Tag: 2024 Week 14

Will the Dallas Cowboys be featured this week on Hard Knocks?

The close-up look at how teams prepare for their opponent and things that happen in a game that matters brings the Cowboys into focus for Week 14.

The NFL has added two new wrinkles to their Hard Knocks franchise in 2024. Every summer, fans are able to track the happenings of one team during their training camp build up to the regular season. This year Max (formerly HBO) added a look at the offseason component when it profiled the New York Giants through free agency and the draft.

And starting last week, fans got their first in-season view of football operations as Hard Knocks profiles the four teams in the AFC North. The premiere episode came out last week as it looked at closely at the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals before their head-to-head matchup, and the Baltimore Ravens as they got set to face the Phiadelphia Eagles.

With the Dallas Cowboys hosting the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 14, it stands to reason they could make an appearance on the show’s second episode.

The Cleveland Browns took on the Denver Broncos in Week 13, but were not featured in the game action that spanned the last third of the episode. That game, like the Cowboys’ gut-punch, 27-20 loss to the Bengals, was a Monday Night Football affair. If the logic is that game was too late to be included in the episode, it stands to reason Dallas’ game won’t see any airtime on Episode 2, and would potentially be part of Episode 3 when the Bengals are profiled.

Twitter reactions from Cowboys’ special teams blunder costing them Bengals game

Social media went into hysteria as a lost Cowboys season somehow got worse with a historic bad beat.

There isn’t much that could be said about the Dallas Cowboys’ 2024 season that hasn’t been said. The most truthful recap is that everything that can go wrong, will. On Monday night, full of 11 days worth of rest, the injury-riddled and overmatched Cowboys came to play.

Their defense held the vaunted Cincinnati offense and QB Joe Burrow to just 20 points. Their offense, down to just one reserve offensive lineman, was running the ball with reckless abandon and they had the game right where they wanted it. Forcing the Bengals to punt at the two-minute warning, Dallas was in a state of euphoria when Nick Vigil crashed in and got his hands on the kick.

Only for things to turn into heartbreak when cornerback Amani Oruwariye tried to catch the bouncing ball, giving the Bengals a fresh set of downs. Burrow soonafter found Ja’Marr Chase for the winning score and NFL fans took to Twitter to share their disbelief.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Infuriating, unbelievably dumb mistake costs Cowboys late in 27-20 loss to Bengals

The Cowboys suffered their first gut-punch loss of 2024, which is amazing considering how bad 2024 has been.

In front of Troy Aikman, no less. The Dallas Cowboys had one of those once-in-a-lifetime bad decisions haunt them in a winnable game. Harkening back to nightmarish memories from Leon Lett in Thanksgiving snow in 1993, a beautiful special teams play turned into a disastrous losing moment.

Late in the fourth quarter of a game tied at 20, Dallas’ defense pushed Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati offense way back to a 4th and 27 from their own side of the field. The punt, at the two-minute warning, would give the Cowboys a chance for a third win in a row and near them to .500. A block! But they touched it. Unbelievable. Bengals ball. Madness.

In a wildly disappointing 2024 season, this is the first gut punch loss for the Cowboys. Every other loss had been a blowout, even the ones they made look close. And despite all of that, Dallas didn’t give up on the season. But this loss? This one might have broken everyone’s spirit.

Cornerback Amani Oruwariye, just activated from IR before kickoff, attempted to corral a bouncing ball after linebacker Nick Vigil blocked the punt, but instead saw the ball bounce off his arm and past him. The Bengals recovered and a dejected Cowboys defense that had held the dynamic Cincy offense to just 20 points, came back out on the field.

Well, their bodies came back out, but their souls didn’t. A few plays later, Burrow found Ja’Marr Chase on the right sideline, and he spun away from an over-pursuing DaRon Bland and raced 40 yards for the score.

Bengals win, 27-20.

Dallas drops to 5-8.

