Tag: Dallas Cowboys vs Tennessee Titans

Nahshon Wright, Kelvin Joseph moving in opposite directions for Cowboys

The two young Cowboys cornerbacks entered the NFL together with much different expectations and dynamics. | From @ReidDHanson

When the Cowboys drafted Nahshon Wright with pick No. 99 in the 2021 NFL Draft, Cowboys fans erupted in displeasure. A bona fide “reach” to the draft community, Wright was tabbed by many as the worst pick in the draft class.

Kelvin Joseph didn’t command such universal disdain when he was selected 55 picks earlier. Joseph, who did have red flags, was still regarded as one of the best raw cornerback prospects in the draft who had legit “boom” potential. All anyone could see in Wright’s future was “bust.” My, how things can change.

Nearly two years into each of their respective professional careers, the draft classmates are on opposite trajectories; Wright moving into a starting role and Joseph on the cusp of losing his game-day active status altogether.

After a tumultuous offseason and wildly inconsistent training camp, Joseph began the season as a special teams player and developmental prospect. When injuries to Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown forced him into the defensive starting lineup, Joseph disappointed.

After allowing 219 yards, four touchdowns, a 66.7 completion percentage and 147.9 passer rating, Joseph was benched, making way for the once-maligned Wright.

Wright has been far from flawless, but he’s taking steps towards competence and even recorded the first interception of his career. Wright has shown awareness on the field and a willingness to step up against the run.

Wright may not be the forever-solution at CB2 but he’s the best solution the Cowboys have at the moment and likely the best man for the job as Dallas marches to the playoffs.

Joseph, on the other hand, has become such a liability he may be too dangerous to even play on special teams. The postseason, just two weeks away, is a time when margins are slim and every error has the potential to tip the balance.

The story is far from over for these two young cornerbacks and anything can happen going forward, but right now they are on opposite trajectories and it’s playing out far differently than most once imagined.

‘Just made a play’: Cowboys CB Nahshon Wright sealed win, emptied Titans’ stadium with first INT

The 2nd-year CB picked a great time for his first pick as a pro, snuffing out a Titans rally and helping seal the Cowboys’ win in Tennessee. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Having just gone up by two touchdowns with six minutes to play, the Cowboys defense needed someone to step up.

Nahshon Wright stepped WAY up.

The 6-foot-4-inch cornerback went much higher than that, looking like he got launched off a trampoline as he snared Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs’s pass out of the air on its way to wideout Robert Woods in Cowboys territory. Wright’s first interception as a pro helped to snuff out a possible Titans rally and eventually seal the Cowboys’ 12th win of the season.

But the 24-year-old, making his first start of the year, took the moment in stride as he spoke with reporters after the 27-13 win.

“I just made a play when it came my way,” Wright said at his locker Thursday night. “That was all, that was it. He just threw it; I went up and grabbed it.”

Wright became the eighth Cowboys defender to log an interception this year, giving the team 15 picks on the season, a mark that’s third-best in the league.

But the 2021 third-round pick out of Oregon State contributed more than just that well-timed takeaway. He also led the team in tackles on the night.

Not bad for a guy who had logged just 59 defensive snaps on the year entering the Week 17 contest.

“It was a zone coverage. I was able to get my eyes back to the quarterback; I originally thought he was going to scramble. But he just threw it up in my area, and I went up and grabbed it,” Wright explained.

“It was an outstanding play that you can make with his skillset, and that’s always been the thing for him,” owner Jerry Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan. “Once he gets his confidence, once he gets his technique that you get with more experience, then [we knew] his skillset, his height, his length would make him a unique corner for us. I think that’s coming, and I was proud to see him get it.”

The Oregon State product was pressed into extra service after season-ending injuries to cornerbacks Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown and less-than-impressive play from fellow second-year corner Kelvin Joseph.

It wasn’t perfect by any stretch. According to PFF, Wright allowed seven catches on 10 targets, giving up 105 yards (including the evening’s longest play, a 39-yard reception to little-used wide receiver Racey McMath) and the Titans’ lone touchdown.

