Tag: 2024 Week 1

Cowboys’ Parsons, Lawrence continue troubling identity, still leaving meat on the bone

DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons had great games in the Cowboys opener, but they could have been better, and that’s a trend. | From @ReidHanson

Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence combined for a stellar day against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon. The Cowboys top pass-rushing pair combined for 18 pressures and three sacks, en route to a dominant defensive win to open the 2024 season.

And it could have been so much better.

For as good as Parsons and Lawrence played in Cleveland, they left opportunities on the field. As the infamous Jospeh Randle once said of DeMarco Murray’s NFL-best 1,845 rushing yards, “there was a lot of meat left on the bone.”

Randle saw first-hand the greatness of Murray’s career season in 2014 but very bluntly stated it could have been even better. It’s a very similar situation facing Parsons and Lawrence this week. Both players enjoyed spectacular days in Cleveland but both players also left plays on the field.

On two occasions Lawrence had Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson within his grasp and both times Watsons escaped, unsacked. On two occasions Parsons had Watson within his grasp and both times Watsons escaped, unsacked. On all four plays the pass rusher had two hands on the QB and inexplicably failed to complete the sack.

The failure to capitalize on a situation such as this is nothing new for the Cowboys. Last season Dallas led the league in pressure rate yet only finished 14th in actual sacks. It’s a three-year trend that can now be described as an identity.

Many will point to the pressures Lawrence and Parsons are getting as successes onto themselves, and they’re somewhat correct in thinking that. Pressures can lead to rushed decisions, poor passes, incompletions and even interceptions. They have significant value, just not close to the value of an actual sack.

Based on a 12-year study, the average sack is valued at -1.856 expected points for the offense whereas a simple pressure is just -0.074 expected points. To anyone who isn’t overly familiar with EPA, that’s an enormous difference.

For as nice as all the pressures are each week, it would make sense to for the Cowboys to focus more on completion of the play. It might cause them to slow down a fraction of a second, but the results would be worth it. Again, a sack results in an EPA impact that’s 25 times that of a simple pressure.  It’s worth losing out on a pressure or two each week if it better positions the pass rusher to complete the play.

At this point it seems to be in the DNA of the team so it’s not an overnight fix, but it’s something to acknowledge, something to discuss, and hopefully something to work on going forward.

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Victory in Pics: Gallery of Cowboys 33-17 road win over Browns

Photo gallery of Dallas’ big win over the Cleveland Browns.

The Dallas Cowboys took care of business on opening day, blowing out a home team that was in the playoffs the previous season for the second consecutive year. In 2023, the club went to New York and bludgeoned the Giants 40-0. This year, Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns were taken to task, 33-17.

Take a look at the photo captures from the talented crew of USA Today and Getty Images. Quarterback Dak Prescott celebrating after his big contract signing and sharp day, the return of Ezekiel Elliott to star-donned helmets, and Micah Parsons and company dominating defensive performances… all here.

Is Jake Ferguson going to miss the next Cowboys game after leaving game vs Browns?

The Cowboys are hoping they dodged a major bullet with their starting tight end. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys are hoping for some good news on the injury front Sunday night. That might be asking for a lot after their emphatic opening salvo of the 2024 season earlier in the day, but hope for it they will. The Cowboys traveled to Cleveland, OH to take on the AFC’s Browns in the season opener in a matchup of two playoff squads from 2023.

Dallas escaped the Dawg Pound with a 33-17 win that was nowhere near as close as the 16-point final margin would indicate; it was a thorough beatdown from all three phases of the team. But there was one huge question mark on every fans’ minds following the game. Would tight end Jake Ferguson be okay?

Ferguson, a 2023 Pro Bowler in his second season after hauling in 71 receptions, had just three catches for 15 yards in this contest. But fans know how integral he is in the passing offense so when he went down with a leg injury in the third quarter, Cowboys Nation collectively held their breath.

With just over six minutes remaining in the third quarter, Ferguson caught a short, first-down pass from QB Dak Prescott, when he was tackled awkwardly by linebacker Jordan Hicks who landed on his lower leg.

It seems though that the worst concern has been avoided, that his ACL is intact, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer, via Twitter.

According to multiple sources, the ACL looks to be intact upon initial testing of TE Jake Ferguson. Again, he will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the injury and if he will miss time.

Ferguson isn’t out of the woods, but it does seem that he will be able to rejoin the club at some point during the season and there is a window where it’s sooner rather than later.

Archer’s confirmation comes on the heels of The Athletic’s Jon Machota sharing the words of quarterback Dak Prescott, who first indicated that serious injury was avoided.

Dak Prescott said he got good news from Jake Ferguson about his knee injury. Prescott: “I think we dodged a big one. Talking to him, he gave me a lot of confidence that he’ll be OK.”