What channel is the Cowboys’ game against the Bengals on today?

The viewing audience will have several options on how to consume Cowboys-Bengals thanks to alternate MNF broadcasts.

The Dallas Cowboys (5-7) are set to host the Cincinnati Bengals (4-8) on Monday Night Football in Week 14 of the 2024 NFL season on Monday, Dec. 9 at 7:15 p.m. CT (8:15 p.m. ET).

The inter conference showdown of bad teams will be nationally televised on ESPN and available to stream on fuboTV. There will be multiple alternative ways to keep fans engaged as well.

Joe Buck will handle the play-by-play duties while Troy Aikman will handle the color commentary. Lisa Salters reporting from the sideline.

Those alternatives may add enough to keep fans viewing. One of the regular season’s 10 ManningCasts will be happening on ESPN2, the final one of the year before they come back during the wild-card round.

Also, ESPN+, Disney+ and NFL+ on mobile will be airing an animated, Simpsons infused version of the game, with Bart repping the Bengals and Homer going up for the Cowboys. Homer, home team… get it?

This will be the next-to-last primetime game for Dallas this season, more than likely. There is still time for the NFL to switch things up and take the December 22 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of the Sunday Night Football window and move it to earlier in the day.

FOX currently has the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders in their early-game window and the Minnesota Vikings against the Seattle Seahawks in the late-game window.

If NBC is willing to grab either of those two competitive games between playoff squads and give up the ratings bonanza that is the Cowboys whether good or bad, they can do so. FOX can only protect one game per week.

That decision will have to come by Tuesday, December 10.

Is Jake Ferguson playing today? Injury news update for Cowboys tight end

Here’s the latest status for the Cowboys’ Jake Ferguson for Week 14 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Dallas Cowboys have been suffering from the injury bug all season, and there hasn’t been a position group that has been safe. Just when the passing offense was finally getting WR2 Brandin Cooks back, they lost a different key member of the receiving corps.

TE Jake Ferguson has been sidelined the last two weeks with concussion symptoms. He opened up about the severity recently, citing that his mental state was so impacted he once broke out in a crying fit over the simple inconvenience of being unable to locate his mobile phone. With that level of severity, there’s a question on whether or not he’d be ready to face the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 14.

Fortunately, the answer is yes. Ferguson practiced all week and with no setbacks, he will suit up for the Cowboys on Monday Night Football. The two games he missed were on short weeks; he was injured in a Monday night game against Houston, and then missed the Washington game six days later which was followed by the Giants game just four days after that.

In his absence Dallas turned to second-year, second-round pick Luke Schoonmaker, along with 2024 UDFA Brevyn Spann-Ford. The team has also added Princeton Fant to the roster, signed from their own practice squad. It is assumed with Ferguson active again, Fant will be among the inactive on Monday.

This is currently the Cowboys offense’s best chance without Dak Prescott

The Cowboys need Cooper Rush to play within himself and that means conservative. @ReidDHanson looks at the evidence.

Cooper Rush has played in eight games in 2024, starting four while logging a total of 320 snaps. In that time, he’s passed the ball 185 times, completing 112, for a total of 1,008 passing yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. His 48.0 grade at Pro Football Focus ranks him last in the NFL by a rather significant margin and his -0.027 EPA+CPOE composite score backs up such a claim (also last in the NFL).

It’s safe to say at this point the Cowboys know what they have in Rush. Despite banging out two consecutive wins, he’s not a quarterback that elevates a team. And despite calls to open up the offense and take more shots downfield, Mike McCarthy appears to be doing the smart thing with his replacement QB by taking a conservative approach.

The Cowboys opponent in Week 14 begs such a conservative attack. The zone-happy Bengals defense ranks 28th in EPA/dropback, 29th in rush EPA allowed and 30th in total EPA allowed. They are vulnerable to both the run and the pass and as long as Dallas plays within themselves, they should be able to find success against the Cincinnati defense.

