can get free runners. And I think, again, there are at least three that I can think of that if we execute at a little bit better clip, they probably score. So you have heard the term, you live by the blitz, you die by the Blitz. Unfortunately, we haven’t executed in those situations to where we punish them. And when you do that, then they’ve got to think twice about doing it,” Schottenheimer said. “I don’t think Vic Fangio is gonna, you know, blitz us 50% of the time, but he might. He’s a really smart coach. He’s been around a long time. But again, we will be, you know, ready for whatever he brings because certainly every week, the teams we play, they blitz us more, as they should. I don’t think that’s a surprise that we were gonna get more blitzes than most people do.”
The Eagles have dealt with their own difficult start to the season. Quarterback Jalen Hurts is out for the season with blood clots; All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson retired midseason; offensive stars Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith have missed time with injuries. Schottenheimer sees a tough divisional opponent, same as ever.
“They look pretty good to me. Again, you guys might have seen 98 (Jalen Carter), 90 (Jordan Davis), two pretty good players inside. Zach Baun, I think, is one of the best linebackers in football. The edge pieces, they’re beat up there a little bit. But the two corners, they’ve got a ton of resources invested in that. Cooper DeJean, outstanding. A lot of moving parts on their offensive line, of course. But it sounds like they’re getting healthier heading back to this game. We certainly expect to see Saquon Barkley. And then, you know, Tanner McKee knows the system well. He’s got some weapons with (Makai) Lemon and DeVonta Smith and (Dallas) Goedert, who is a safety security blanket, if you will. So they’re a really talented team,” Schottenheimer said.
Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams also expects Saquon to return.
“He’s super difficult man. A running back who can do all things, take it to the house whenever he can get the ball in his hands in the run game and in the pass game, and a super-explosive player,” Williams said.
Schottenheimer said the criticism he’s faced this week is deserved, but he’s focused on fixing it.
“It is deserved. We got to play better. I got to coach better. And so when you grow up in a family that your dad’s a head coach for over 20-something years, you understand that this is part of the job description. No one likes it. I block out most of it. Some of it gets to me,” Schottenheimer said. “At the same time, I’ve got strong shoulders, I know what a great coach I am. I know with this team is capable of and that’s what I focus on.”
“When you’re in charge of the entire team, you get pulled in different directions. You deal with the emotions that you have; you deal with emotions that your players have, that your coaches have, and so sometimes you feel like you’re a clinician, a psychologist. And again, that’s where I think I am at my best, you know? Am I frustrated and pissed off? You’re damn right I am. But I’m gonna roll my sleeves up, and I’ma go to work, and I’ma solve it. And I think by leading that way and being like that, the players are gonna follow, the coaches are going to follow. And so that’s the way I take pride in trying to carry myself,” Schottenheimer said.
The Cowboys also signed quarterback Kyle Trask to their practice squad this week. As far as bigger moves to help bolster the defense?
“Number one: Jerry’s never afraid to make moves. And number two: no, we’ve got a lot of football left. And we’re excited about winning a big game in Philadelphia on Monday,” Schottenheimer said.
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