Without Ferguson, 2023 second-round pick Luke Schoonmaker assumes the mantle as the team’s top tight end. UDFA rookie Brevyn Ford is the third string and the club also has second-year man John Stephens, Jr., though he was inactive with a hamstring injury on Sunday.

Second-year tight end Princeton Fant is on the club’s practice squad.

Confusion! Why were both the Cowboys and Browns’ offenses on the field together in the 3rd quarter?

Both the Cowboys offense and the Browns’ thought the ball was theirs. Only one team was right though. Here’s what happened. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Someone messed up. With the Dallas Cowboys dominating the action on the field in the Week 1 matchup, a confusing situation arose in the third quarter.

After being stymied in the first half for just 54 total yards, the Cleveland offense had a boo-inspiring three and out to start the third quarter. Things got worse when Kavontae Turpin took the punt back 60 yards for a score, giving Dallas a 27-3 lead. Cleveland’s offense finally woke up, but found themselves in 3rd-and-10 from just inside the Cowboys’ 16-yard line.

The pass was complete to Amari Cooper for what looked like 10 yards, but things got weird when Cleveland races up to the line of scrimmage for a quick snap. The Cowboys were able to thwart a bootleg by QB Dashaun Watson as rookie Marshawn Kneeland had pressure and Watson threw the ball out of the end zone.

Dallas’ defense celebrated wildly for what seemed like a first down incompletion, and then all of a sudden Dak Prescott and the Cowboys offense was on the field.

What happened?

The expedited attempt by Cleveland fooled the Cowboys into thinking it was fourth down, that the completion was short of the yard marker, and they had a stand.

And guess what? They weren’t exactly wrong. Looking closely at the placement of the ball after the prior first down and where it was marked after Cooper’s catch, and it looks like the ball was just shy of a full 10 yards.

While these captures are of after the ball had been handled by the Browns’ center, the placements were equidistant to their respective lines, the 16 and the 6.

It should’ve been at least a measurement by the officials, but as sometimes is the case, a 27-3 game is raced towards completion.

Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy wanted to challenge, but he’d have needed to have done so before the snap of the missed throw.

 

Cowboys kicker was going to obliterate NFL record until this happened

The Cowboys came oh so close to shattering an unthinkable NFL record, but chickened out. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys entered their 2023 training camp without much confidence in their kicking game. After a few years of juggling placekickers, it felt like they had found something the year prior. Brett Maher had been tremendous right up until the final games of the season when he caught the yips and couldn’t find anything.

The club took a flyer on a young AFL kicker named Brandon Aubrey, and all he did was make the Pro Bowl and earn All-Pro honoes. It was an amazing rookie season that would’ve resulted in Rookie of the Year if kickers counted on offense or defense. He’s clearly looking to establish himself as the best kicker in the game in 2024.

After nailing a 66-yarder in the preseason, a distance that’s the NFL record in games that count, Aubrey was ready for the opportunity at the end of the first half. With Dallas dominating Cleveland, 20-3, Aubrey was sent out with four seconds remaining to try a 66-yard attempt.

He nailed it, with plenty to spare but a delay of game penalty nullified it.

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Head coach Mike McCarthy was irate, complaining that the play clock hadn’t properly been reset.

And then McCarthy sent the field goal unit back onto the field for a record-setting 71-yard attempt. Dallas lined up but at the last second the Browns called a timeout and the head coach changed his mind during the break.

Here’s who won’t be playing for the Cowboys, Browns in Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season

After the announcement of the Week 1 inactives, here’s a look at every player who is sidelined for the Cowboys’ road trip to Cleveland. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys have whittled down their 53-man roster, 54 if including the game-day elevation of practice squad linebacker Nick Vigil. With the announcement of their six game-day inactives, there are now 11 players who won’t be suiting up for the club. Headlined by cornerback DaRon Bland, out as he recovers from summer foot surgery, the team has five players currently on injured reserve.

For Cleveland, there’s real concern as it won’t just be their starting left tackle Jedrick Wills, Jr. sitting out. Right tackle Jack Conklin who would’ve taken his place, is out as well. Here’s a look at group of those who are attached to the team, but unable to help on Sunday.

Browns Inactives

  • QB Dorain Thompson-Robinson
  • CB Kahlef Hallassie
  • CB Myles Harden
  • DE Isaiah McGuire
  • Javion Cohen
  • OT Jedrick Wills, Jr.
  • OT Jack Conklin

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NFL Week 1: Here’s who is winning Cowboys-Browns season opener, a disappointment or euphoria prediction

A prediction of who will emerge victorious in the Week 1 tussle between the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys have a football game today. The action starts with the first of 17 games across 18 weeks that hopefully culminates in a fourth-straight playoff appearance and. Even more hopefully, the results will be better than they have been the previous 28 years as the club looks to make a conference championship for the first time since winning their fifth Lombardi trophy after the 1995 season.