In situations such as this it will be tempting for the Cowboys to take shots down the field. That’s not only unnecessary, but it asks Rush to succeed in an area of personal weakness. Based on FTN Data shown by Doug Analytics, Rush has thrown catchable deep balls on less than 30 percent of his attempts this season. He’s also bottom three in attempts and catchability percentage.

PFF tracking shows Rush has attempted 16 passes of 20 or more yards and completed just four of them for a 25 percent completion rate. One of those passes qualified as a big-time throw and one pass qualified as a turnover worthy throw. It’s arguably the biggest inefficiency in his game, making the case for McCarthy to avoid deep passes with Rush at the helm.

Even in the 10–19-yard range Rush has struggled in 2024. His completion percentage sits at just 40 percent and this intermediate range grades as his poorest on the field with him throwing three times as many turnover worthy throws than big time throws.

For as much as the Cowboys running game and defense have struggled in 2024, they are areas Dallas simply has to lean on in order to win games. Combined with a dink and dunk passing attack that plays inside the numbers, the Cowboys are best positioned to win games behind Rush at QB.

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Cowboys schedule: Is Dallas playing today?

Are the Cowboys playing today? Here’s a look at the 2024 schedule; results and the games to come.

Week 14 of the NFL football schedule has arrived, with 14 games on Sunday’s slate. Will the Dallas Cowboys be playing football today?

The Cowboys have won two consecutive football games, in an last-ditch effort to turn around a disastrous season. Back-to-back wins over division rivals in Washington and at home against the New York Giants both snapped losing streaks. Dallas had lost five in a row before beating the Commanders, and had lost six-straight at AT&T Stadium before taking out the G-man. Fans won’t be able to watch them try and continue the positive vibrations on Sunday, though.

Dallas isn’t on a bye week; they simply don’t play until Monday Night Football when they will take on the Cincinnati Bengals. Here’s a look at their schedule so far this year.

TEAM 2024 schedule

Week Date Opponent Time (CT) Result
1 Sep. 8 @ Cleveland Browns 3:25 p.m. W, 33-17
2 Sep. 15 vs New Orleans Saints Noon L, 44–19
3 Sep. 22 vs Baltimore Ravens 3:25 p.m. L, 28-25
4 Sep. 26 @ New York Giants (TNF) 7:15 p.m. W, 20-15
5 Oct. 6 @ Pittsburgh Steelers (SNF) 7:20 p.m. W, 20-17
6 Oct. 13 vs Detroit Lions 3:25 p.m. L, 47-9
7 BYE WEEK
8 Oct. 27 @ San Francisco 49ers (SNF) 7:20 p.m. L, 30-24
9 Nov. 3 @ Atlanta Falcons Noon L, 27-21
10 Nov. 10 vs Philadelphia Eagles 3:25 p.m. L, 34-6
11 Nov. 18 vs Houston Texans (MNF) 7:15 p.m. L, 34-10
12 Nov. 24 @ Washington Commanders Noon W, 34-26
13 Nov. 28 vs New York Giants (Thanksgiving) 3:30 p.m. W, 27-20
14 Dec. 9 vs Cincinnati Bengals (MNF) 7:15 p.m. TBD
15 Dec. 15 @ Carolina Panthers Noon TBD
16 Dec. 22 vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers (SNF) 7:20 p.m. TBD
17 Dec. 29 @ Philadelphia Eagles 3:25 p.m. TBD
18 Jan. 5 vs Washington Commanders TBD TBD

*prime-time game

For a look at how the rest of the season could play out for Dallas, check out this list of predictions.

Cowboys vs Bengals final Week 14 injury report: Diggs 50/50, Lamb, Ferguson updates

A look at who was able to participate in practice on Saturday and their game designations. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Could this finally be the week Cowboys fans have been hoping for, for the last 15 months? There’s a 50-50 chance that the Dallas secondary, the cornerback room to be exact, full of All-Pros will actually see the field together for the first time in their starring roles. 50-50 is the best it’s been in several months and the last time it was reachable things went sideways at the last minute.

