The Cowboys Report

Cowboys crushed by Chicago; Rams up next

Jerry Jones
Rob Carr

The Dallas Cowboys (6-7) were destroyed 31-24 by the Chicago Bears (7-6) and don't let the score deceive you. Dallas was only in the game for about the first 8 minutes, then the Bears took over and they never had a chance after that.

Recap

For the 2nd week in a row the Cowboy offense took their opening possession and scored a touchdown, but just like last week that was about all they did right.It looks like coach Garrett has lost the team and there needs to be a change.

Quarterback Dak Prescott was 27/49 for 334 yards, 1 touchdown, and NO turnovers. The NFL's leading passer put up another good looking statistical game but it still led to a loss. Prescott connected with 6 different receivers and 2nd year man Michael Gallup led the way with 6 catches for 109 yards. Dallas' #1 receiver Amari Cooper had 6 catches for 83 yards and a late garbage time touchdown towards the end of the game.

Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott had a good game. He carried the ball 19 times for 81 yards and 2 touchdowns. After the first drive he looked like he was set to have a big day but the Bears made better adjustments that Dallas couldn't keep up with.

Dallas (6-7) has now lost 3 games in a row but are luckily still leading the NFC East even though their division rival Philadelphia Eagles (6-7) won. No matter how bad they have been playing, they still have a 67% chance of winning their division and making the playoffs. Essentially they only need to win their game against the Eagles in Week 16.

3 Things to Watch For

1.Ezekiel Elliott (Running Back): Zeke had good game stat wise, but he is going to have to put the team on his back to get them a win this week against another top 10 defense in the Los Angeles Rams.

2.Cowboys Defense (All): Just made Mitch Trubisky and one of the worst offenses in the NFL look like All Pros, hopefully linebacker Jaylon Smith can help contain ProBowl running back Todd Gurley. If not, they could be in for another loss just like the last 2 games.

3.Kai Forbath (Kicker): The Cowboys finally cut kicker Brett Maher who was leading the league in missed field goal attempts so this will be Forbath's first game with the Cowboys this year. Forbath was just cut by the New England Patriots last week. Let's see if he can provide some easy points.

Coming Up

The Dallas Cowboys (6-7) will be at home taking on the Los Angeles Rams (8-5) on Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Kickoff is set at 3:25 pm Central time. The Cowboys are somehow favored to win this but I can't see a scenario where they come out with a win here. They are a very talented team that just can't seem to put together a whole game.

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)

Rams: Cooper Kupp (WR), Todd Gurley (RB), Robert Woods (WR), Jared Goff (QB)

For you gamblers out there, the Cowboys are currently -1 and the over/under is 48. Dallas has not beaten a team with a record of.500 or better this year, the Rams are 3 games over .500. Bet the Rams for an easy win.

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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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