The first roadblock comes in the form of the Cleveland Browns, led by Deshaun Watson at quarterback and Myles Garrett on defense. Head coach Kevin Stefanski got the best of Mike McCarthy in their only head-to-head meeting, a shootout back in October 2020 the Browns won 48-39.

Both clubs are looking to get off to a hot start. Dallas will look to keep pace with the Philadelphia Eagles who started their season off in Brazil with a win over the Green Bay Packers. Meanwhile the Browns will look to get a leg up on the Baltimore Ravens who fell to the two-time defending world champion Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night.

Cowboys, Browns trends to start seasons

The Cowboys have gotten off to start season starts in the last three seasons en route to 12-5 records, though last year’s 5-2 beginning (on the heels of 4-1 and 6-1) was marred by two blowout losses to Arizona and San Francisco. The road was not kind to the Cowboys, as they went 2-5 before a Week 18 romp in their second home, FedEx Field.

Dallas’ road woes have intensified since going 7-2 in 2021, dropping to 4-4 in 2022 before last season’s disaster record.

Meanwhile the Browns were dominant at home in 2023, ending up with an 8-1 mark as part of their 11-6 overall record. They went 4-4 the year prior and 6-3 in 2021.

Cowboys, Browns in Recent Season Openers

The Cowboys haven’t seemed to show consistency in the wake of McCarthy’s growing philosophy to rest all of his key players in the preseason game; getting off to a strong start last season (winning 40-0 in New York against the Giants) but falling flat in the opener the year prior, a 19-3 loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Dallas fell in a nailbiter the year prior, 31-29, to those same Bucs. The Browns won their 2023 opener in dominating fashion as well, 24-3 over the Cincinnati Bengals

Who Wins between Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns?

So how do things play out on Sunday afternoon?

The Cowboys will be starting a rookie at both left tackle and center, and despite the upside of Tyler Guyton; it’s hard to imagine him not getting worked by Garrett. That means the club will need to run a large amount of 12 personnel and keep Luke Schoonmaker and rookie Brevyn Ford (if active) in to help block.

On the opposite side of the ball, if Dashaun Watson is ever going to recapture his magic from his Houston Texans days, going up against a secondary running a new scheme (Mike Zimmer) without their All-Pro corner from 2023 (DaRon Bland) and with their other All-Pro corner playing his first game (regular or preseason) since tearing his ACL last September (Trevon Diggs).

Prediction: Browns win, 27-21.

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Cowboys offense can’t afford to fall behind in the count against Browns

The Cowboys must avoid 3rd-and-long at all costs against the Browns in Week 1 of 2024. | From @ReidDHanson

It’s said when a baseball pitcher delivers more balls than strikes, the pitcher “falls behind in the count.” A 3-1 count tilts the advantage strongly in the batter’s favor because in order to avoid a walk the pitcher has to throw a strike. This typically results in a clean ball across the plate and an eager batter hyper focused on seizing the opportunity presented in this rather transparent situation.

There are parallels to be found between Mike McCarthy’s play-calling with the Cowboys and a pitching scenario such as this. Falling behind in the count leads to obvious across-the-plate strikes in the same way falling behind on first and second downs lead to obvious passing situations on thirds.

Obvious passing downs are golden moments for thirsty pass rushers in the same way 3-1 counts are optimal for good hitters. In both situations the player can pin his ears back and attack. The hitter knows it’s likely to be in the zone across the plate and the pass rusher knows it’s likely to be drop back pass into the pocket.

The Cowboys face one of the fiercest pass rushes in the NFL when they travel to Cleveland to take on the Browns in Week 1. Dallas brings with them a pair of unproven rookies on their offensive line who aren’t just playing in their first NFL game but they’re playing that game at their new respective positions.

Breaking in a pair of rookies against one of the best pass rushes in the league is less than ideal. It’s critical the Cowboys don’t “fall behind in the count” and tilt the scales any further in the Browns direction. That doesn’t just mean productive early downs but also conceding defeat at times on third downs.

As the late great Kenny Rodgers once said, “you gotta know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em.”

Against the Browns, 3rd-and-10 or more might be a good time to fold ‘em and call a draw play.

What this doesn’t mean is conservative play on early downs. Success rate (SR) has taught that just because a play earned positive yardage the offense isn’t automatically in a better situation. A typical three-yard run on first down puts the team in a statistically worse situation than where on first down. In fact, most early down runs do that. In 2023, early down runs from the Cowboys only offered a 37.9 percent SR while early down passes produced a 52.1 percent SR.

When McCarthy calls a run, it needs to be a successful run, or he would have been better off with a pass attempt. Dak Prescott’s dropbacks consistently produce more yards and a higher success rate than runs, and yes, that factors in incomplete passes as well.

