Two games for the Dallas Cowboys, and they’ve secured two dominant wins where there was never a question of whether they would win or lose.
Sunday featured Dallas, controlling every aspect of the game en route to a 30-10 victory over the Aaron Rodgers-less New York Jets. Although one of the most lopsided scores in Week 2 of the NFL season, something still didn’t feel right with the Cowboys. However, Dallas’ smothering defense managed to conceal other issues.
Below are four things that I noticed through the Cowboys game against the Jets.
Micah Parsons continues to be unbelievable.
Another game, another sack…or two. Parsons sacked Jets QB Zach Wilson on the first third down of the game, and from there on, his intimidating presence was felt.
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Parsons forced a big fumble on Dalvin Cook, recovered it himself, and nearly returned it for a touchdown before an official review revealed that he was down.
If that touchdown would have been good, it would have put the Cowboys up three scores, making it more unlikely for the Jets to come back.
Parsons’ biggest impact came when he forced a fumble on veteran running back Dalvin Cook early in the third quarter and recovered it himself.
Dallas concluded thier next offensive possession with a field goal.
30-10? It should have been 44-10.
The Cowboys had a good day, but there were some issues. The struggled a little in the red zone, scoring only two toochdowns and getting 15 points from field goals. More specifically, they were 2-for-5 in the red zone. Sometimes, the play calling was too fancy, and they settled for field goals as the main problem in the game.
For example, in one situation, they tried a trick play with a tight end carrying the ball near the one-yard line, but it didn’t work well. On the next play, they gave the ball to a backup running back instead of Tony Pollard, who’s known for punching it in close to the goal line. This drive started at the one-yard line and ended with a field goal after they couldn’t complete a pass in the end zone.
They relied too much on running the ball on the first try near the goal line and didn’t use passing plays or fakes enough. It didn’t hurt them in this game, but they should work on this for the future.
Dak has been great
There’s not much to critique when it comes to Dak Prescott to start the season. He’s completing 71% of his passes, has not thrown one interception, and has simply made smart, not reckless decisions when under pressure, contrary to previous years.
With Dallas’ defense being as elite as it seems to be, Prescott doesn’t need to put up video game-like numbers for his team to win. He just needs to keep the ball in his possession and complete the majority of his passes because, as we saw on Sunday afternoon, Dallas’ defense can hold teams to very little or nothing.
