Tag: 2021 Week 15

WATCH: Cowboys’ DeMarcus Lawrence causes INT, Elliott capitalizes

The Cowboys defense forced a turnover and Ezekiel Elliott took the opportunity with a touchdown on the second play of the ensuing drive.

The Cowboys’ offense has been pedestrian in the second half of the season and slow starts have become normal for a prolific offense in the first half of the season. On the first drive, penalties and missed blocks stalled a promising start for the offense.

Matching the script of recent weeks, Dan Quinn’s defense stepped up and forced a turnover. This time, it was a big hit from defensive end Demarcus Lawrence that led to a fly ball for cornerback Jourdan Lewis.

Following the interception return, the Dallas offense took over deep in New York territory. Running back Ezekiel Elliott, who is getting close to healthy with nagging injuries, broke through on the second play of the drive and carried defenders into the endzone for a 13-yard touchdown.

Considering the sluggish starts on offense, short fields might be the catalyst for quarterback Dak Prescott and the offense to start firing on all cylinders. Greg Zuerlein missed the extra point but the Cowboys hold a 6-0 lead after Elliott’s ninth rushing touchdown of the season.

Tony Pollard will play vs Giants as Cowboys announce Week 15 inactives

The Cowboys welcome back Tony Pollard after a week of absence while the Giants are shorthanded at many positions for the divisional tilt. | From @CDBurnett7

The Dallas Cowboys were stretched thin at running back in Week 14 after Tony Pollard tore his plantar fascia and missed the game against Washington while Ezekiel Elliott was still hobbled with injury. After just a single game off, Pollard is back for Dallas and will see snaps against the New York Giants.

Starting left tackle Tyron Smith suffered an ankle injury versus Washington and was ruled out for the game early in the week so Terence Steele and Ty Nsekhe will be taking over for the All-Pro lineman. Rounding out the six inactives for the Cowboys are quarterback Will Grier, wide receiver Simi Fehoko, defensive end Azur Kamara, cornerback Nahshon Wright and safety Israel Mukuamu.

For New York, it’s going to be an extremely shorthanded team on the field with a COVID outbreak during the week but the Giants have just two inactives with quarterback Daniel Jones and left guard Ben Bredeson.

Mike Glennon and Jake Fromm are expected to share snaps at quarterback for New York.

Cowboys Gameday News: Headlining LBs, Pollard’s return, No. 1 seed hopes

Micah Parsons’ haunting New York, Jaylon Smith facing Dallas, Tony Pollard’s return and No. 1 seed hopes in the Cowboys’ gameday news. | From @CDBurnett7

Front and center on Sunday for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants will be two linebackers headlining the contest. Jaylon Smith will be making his first appearance against the Cowboys while linebacker Micah Parsons will continue to haunt New York for passing on the DPOY candidate.

After avoiding COVID issues during the week, Dallas added two big pieces from their defense with hopes there isn’t a bigger outbreak on the horizon. On the plus side, running back Tony Pollard is making his return after a week off due to injury and a healthier Ezekiel Elliott makes for a return-to-form for a struggling rushing offense.

New York will have a long list of practice squad players seeing consistent snaps and the Cowboys just have to handle business in a potential win that would all but seal the NFC East and set Dallas’ focus towards stealing the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the playoffs.

8 teams that can help Cowboys playoff push over next 4 days

Here’s how the Cowboys can clinch a playoff spot by 10pm Central Tuesday and what other games can help their rise up the NFC ladder. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys are on the precipice of going to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. The club is winning at a clip better than two out of every three games and it’s put them in the position to be one of the first teams to punch their ticket to the 14-team January Invitational. They’ll need some help to do so, but it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion they will win the NFC East if they emerge from this weekend’s trip to New York victorious and the Philadelphia Eagles defend their home turf against the team coming up I-95, the Football Team from Washington.

That scenario will eliminate Washington from the race, and leave the Eagles with only the slightest chance of winning a strength-of-victory tiebreaker over Dallas. Right now the teams the Cowboys have defeated have won a total of 56 games. The teams the Eagles have defeated have won 28 games. Dallas’ best wins have come over the Los Angeles Chargers and the New England Patriots, winners of eight and nine games respectively going into the weekend.

