THE COWBOYS REPORT

Cowboys defense dominates the Jags in Big D; Redskins next

Cowboys defense dominates the Jags in Big D; Redskins next
Dak Prescott had a big game. Tim Warner/Getty Images

The Dallas Cowboys cruised to an easy 40-7 victory on Sunday over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Cowboys looked like a completely different team from the one that showed up in Houston last week.  The offense was crisp, the play calling was excellent, and the defense didn’t allow Jacksonville to get anything going offensively.   

The Dallas defense was GREAT. They caused two turnovers (one interception and one fumble), only allowed 10 first downs, and had three sacks.  The front seven kept constant pressure on quarterback Blake Bortles and never let up. Linebackers Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith look like they are the ones who will be picking up the slack with the absence of the injured Sean Lee.  They combined for 18 tackles, 13 of them were for a loss.

The Cowboys offense was also clicking on all cylinders and it began on their first offensive play of the game.  Head Coach Jason Garrett started the game off with a bootleg, where Dak Prescott faked a handoff to Ezekiel Elliott, rolled out and hit a wide open Geoff Swaim for an 11 yard gain.  Dallas went on to score on its first four possessions. Throughout the game, Garrett mixed in lots of play action passes as well as taking deep shots down the field to receivers like Cole Beasley and Michael Gallup.  Dallas also ran a few option plays where Prescott was able to break free and get some yards with his legs.

Dak Prescott was 17 of 27 for 183 yards, two touchdowns, and NO interceptions.  He also ran 11 times for 82 yards and another touchdown. A Cowboy receiver finally showed and helped Prescott out in the passing game. Cole Beasely caught nine balls for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns.  No other pass catcher caught more than two. He seemed to always be open somewhere down the field and Dak always got him the ball.

With the defense locked in on Elliott, Dallas let Prescott get at the Jaguar defense through the air and once they had a good lead, they leaned on Elliott to seal the game.  Ezekiel Elliott had 24 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown.

The win moved Dallas to 3-3 on the season and keeps them one game behind the division leading Washington Redskins.

3 Players to Watch

  1. Dak Prescott (quarterback): Dak is going to be a major factor this week as Washington has a good defense and will have to make plays down the field to help back the defense off the line to help create space for Elliott to get free.

  2. Cole Beasley (Wide Receiver): Looks like he has become Prescott’s No. 1 go-to receiver and needs to build last week’s success and leads the team in catches, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.  

  3. Leighton Vander Esch (Linebacker): Has filled in nicely for an injured Sean Lee and has become the team’s leading tackler.  He helps keep consistent pressure on the opposing offense and helps create opportunities for other players like Jaylon Smith to make plays in the backfield.

Coming Up (Week 7)

Sunday afternoon the Dallas Cowboys will be in our nation’s capital taking on the Washington Redskins at 3:25 pm Central time.   

This NFC East battle is very interesting as the Cowboys have a chance to move into a tie for first place in the division with a win.  The Redskins are coming into the contest off a win over the Carolina Panthers and look like they have found a reliable running game with Adrian Peterson in the backfield.  The Cowboys defense is going to have to play another great game to keep him corralled. Luckily for Dallas, the Redskins have a lot of injuries on their receiving group and that should allow the front seven to keep the pressure on Washington.   As for the Dallas offense, they are going to need to click on all cylinders again because Washington is the No. 2 defense in yards allowed this season.

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

Cowboys:  Ezekiel Elliott (RB)

Redskins:  Adrian Peterson (RB), Jordan Reed (TE)

For you gamblers out there, the current line is Dallas +1.5 with an over/under of 41.5.  If you think Dallas is going to win, bet the Cowboys. I am probably going to stay away from it and take the under seeing how both defenses are playing well.  



 

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Get your popcorn ready! Composite image by Brandon Strange.

Filed the column early this week with Astros’ baseball that counts arriving Thursday! Ideally that arrival occurs with Minute Maid Park’s roof open under sunny skies with temperature in the mid-70s and only moderate humidity (that’s the forecast).

