COWBOYS REPORT

Cowboys crush Giants; Redskins up next

Dak Prescott
Tim Warner/Getty Images

The Dallas Cowboys cruised to an easy victory Sunday afternoon when they defeated the New York Giants 35-17.

The Cowboys quickly gave up an early touchdown but went on to score touchdowns of their own on their next five possessions. Quarterback Dak Prescott was unstoppable. He finished the game 25/32 for 405 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, and ZERO turnovers. Prescott posted a perfect 158.3 Quarterback Rating while connecting with seven different receivers. A few more games like this and Owner Jerry Jones will gladly be opening up his check book when they come to terms on a new contract.

With the Cowboys having their way through the air on offense, Superstar Ezekiel Elliott only carried the ball 13 times for 53 yards and a touchdown. With it being Zeke's first game back from his holdout, the light workload seemed to be exactly what was needed.

Receivers Michael Gallup and Amari Cooper appear to be in sync with Prescott as they both posted 100+ yard-receiving days. Second year man Gallup had 7 catches for 158 yards as Cooper caught 6 for 106yards.With these two outstanding playmakers on the field, opposing defenses have to worry about a lot more than just Zeke.

The Cowboys have started the season off right with a win over a divisional opponent and look ready for a great season.

Three things to watch

1.Ezekiel Elliott (Running Back): With one game under his belt, it will be interesting to see how much the Cowboys coaching staff will increase his touches.I would expect him to get somewhere around 18.

2.Randall Cobb (Wide Receiver): With the Redskins giving up over 300 yards passing last week, I think Cobb should benefit the most this week when he lines up in the slot.There is high potential for him to make some huge plays down the field; just look at what DeSean Jackson did last week to this defense.

3.Jason Witten (Tight End): Witten scored a touchdown last week in his first game back from retirement, and was targeted six times. Prescott seems to use him as his security blanket, let's see if the future Hall of Famer can keep producing as he fights father time.

Coming Up

Sunday September 15th, the Dallas Cowboys (1-0) will be taking on their division rival Washington Redskins (0-1) at FedEx Field in Landover Maryland.Kickoff is set for 12:00 pm Central time.As for the game, I expect a lot of the same from the Dallas offense.The Redskins were torched through the air last week and I believe Dak and company will be Dak'ting a fool again.Washing ton is going to be without their starting running back Derrius Guice who is out with a knee injury.This should be a good spot to pick up anther easy win.

If you have any fantasy players, the only must start players are:

Cowboys: Ezekiel Elliott (RB), Amari Cooper (WR), Dak Prescott (QB), Michael Gallup (WR)

Redskins: Chris Thompson (RB) maybe, and only in a PPR league

For you gamblers out there, the Cowboys are -4.5 and the over/under is 46.That is a pretty big line because they are on the road but I think the over is a good safe play and the only one I am going to make.

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The Texans are the class of the division. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

The Houston Texans received a lot of praise for their moves in free agency across various outlets. And for good reason, most people believe the team got significantly better with the additions of Danielle Hunter, Azeez Al-Shaair, and Denico Autry among others.

But there's another factor to consider this offseason. How much have the other teams in the AFC South improved?

When looking at the PFF grades in free agency, the Colts received a B-minus. Most of the Colts moves this offseason involved spending a lot of money re-signing their own players. Which is great in theory, but it's hard to improve the overall quality of your roster when you're bringing back players that were already there to begin with. A lot will be riding on player development for the Colts to see a big jump this season. A healthy quarterback wouldn't hurt either.

The Jaguars have made some big additions financially this offseason by signing receiver Gabe Davis and defensive tackle Arik Armstead. They also lost the top receiver on the market, Calvin Ridley, to the Titans. Gabe Davis wasn't able to establish himself as a reliable No. 2 receiver with Josh Allen throwing him the ball in Buffalo. So it's hard to believe he'll take the next step in Jacksonville. Their best move of the offseason might have been retaining edge rusher Josh Allen by using the franchise tag on him. So what did PFF think of Jacksonville's offseason? They received a B-minus, just like the Colts.

The Titans have a lot of turnover heading into the 2024 season, and not just on the roster. They have a new head coach in Brian Callahan, who's looking to revamp Tennessee's offense. Early in free agency, they agreed to terms with former Cowboys running back Tony Pollard, signing him to a 3-year deal at $8 million per season. Which is more money than the Ravens are paying for Derrick Henry, who left the Titans in free agency. Calvin Ridley was the most notable addition to the squad, he received a 4-year, $92 million deal. And while this could be viewed as an overpay, at least he gives the Titans' offense some upside. Their receiving corps looks a lot more dangerous with Ridley added to DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks.

They also spent big at the center position, adding Lloyd Cushenberry on a 4-year, $50 million contract.

Because the Titans spent a lot of money on some highly coveted players, PFF gave them a B.

Now that brings us to the Texans. The Texans re-signed some of their own players like Dalton Schultz and Noah Brown. But they also made some big splashes with Hunter, Autry, Al-Shaair, and Joe Mixon. But the Texans spent their money in a more conservative way by not handing out many contracts over two years in length.

The Texans managed to add the best pass rusher in free agency with Hunter, but it's only a two-year deal. The overall talent level is going up on this roster, and GM Nick Caserio isn't having to sign players to long contracts that could come back and haunt him.

That's why we're seeing post-free agency power rankings coming out with Houston in the Top 10. And that's also why PFF gave the Texans an A for their moves in free agency.

Be sure to check out the video above as Craig from Sports Talk Extra takes an in-depth look at PFF's grades for the AFC South, and much more!

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