After winning 20–15 against the New York Giants on Thursday night, the Dallas Cowboys already know they will complete week four with a 2-2 record, good for.500 in the NFL. The NFL calendar will shift over to October on Monday night. Early in the season, the Cowboys managed to escape a third straight loss, but the narrow victory over a division opponent they had crushed recently came at a steep price. A defense captained by Mike Zimmer kept the Giants out of the end zone for four quarters, concluded with an interception, and suffered injuries to star pass rushers Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence. Both of these important players could miss several weeks, and the Cowboys will have a bye in week seven.In addition to the fact that the Giants’ offensive line did not suit the Cowboys’ defensive line, which was already thin along that line, Parsons and Lawrence are the leaders of a defense that is now breaking in a lot of young players at all three levels. It should go without saying that their absence will be felt deeply, as the Cowboys defense has primarily battled with leading the club to victories in games against Cleveland and New York, forcing them to scrap and fight to the finish. Football in the early season can be more about forging a team identity than it is about winning straight away, though accomplishing both is undoubtedly the ideal situation. The Cowboys may run into issues in the upcoming weeks if they want to project an image of being a more gruff, defense-focused squad. Even on their finest days, Dan Quinn’s defensive worked in tandem with the Cowboys offense to score touchdowns in order to push other teams to throw the ball for chunk plays, which in turn allowed the defense to look for turnovers.They did so last year when Mike McCarthy, the head coach, called the plays for the first time. McCarthy’s offense was expected to advance this season, demonstrating to fans that Dallas could get even more out of key players like Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, who both signed contracts before the regular season began. Rather, the offense has been tedious and uninspired. McCarthy’s offense is currently facing several challenges, as the rushing assault lacks a reliable threat in the backfield and the choices available to him to soften defenses in the air game are limited to TE Jake Ferguson and Lamb.
After four weeks, Lamb and starting receiver Brandin Cooks are among the least effective players in the NFL in terms of average yards of separation. For a large portion of the season, the offensive has appeared to want to take at least three plays to gain 10 yards, so the Cowboys lead the league in third-down conversions—not exactly an area they want to be at the top of.
From a personnel perspective, it was unavoidably inevitable that the Cowboys would push Prescott to play hero ball right away after making him the highest paid player in NFL history, given that Tyler Guyton, the team’s rookie starter at left tackle, has been a major contributor to Dallas’ troubles. What ought to be more unexpected and maybe result in
and more than ever, we should watch for it to materialize on the field as McCarthy prepares to leave this position as coach in 2024. Rather, what we are witnessing is a team that is not at all like the one McCarthy will need to extract from an undermanned squad in the upcoming weeks, despite being formed around their HC’s image.
In order to play considerably better against the Giants, Zimmer’s defense set to work resolving the obvious problems they had against the Saints and Ravens. McCarthy’s offense missed numerous opportunities to end the game on their terms, including two run plays on second and more than ten yards in the second half that resulted in punts after failing third and long attempts.Two unbeaten teams achieved a 4-0 record on Sunday in league action as the Chiefs and Vikings triumphed in away divisional games. The 3-0 Seahawks visit the Lions on Monday night, while the Bills lost their Sunday night game against the Ravens to end their winning streak. Though the paths taken by each of these teams to get here vary, they are all united by a head coach who embodies a strong sense of self. It is challenging for rival teams to halt what their teams do best since Andy Reid, Mike Tomlin, Kevin O’Connell, and even Seahawks first-year head coach Mike Macdonald have all established a standard that their teams regularly play to. These are teams that are aware of their reserves.
The offense-side of the ballplayer’s career was squandered for years under previous coordinators Scott Linehan or Kellen Moore, as the squad has witnessed in the past. It has been challenging for the Cowboys front management to realize these same mistakes again while attempting to convince the fan base that this year’s squad is still seeking to be competitive. McCarthy appears to be a “lame duck” coach who is not in place to win at least 12 games in the regular season and contend for a championship other than the NFC East. It appears unlikely that significant changes will be made before many coaches’ contracts expire in the offseason, making it much more convenient to reshape the culture.
New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys
Cooper Neill/Getty Images photo
The Cowboys