2021 interceptions leader and All-Pro Trevon Diggs missed all of 2023 where interceptions leader DaRon Bland emerged as one of the best in the league. Diggs’ feat was the first time in 30 years someone in the NFL reached 11 picks in a year. Bland set the all-time league record with five interception-return touchdowns. But injuries have kept them from lining up opposite each other, ever.

Week 6 was a false alarm, with Bland re-injuring his foot, but Week 14 appears to be the game as they face Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.

When the two played together in 2022, Bland was an injury sub for first Jourdan Lewis and then in the playoffs he kicked outside for two games. Now, Lewis is working on the interior and Bland and Diggs will man the outside, provided Diggs knee works out in pregame warmups.

That of course, isn’t the sole injury concern for Dallas, nor the only bit of good news. WR CeeDee Lamb and TE Jake Ferguson don’t appear on the injury report, so for the first time since Week 4, Dallas will have their three top weapons together as Brandin Cooks has played the last two weeks.

Not everything is great, as Dallas learned this week they’ll be without nine-time All-Pro Zack Martin for the remainder of the year, and he’ll sit beside MVP runner-up QB Dak Prescott who’s also done for the season.

The Bengals have their own injury concerns, with star linebacker Logan Wilson, OT Orlando Brown and DT Sheldon Rankins all out.

Here’s a look at the complete list for both teams.

Dallas Cowboys

OUT

RG Zack Martin, Ankle
Safety Juanyeh Thomas, Knee

QUESTIONABLE

OT Tyler Guyton, Ankle/Knee
LB Nick Vigil, Knee
CB Trevon Diggs, Knee

NO DESIGNATION

WR CeeDee Lamb, Shoulder
TE Jake Ferguson, Concussion
DE Marshawn Kneeland, Knee
DT Osa Odighizuwa, Shoulder
LB DeMarvion Overshown, Hamstring
QB Cooper Rush, Knee
OG Tyler Smith, Ankle

Wednesday (Thursday) Rest Day

WR Brandin Cooks
LB Eric Kendricks
Safety Malik Hooker
CB Jourdan Lewis

Cincinnati Bengals

OUT

OT Orlando Brown, Fibula
DT Sheldon Rankins, DT
LB Logan Wilson, Knee

QUESTIONABLE

WR Charlie Jones, Groin

NO DESIGNATION

QB Joe Burrow, Right Wright
WR Ja’Marr Chase, Ankle
OG Cody Ford, Back
OT Amarius Mims, Ankle
CB Josh Newton, Ankle
DE Joseph Ossai, Thumb
TE Drew Sample, Ankle

Wednesday (Thursday) Rest Day

WR Tee Higgins

Cowboys stopped gatekeeping this UDFA, now he’s among NFL’s best workhorses

Rico Dowdle started in split backfield but has become the Cowboys true bellcow RB. | From @ReidDHanson

My how far the pendulum swings. The Cowboys, stuck in a running back co-op seemingly forever this season, have now safely navigated into bell cow territory. Ezekiel Elliott’s struggles combined with Rico Dowdle’s maturation have pushed the latter into a lead role that most recently ranked the 26-year-old No. 6 on the latest bell cow report.

Dowdle has long looked like the top dog in Dallas, even before the season started. Those familiar with the South Carolina product knew it was injuries and availability that had been holding him back. What Dowdle lacked in name recognition he made up for in talent and versatility. It’s why local media spent little time discussing the reunion with Elliott while the national media couldn’t get enough of it.

Coming off his best yardage total and highest attempt total of the season, things aren’t likely to slow down for Dowdle any time soon. The 6-foot, 220-pound do-it-all back is primed for a run against some of the NFL’s worst defenses. With the exception of Philadelphia in Week 17, Dowdle has a favorable schedule ahead of him.