But with an increasing number of snaps over each of the past four weeks and a bit of confidence under his belt, Wright now looks to keep trending upward in the Dallas defense.

“Nahshon just continues to battle with every opportunity he gets,” head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters after the game. “He’s clearly one of the guys you point to to take the second-year jump. I think we’re seeing that. But he needs to take another step. We’ve got another game, and we still want to be able to play and get some rhythm with our defensive personnel. I think we were more fluid this week than we were last week, and that’s definitely a big step in the right direction.”

Wright’s timely interception spurred Titans fans to take steps in the direction of the Nissan Stadium exits on Thursday. But the youngster had no idea his pick had caused a mass exodus until a reporter told him afterward.

“For real? I didn’t know. I was still locked in.”

Locked in. That’s a good place to be for a cornerback, and right where the Cowboys would like Wright to stay for the upcoming playoff run.

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3 Stars: Which Cowboys overcame pitchy team performance to belt out win No. 12?

It wasn’t a greatest-hits kind of win, but these three Cowboys did enough to help the team escape Music City singing a victory song. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys were supposed to roll into Nashvegas and play the gimpy Titans like a fiddle. But Mike Vrabel’s band had a different tune lined up. Coming in at 11-4 and with a chance to still compete for the NFC’s top seed,  Dallas found themselves in a nail-biter for most of the night against a quarterback who’d been in town for eight days and a pair of Hall of Fame hopefuls named Julius Chestnut and Racey McMath.

The Dak Prescott turnover conversation will linger on, despite two of the three credited to him not really being his fault. But the signal-caller still found enough rhythm late in the set to engineer a two-touchdown win. (Of course, the Titans shooting themselves in the honky-tonk boots with 10 penalties for 124 yards helped.)

In the end, the Cowboys escaped the Music City with a 27-13 win that won’t go down as one of their greatest hits, but still sounds plenty sweet the morning after. Here are the biggest rockstars of Week 17.

T.Y. Hilton making big impact for Cowboys: ‘If he’s in this offense, this offense can go’

How much has Hilton meant to the Cowboys offense after just 2 games? CeeDee Lamb asked for his jersey after the win in Tennessee. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Jersey swaps have become a commonplace ritual at the end of every NFL game, players trading souvenirs with opponents to build a collection of game-worn gear that showcases the talented athletes they’ve battled on the gridiron.

But when Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb left Nashville’s Nissan Stadium after Thursday night’s 27-13 win over the Titans, he did so with the grass-stained No. 16 of one of his own teammates, T.Y. Hilton.

“I told him I wanted this jersey. He’s not walking out with it, I am,” Lamb said via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. “Just him being a great teammate and a great mentor for me just in such a short span. It’s value, bro.”

That’s how much of an impact the 11th-year veteran’s leadership and presence on the field has made in just two games as a Cowboy.

“I think it’s obvious,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said Thursday of the impact Hilton has had, even in a short time. “You can see that he’s connected, not only in the receiver room, but on the sideline. Obviously, he’s a veteran with a lot of pelts on the wall. I really like the addition.”

But more than just drawing coverage away from Lamb or sharing with the team’s WR1 what he could expect from the Titans secondary after all his own meetings with them in the AFC South, Hilton has become an immediate contributor to the Cowboys passing attack.

His first catch as a Cowboy converted an improbable third-and-30 on Christmas Eve versus Philadelphia. To kick off New Year’s weekend, he hauled in four receptions for 50 yards. Three of those grabs moved the chains on a third down; two extended drives that turned into Dallas touchdowns.

“That’s all a credit to him,” quarterback Dak Prescott told reporters, “just being able to come in a couple weeks ago and make the impact that he’s made, make big-time catches, show up on third down, and just- time and time again when his number is called- make those plays. But if you go back and you look at this guy’s resume and his history and his career, there’s no surprise in what he’s doing.”

Hilton currently ranks 56th on the league’s all-time receiving yardage list. With another 400 yards and change, he’ll break the Top 50 and surpass legends like Eric Moulds, Shannon Sharpe, Donald Driver, and Andre Rison.