The Eagles’ best win has been over the 7-6 Denver Broncos.

Because of this, the Eagles would need to win their final three games, Dallas lose their final three games and for the Detroit Lions, New York Jets, Denver Broncos and the opponents of both the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots to combine for 12 wins in their final 16 games.

That’s not happening, so while Dallas will need five results (plus a win and Eagles’ loss) to officially clinch this weekend, for all intents and purposes the East will be in the bag just if the division results work as outlined.

But Dallas’ goal isn’t just making the playoffs, they have a realistic shot at the No. 1 seed or at least moving up from the No. 4 seed. Here’s how things can work out in their favor.

QTNA: Are there any redeemable qualities for Giants as Cowboys come to town?

Good news Cowboys fans. The Giants aren’t ready to abandon the Daniel Jones plan nor the Joe Judge era. | A Week 15 Q&A preview from @KDDrummondNFL, @DanBentonGW

The Dallas Cowboys have been an absolute buzzsaw during their first pass through the NFC East. Having already dismissed the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles by a combined margin of 44 points at AT&T Stadium, the road portion began in Week 14 with a win over the Washington Football Team. Dallas led 24-0 at halftime, further stating their dominance over the division as they held on for a seven-point win after things got sloppy.

In Week 15, they’re right back in the gauntlet as they travel to New York to take on the Giants for Round 2. There were some prognosticators who thought the Giants had what it took to make a leap into playoff contention this season, but it’s been more of the same game out of Gotham. To help us track how bad it’s been, we reached out to Giants Wire editor Dan Benton to shed some light on the latest happenings. In exchange, we provided some inel about what Dallas has in store in their travel bags.

Revenge and Prescott’s dominance among things to know about Giants in Week 15

A dysfunctional offense that has scored more field goals than touchdowns. A COVID outbreak. Dak Prescott’s dominance. Here’s what to know ahead of the Week 15 tilt. | From @BenGrimaldi

The Dallas Cowboys are resting a little easier this week, knowing they have a cushion in the race to win the NFC East. Beating the Washington Football Team in Week 14 gave them some breathing room, but the goals for the Cowboys are bigger than just winning the division.

Cementing their playoff spot, postseason seeding and getting the offense right are among the things the Cowboys need to work towards as they prepare for their Week 15 opponent. Another rival is on the schedule, the New York Giants, who Dallas thoroughly beat way back in Week 5.

On the surface, this looks like a game the Cowboys should win easily, the Giants aren’t very good, with the GM and possibly a coaching staff that won’t be back. Yet this game is rarely easy. The Giants have a lot of pride and they tend to show up for games against the NFC East teams. The Cowboys need to keep their focus and bring the same intensity they had last week.

Here are six things to know about the Giants ahead of the Week 15 game for the Cowboys.

Cowboys Wire Podcast: Is Parsons team MVP? DPOY? Giants are how bad?

An unstoppable defense is something Cowboys fans haven’t dared dream about, but it’s here. What to make of Prescott’s struggles and a W15 preview. From @RyanO_Leary, @KDDrummondNFL

The guys break down another defensive gem by the Cowboys’ defense in Sunday’s win over Washington. Topics include the case for Micah Parsons as the Cowboys’ most valuable player and what to make of Dak Prescott’s recent struggles. Also, a Cowboys-Giants preview with picks against the spread.

How many units should you put on this seemingly lopsided matchup that becomes even moreso without Daniel Jones and with the Giants going through a COVID outbreak? Do you have the deed to your farm handy?  The Cowboys Wire podcast goes in depth on a variety of weekly topics surrounding America’s Team.

Follow the Cowboys Wire Podcast:
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Hosted by Ryan O’Leary (@RyanO_Leary) with Cowboys Wire Managing Editor KD Drummond (@KDDrummondNFL).

Cowboys Player Rankings: Micah Parsons assumes top spot in Week 15 shakeup

The Cowboys rookie becomes just the fifth different player to take the top spot in four years of weekly rankings. Here’s how the rest of the top 30 changed from Week 14. | From @KDDrummondNFL

There’s a new king of the hill in the Dallas Cowboys’ pecking order. Make no mistake, Zack Martin hasn’t done anything wrong to change impressions of just how dominant he continues to be in his role, but the instability behind him in a position that relies on cohesion of a position group has destabilized him just a bit. And that crack was just enough for the unstoppable force to wedge through and become just the fifth different name to top these rankings.