Working further in his favor is the growth of the Cowboys offensive line. Though left tackle remains a mess, Terence Steele at right tackle is back to his dominant self as a run-blocker, reserve guards T.J. Bass and Brock Hoffman are making the case to be 2025 starters, and center Cooper Beebe is even starting to flash.

Prior to Week 13 Dowdle was lacking explosive runs from his game. He fixed that against the Giants popping off multiple explosive runs he earned breaking and avoiding tackles at the second level. It moved his explosive run rate up from 6.3 percent to 8.2 percent on the season (per Sumer Sports) and has Dowdle positioned in that category ahead of players like Bijan Robinson and Aaron Jones.

For as good as this is for Dowdle, the Cowboys overall running game still leaves something to be desired. Even with Dowdle the clear bell cow over the past three weeks, Dallas ranks 29th in team EPA/rush and 25th in team success rate running the ball in that time span. The film is getting better, the individual runner is getting better, the only thing that’s left is more positive output. Based on trends, that too is likely to be on the way.

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Cowboys fans may have been too quick to bury this coach in 2024

Mike Zimmer started slow as the new coordinator in Dallas, but his defense is rounding into form as his players return from injury. | From @cdpiglet

Mike Zimmer had his work cut out for him in his first season back as the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator. He lost Dorance Armstrong, the defensive lineman with the second-most sacks over the last two seasons, to the Washington Commanders, as well as Dante Fowler, Jr., who had 10 sacks across his two years in Dallas. Also gone are starting DT Jonathan Hankins, rotational DT Neville Gallimore and starting middle linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, who sustained a career-ending injury.

Implementing a new defensive scheme, the team only added Eric Kendricks in free agency before training camp. He got a few defensive line additions late in camp, but getting his new ideas to his new players would take time. Tom compound things, the injuries hit. He lost edge rusher Sam Williams for the season and All-Pro corner DaRon Bland for 11 games due to injury. Bad defensive performances against the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens were the precursor as in-season injuries began to mount.

Both Micah Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence went out against the Ravens, and Marshawn Kneeland went down the following week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That left Zimmer without his top-four edge rushers after just five weeks.

The coach is trying to get the team better against the run, which is the biggest issue for the Cowboys in the Dak Prescott era, but he has their pass rush eliminated, his biggest weapon. His defensive back luck wasn’t any better.

The team hasn’t had Bland, Trevon Diggs, and Jourdan Lewis together for a single game all season.

The second cornerback spot has been a rotating door. They lost rookie Caelen Carson to injury, called up Amani Oruwariye and Josh Butler from the practice squad, but lost both to injury as well. Markquese Bell and Juanyeh Thomas, rotational defensive backs, are the latest to suffer major ailments.

With all those disadvantages, the Dallas defense has continued to improve. Starting in Week 8, the defense was good in the first half of nearly every game before wearing down in the second half. The San Francisco 49ers scored six points, and the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles scored 14, but each scored off of Dallas turnovers. So did the Houston Texans, who got to 17 at halftime. The Commanders scored only three points, and the New York Giants got to 10, but DeMarvion Overshown scored a touchdown for the defense against the Giants.

Between Week 2 and Week 6, Dallas allowed 19 points on average in the first half, but since it’s down to nine.

Zimmer has Parsons and Bland back, and it has helped flip from one of the worst turnover ratios, to having five takeaways to one turnover in the last two games. The defense is getting sacks now, too, from 20 in the first 10 games to 10 in the last two.

The Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas’ Week 14 opponent, are averaging 35 points per contest over their last four games. Zimmer is going to get tested by his old team, but if his defense can keep a below-average Cowboys offense in the game, then Zimmer might officially put to rest a lot of sentiments from earlier in the season.

You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or YouTube on the Across the Cowboys Podcast.