And based on what Cowboys Nation has seen in just two game appearances wearing the star, the 33-year-old hasn’t lost a step.

“It’s very deceptive,” Lamb remarked earlier in the week. “His arms don’t move as fast, but his legs are sure still turning. It’s crazy.”

“He’s made big plays in big games, and he hasn’t lost anything,” owner Jerry Jones said Friday on K&C Masterpiece on Audacy’s 105.3 The Fan in Dallas.

“He’s certainly bringing something to the dance here in terms of making us a better football team,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told GBag Nation on 105.3 The Fan later in the day. “We were fortunate enough to get him, and as you can see, he’s ready. He’s ready to play right away and help us right away. That chemistry is only going to get better, and that leadership in that wide receiver room, which was a young room to start with. For him to come in there and be able to lead these guys and really be a mentor has been a huge plus. But no mistake about it: as we all saw last night, he can really make plays for us.”

Lamb got the targets and the yards Thursday. Tight end Dalton Schultz got the touchdowns. But the Cowboys’ real unsung hero may have been the guy whose jersey went home with his own teammate.

Because with the playoffs looming, CeeDee Lamb has already seen the difference T.Y. Hilton makes.

“If he’s in this offense, this offense can go.”

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Studs and Duds: Pass catchers stand out in Cowboys unimpressive win over Titans

In the Cowboys 27-13 win over Tennessee, certain players and elements stood out, both good and bad. | From @ReidDHanson

The Dallas Cowboys didn’t exactly win over any critics with their 27-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans. The Titans, resting the bulk of their players for Week 18, trotted out a roster of role players, reserves and journeymen. Dallas seemingly outclassed them in every way but one: effort.

The Cowboys uninspired performance on Thursday Night Football kept things needlessly close. The team known for playing down to their opponents this season lived up to their reputation, waiting until the fourth quarter to pull away. Several players stood out, both in good ways and bad, and here’s a look at their performances.

Cowboys dismiss lack of style points in notching 12th win: ‘That’s for y’all’

After notching their 12th victory, Dak Prescott and Mike McCarthy bristled at questions over whether the Cowboys are winning by enough. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Reaching twelve wins in an NFL season isn’t easy. It had happened to quarterback Dak Prescott only twice since being drafted by Dallas. Head coach Mike McCarthy achieved it just three times in his 12-plus seasons in Green Bay.

Getting there Thursday night sure wasn’t pretty, and that’s perfectly fine with the 2022 Cowboys.

After notching a 12th win for the second straight year- the first time the franchise has done that since the dynasty days of the 1990s- neither McCarthy nor Prescott were interested in entertaining talk about whether they won by enough.

“We came here for the win,” McCarthy told reporters from the podium after beating a depleted Tennessee squad that rested many of its star players. “We’re not going to get into what it’s supposed to be and things like that, because that’s how you get yourself in trouble.”

The 27-13 final score doesn’t look as close as the game felt for most of the night, with Dallas holding just a four-point lead as the fourth quarter began. The Titans, even without superstar running back Derrick Henry, outgained the Cowboys on the ground, and quarterback Josh Dobbs- with the playbook for just eight days- finished just 50 yards behind Prescott in passing.

But despite three turnovers and an offense that looked lackluster at times, the Cowboys prevailed. And that’s the important part to the players in the locker room.

“A thousand percent,” Prescott said in his press conference from Nissan Stadium. “A win’s a win. Obviously, there’s things to clean up, but they’re much easier and feel much better to clean up when you got the win. This is the NFL, and I say it time and time again: give these other guys credit. These guys get paid to do their job whether their starters are out or not.

“A win’s a win, and we’re going to take it and get better from the mistakes, and we’re going to make sure that we’re improving. But a road win on a short week? You’ve got to take them all. And the style points and all that? That’s for y’all that think games are won on paper.”

The league’s schedule-makers certainly did the team no favors. Dallas was faced with a brutal three-games-in-12-days stretch (with two games in each span coming on the road) on two separate occasions this season, all in the last seven weeks.