As they ready for their season-opening four game series, the Astros and Yankees enter 2024 with streaks on the line. The Astros take aim at an eighth consecutive American League Championship Series appearance while obviously aiming ultimately higher than that. The Yankees are a good bet to fail to make the World Series for the 15th consecutive season, which would be a new Yankees’ record! At its origin in 1903 the franchise was known as the New York Highlanders. The name became the Yankees in 1913, with the first franchise World Series appearance coming in 1921. So that was 18 years of play without winning a pennant. Maybe that gives the Yanks something to shoot for in 2027.

On the more immediate horizon, the Astros and Yankees both start the season with question marks throughout their starting rotations. It’s just that the Astros do so coming off their seventh straight ALCS appearance while the Yankees are coming off having missed the postseason entirely for the first time in seven years. Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole can spend time Thursday chit-chatting about their days as Astro teammates because they won’t be pitching against one another. Cole’s absence hurts the Yankees more than Verlander’s should the Astros. Cole was the unanimously voted AL Cy Young Award winner last season, and at eight years younger than Verlander the workload he was expected to carry is greater. Cole is gone for at least the first two months of the season, the Astros would be pleased if Verlander misses less than one month.

Whoever does the pitching, the guy on the mound for the Astros has the benefit of a clearly better lineup supporting him. The Yankees could have the best two-man combo in the game with Aaron Judge batting second ahead of offseason acquisition Juan Soto. Two men do not a Murderers’ Row make. Gleyber Torres is the only other guy in the Yankees’ projected regular batting order who was better than mediocre last season, several guys were lousy. The Astros have six guys in their lineup (Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, Chas McCormick, and Yainer Diaz) who were better in the batter’s box than was Torres last season. The Yanks have hopes for a healthy and huge bounce back season from the brittle and 34-years-old Giancarlo Stanton. Good luck with that.

Man with a plan

We have to see how things play out over the season of course, but it is exciting to see new manager Joe Espada’s progressive outlook on a number of things. Acknowledging that Astros’ baserunning has too often been deficient, Espada made improving it a spring training priority. The same with Astros’ pitchers doing a better job of holding opposing base runners at first with base stealing having occurred with the highest success rate in MLB history last season. Tweaking the lineup to bat Alvarez second behind Altuve is a strong choice. Having your two best offensive forces come to the plate most frequently is inherently smart.

Opting to bat Tucker third ahead of Bregman rather than the other way around also seems wise business. Let’s offer one specific circumstance. An opposing pitcher manages to retire both Altuve and Alvarez. Tucker walking or singling is much more capable of stealing second base and then scoring on a Bregman single than the inverse. Or scoring from first on a ball hit to the corner or a shallow gap. I suggest in a similar vein that is why the much older and much slower Jose Abreu should bat lower in the lineup than Chas McCormick and Yainer Diaz. Though Espada giving Abreu veteran deference to get off to a better season than Abreu’s largely lousy 2023 is ok. To a point.

Eye on the prize

The ceiling for the 2024 Astros is clear. Winning a third World Series in eight years is viably in play. The floor is high. Barring an utter collapse of the starting rotation and/or a calamitous toll of injuries within the offensive core there is no way this is only a .500-ish ballclub. That does not mean the Astros are a surefire postseason team. The Rangers may again have a better offense. The Mariners definitely begin the season with a better starting rotation. In the end, other than when it impacts team decision-making, prognostication doesn’t matter. But these two words definitely matter: PLAY BALL!

To welcome the new season we’ll do a live YouTube Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast about 30 minutes after the final out is recorded in Thursday’s opener.

Our second season of Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast is underway. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics weekly. On our regular schedule the first post goes up Monday afternoon. You can get the video version (first part released Monday, second part Tuesday, sometimes a third part Wednesday) via YouTube: stone cold stros - YouTube with the complete audio available at initial release Monday via Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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