Short dropbacks, quick passes and limited progressions are just what the doctor ordered in Cleveland. McCarthy must avoid obvious passing situations, like 3rd-and-long, at all costs. For the sake of the two rookie offensive linemen and the sake of Prescott himself, McCarthy can’t allow the offense to fall behind in the count.

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Parsons, Lawrence eyeing ideal situation as Cowboys look to start quick in Cleveland

Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence face a exploitable matchups when they visit the Browns to start the 2024 season on Sunday. | From @ReidDHanson

When Mike Zimmer joined Dallas this offseason to take over defensive playcalling, he spoke of moving Micah Parsons around and creating mismatches and opportunities for his young All-Pro. All too often under the last regime Parsons was schemed against, double and even triple teamed. No more, implied Zimmer.

The news was music to many Cowboys’ fans ears and a sign Parsons would be more of a factor in critical situations down the stretch. but that may all have to wait until Week 2.

The Browns, Dallas’ Week 1 opponent, have been unsettled at their tackle positions. Cleveland announced Jedrick Wills, former No. 10 pick and starting left tackle since 2020, will not be the starting tackle this week against the Cowboys. Instead, Jack Conklin will get the start.

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Conklin, a career RT, hasn’t played LT since college. The 30-year-old has an All-Pro resume working in his favor but faces a tough draw going up against Parsons in Week 1. For as nice as it would be to move Parsons around all afternoon, the best opportunities may come rushing from the right side and testing the Browns temporary Band-aid at LT. Even if Wills rotates in the game at LT like Cleveland has suggested, Parsons may still want to test the waters of the rehabbing OT.

The task at right tackle now falls on second-year pro Dawand Jones. Jones took 710 snaps at RT during his rookie season. The former Buckeye struggled particularly in the run game; an area in which DeMarcus Lawrence thrives that could lend itself to advantageous matchups for both Cowboys edges.

Both of Cleveland’s starting OTs are flawed enough to be exploitable, Jones for his inexperience in the NFL and Conklin for his unfamiliarity with the position. It potentially sets the stage for an ideal Week 1 matchup for the Cowboys top two pass rushers.

While everyone is talking about the Myles Garrett and Tyler Guyton battle, the real impact on the edge could come at the hands of the Cowboys defense.

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Cowboys rookie LT Tyler Guyton faces toughest challenge of year in Week 1

Fortunately for the rookie, it’s all up from Week 1 when it comes to first-year difficulties. | From @ReidDHanson

The Cowboys are going to find out pretty darn quickly this season what they have in their rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton. The heir to Tyron Smith has big shoes to fill and arguably the toughest match-up in the NFL right of the gate in 2024.

Facing Cleveland in their Week 1 showdown, Guyton is slated to face off against Myles Garrett, a three time All-Pro and reining NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Garrett, 6-foot-4, 272-pounds, is the league’s preeminent pass rusher. According to Pro Football Focus Garrett rushed 666 snaps from the right side (facing the LT) compared to just 121 from the left (facing the RT). That puts the rookie Guyton right in his cross hairs.

This situation is something many in Dallas circled with fear on their calendars after the Cowboys first selected Guyton with the 29th pick in the draft. Seen as an unpolished developmental player, the idea of Guyton facing Garrett sent chills up the collective spine of Cowboys Nation. It was so frightening of a thought, many, including the team themselves, penciled journeyman Chuma Edoga in as the starting LT for Week 1.

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After working with renowned offensive line guru Duke Manyweather in the spring, Guyton came to training camp humming. His work ethic and ability to quickly digest and implement technical skills was something the scouting reports clearly missed. Guyton progressed at a rapid rate in Oxnard, not just looking like the LT of the future but also the LT of the present. An unfortunate injury to Edoga facilitated the move to the starting lineup and now Guyton gets ready to put his newly acquired skills to the ultimate test.

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Garrett isn’t the only tough draw on Guyton’s schedule. There’s a three week stretch in October where Guyton faces T.J. Watt, Aiden Hutchinson and Nick Bosa in consecutive weeks. It’s murder’s row of pass rushers on the docket but if Guyton can hold up against Garrett in Week 1, logic says he should be able to handle the others down the road.

It’s likely the Cowboys will send help in Guyton’s direction from time to time. Terence Steele has been said to have had a solid summer. If he can hold his own at RT, the Cowboys can roll protections Guyton’s way against Garrett. There’s no shame in getting help against Garrett and frankly the survival of the offense may depend on it.

Even if Guyton struggles on Sunday there’s nowhere to go but up in his development. He started the process extremely raw but possess an elite skillset that indicates the sky is the limit for the young tackle. His work-ethic and learning curve also indicate he’s a pretty safe bet to make it as a prospect this season.

They say you play the cards you’re delt and Guyton got delt a pretty tough hand with Garrett in Week 1, but the rookie appears up to the challenge and Cowboys success in 2024 may depend on it.

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