“This was a hard stretch,” McCarthy admitted Thursday night after giving his players the next three days off. “We knew this was going to be a hard stretch when the schedule came out, and that really held true. I’m happy these guys have got a couple days to catch their breath, because this has been a tough fourth quarter [of the season] so far.”

November and December have been especially tough for Prescott’s personal stats. The two-time Pro Bowler has been criticized for throwing 12 interceptions over the past two months, even though several of them have been either the fault of his receivers or pure bad luck. He now has 14 picks in 2022, the most he’s thrown in any season as a pro.

The only game in that stretch Prescott didn’t throw an interception was the 40-3 shellacking of Minnesota in Week 11, a day when just three of his tosses even hit the ground. But the passer bristled at the expectation that such an outing can be dialed up and put on repeat every week against every opponent.

“That’s all external and outside of our locker room,” he told media members. “All that talk, that’s for y’all, and we’re going to let y’all talk. What we’ve got is a culture and a brotherhood that knows what they have, what we have, what we’re capable of doing.”

Prescott pointed out that, apart from the three drives that ended via self-inflicted turnovers, the Cowboys scored points on five of their eight other possessions.

“We came out with a win,” he continued. “On a Thursday night, after a short week, against a team that was playing their ass off. A win’s a win at the end of the day. Whether they’re ugly, whether there are style points, you’ve got to take them however you can get them. And there’s a lot of confidence and things that you can take from that to move forward.”

Dallas also appeared to have cleaned up their penalty problem in recent weeks. In their five contests since Thanksgiving, they’re averaging just three flags per game. Against Tennessee, they didn’t incur any penalties at all until the second half.

But anyone who watched Thursday’s game saw a Cowboys team that, while maddeningly sloppy at times, is still talented enough to win even when they’re not at their best.

“It wasn’t clean. This wasn’t a clean performance. We recognize that; I’m not disputing that at all,” McCarthy admitted. “But I do know my football team. I know they came out of a hard victory [in Week 16], and it took them a little longer to get their bodies back, but that’s what Thursday Night Football is. It’s a tough challenge when you have to go on the road and all those things. But the most important thing is we answered the bell and we got it done.

“This was a game we needed to get, and we got it done. Whether we don’t get any style points, that’s okay. We’re still at 12 wins.”

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Report: Cowboys center Tyler Biadasz believed to have high ankle sprain; MRI to come

The Cowboys center had been the offense’s snap count leader, but the O-line shuffle that followed his exit played well to close out the win. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Cowboys enter Tyler Biadasz was the team’s offensive snap count leader going into Week 17’s game versus the Titans, having only come out for a handful of plays at the end of the routs over Minnesota and Indianapolis.

His departure Thursday came on the final play of the third quarter, while the game’s outcome still hung very much in the balance.

He missed the offense’s final 18 snaps. He could miss more.

Biadasz is believed to have suffered a high ankle sprain, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. Biadasz is expected to undergo an MRI on Friday

“It may not be as bad as we think,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told the K&C Masterpiece on Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan on Friday morning.

If the injury is not significant, the mini-bye that comes after the Thursday night game may help the third-year man’s chances of suiting up for the regular season finale.

But the Cowboys also got a 15-minute look at their Plan B, and have to feel encouraged by what they saw.

After being helped off the field, the 25-year-old was carted to the locker room at Nissan Stadium. It was determined shortly thereafter that he would not return to the game and was seen on the sideline in street clothes as the Cowboys went on to win the contest by a 27-13 final score.

Biadasz was wearing a walking boot as the team returned to the locker room.

His in-game exit shuffled three-fifths of the Cowboys offensive line for the remainder of the game. Veteran Jason Peters entered to take over at left tackle so that rookie Tyler Smith could slide to the left guard position he learned in training camp. Connor McGovern moved from left guard to center.

“It’s a good thing that we practice it during the week in case of the worst-case scenario,” McGovern said, per the team website. “And so when [Peters] came out, Tyler [Smith] knew he was at guard and we’re all on the same page for everything.”

“McGovern, we work and we get snaps every day,” quarterback Dak Prescott said in his postgame press conference. “That goes to preparation. Obviously, you don’t want to prepare for something like this, but you have to, and that’s the reality of playing a physical game like we do.”