Micah Parsons, welcome to the throne.

No player has appeared at the top of the rankings more than Martin, of course. He consistently rises to the top and it will shock no one if he wrestles the throne back in the coming weeks, but there’s simply no denying that Parsons is the team’s most impactful player at the moment. Getting the pass-rush help of DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory skyrockets the impact Parsons can have in Dan Quinn’s defense, which is perfectly captured here.

Other players to grace the top spot remain in good standing, though there’s definitely movement with players such as QB Dak Prescott, RB Ezekiel Elliott and DE DeMarcus Lawrence. What’s the current pecking order? Check below to find the Week 15 Top 30.

Magic Number of 2: Cowboys can clinch NFC East title in Week 15 with a little help

The Dallas Cowboys haven’t made the playoffs since 2018, but can punch their ticket to the dance this weekend, with just a little help. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys have won 9 of their first 13 games in the 2021 season, and with just four games remaining on the new 17-game schedule, have reached the point of the season where the playoffs are right within their grasp. Thanks to their Week 14 win over Washington, the club improved to 3-0 in the division, with three of their last four contests rematches. Dallas also improved to a league-best 7-1 within their own conference, which will matter a ton if there are ties involved in deciding NFC seeding.

The Cowboys currently have better than a 99% chance of making the playoffs, according to the New York Times. Still though, Dallas hasn’t quite locked in a playoff spot. They can, however, in Week 15. They’ll just need to win and get a little bit of help.

>> MUST READ: Truths about Cowboys season, NFC Playoff picture <<

Dallas’ magic number to clinch the division sits at two. Any victory by Dallas or loss by the Philadelphia Eagles eliminates the latter from the division race and confines them to a hunt for a wild-card spot. Dallas needs a combination of one more win and one more Washington loss to wrap up the division in it’s totality.

That could happen this week as Dallas travels to take on the New York Giants and Washington travels to Philadelphia to battle the Eagles.

According to the Times, Dallas just needs to win on Sunday to have a better than 99.5% chance of making the playoffs, even if they lost their final three games of the season they are almost guaranteed at least a wild-card berth even if Washington were to catch them in the division.

Even if Washington were to defeat Philadelphia, the Cowboys could wrap up the East with a Week 16 win when they host the Football Team in AT&T Stadium.

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Perceptive Perspective: Truths about Cowboys’ season, NFC playoff picture in Week 15

Dallas fans may not be looking at the facts behind the strong record. Here’s a look at the truth, and what the playoff picture looks like and what’s on tap in the NFC.

Dallas Cowboys fans may have an issue with perspective. It’s not entirely their fault, either. Up until the New England Patriots’ run with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, the Cowboys were the face of organizational excellence. They’ve won five Super Bowls and eight NFC championships, setting the standard for performance. Teams weren’t judged by their regular season wins, only in terms of whether or not they looked ready to compete for the big prize.

Still, to this day, that is the standard they live by. So when Dallas started this season 6-1 with an MVP candidate at quarterback, defensive player of the year candidate at cornerback and a rookie of the year candidate at linebacker there was no question where Cowboys’ fans and the media’s projections were headed. That the team had a midseason stumble wouldn’t be too bad if it were the usual suspect of the defense returning to earth.

But it’s been the offense that has been broken for the better part of two months now, and that is causing a ton of panic for those who started dreaming of No. 1 seeds and winning the whole thing.

Only, those dreams aren’t that far off and people seem to have lost perspective over all that Dallas has accomplished this season, even with the recent downturn in offensive performance.

Something is clearly off with quarterback Dak Prescott. He’s no longer the model of consistency, still having flashes of excellent play with jaw-dropping passes but also having both wayward passes and lacks of both awareness and aggression in both passing and running the ball. Injuries and COVID outbreaks have impacted the Cowboys more than the average NFL club and sometimes putting things back together isn’t as easy as getting everyone back.

Sometimes, the fortunate need to be reminded of all that is working in their favor, so before getting to the NFC playoff picture going into Week 15, here’s some perspective on what the 2021 Dallas Cowboys currently are.