But when the injury to Biadasz first occurred, McGovern’s main worry was the light rain that had been falling for most of the night.

“The first thing that went through my mind was, ‘I have to make sure my hands are dry so I can hold onto this ball,'” McGovern continued. “It felt like just riding a bike again. Once I started to get going, I got used to it, and we were good to go.”

That O-line configuration helped the Dallas offense put 10 fourth-quarter points on the scoreboard to seal the club’s 12th victory of the season.

Backup center Brock Hoffman, who had been elevated from the practice squad for the game, played just five snaps, but all were on special teams.

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Good, Bad, Ugly: Cowboys’ Week 17 positives challenged by two things that can derail season

The Cowboys are a good team, so there are always positives. But two things threatening their season popped up yet again. | From @BenGrimaldi

The Dallas Cowboys won their 12th game of the season after outlasting the banged-up Tennessee Titans, 27-13. With the Week 17 win, the Cowboys have won 12 games in back-to-back years for the first time since their championship years from 1992 through 1995. Not bad for a team that lost their starting quarterback in Week 1 for five weeks and were left for dead.

When the 2022 schedule was originally released, this game appeared to be a matchup of two playoff teams that would help determine postseason positioning. That was still the case a month ago, even but the matchup lost much of its shine with the Titans sitting some of their best players, including running back Derrick Henry. Tennessee was also turning to their third-string quarterback, Josh Dobbs, as they knew the results of this game didn’t matter in their pursuit of a division title.

Dallas didn’t have time to be worried about who the Titans had available; they just needed to win and keep pressure on the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East race. The Cowboys got the victory despite some bumps in the road along the way. Here are the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Week 17 win.

Dalton Schultz again proves his value to Cowboys offense in TNF performance

The Cowboys’ tight end came through yet again, with two big-time catches that stabilized things for the offense. | From @TimLettiero

Thursday night’s game consisted of poor weather conditions, injuries aplenty and poor preparation. The Dallas Cowboys struggled to get the running game going, placing the onus to get the offense moving squarely on the shoulders of quarterback Dak Prescott. He was able to do so as he found solace in three main targets: WRs CeeDee Lamb, T.Y. Hilton and TE Dalton Schultz. The latter was able to make the big plays, the scoring plays.

Following a turnover filled first half, Dallas entered the third quarter only up by four points. After an extremely helpful penalty set Dallas up in the red zone, the Prescott-to-Schultz connection finally established some momentum.

The double-digit lead didn’t last, however, and Dallas needed another Schultz score to finally make it a comfortable margin. The soon-to-be free agent all but sealed the win with his second touchdown reception of the game on this beautifully placed ball.

Although he has been injured and inconsistent this season, and with two rookies breathing down his neck, Schultz cemented himself in Cowboys’ history with his performance.

WATCH: Nahshon Wright rewards Cowboys for playing time with acrobatic INT

The strong play of Nahshon Wright is right on time for the Cowboys and now he has his first career interception on a leaping grab. | From @CDBurnett7

Not too long ago, cornerback Nahshon Wright looked like a third-round reach. In his second season, the Oregon State product was left on the bench in Week 1, not even seeing special teams snaps, and then was inactive for nine of the next 11 games. He saw his first defensive snaps of the season in 14; a grand total of two of them. But one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity. The Cowboys gave Kelvin Joseph a chance to win the second boundary corner spot but he was unable to secure it, allowing Wright to step into the role against the Eagles in a big spot in Week 16.

The former Beaver wasn’t picked on, a rare occasion for Dallas corners across from Trevon Diggs and the strong play traveled to Tennessee. Late in the fourth quarter, Titans quarterback Josh Dobbs tried to lob a pass downfield but the 6-foot-4 Wright used his length to fly up for the first interception of his career.

Heading into the playoffs, Wright looks ready to be a contributor for a Dallas defense in need of youth stepping up. Combined with Diggs and DaRon Bland, the Cowboys appear to have been forced into a youth overhaul that will be relied upon to help Dallas progress.