current record 0-1
By Mark A Halpern
Last week we saw the Cowboys take on the defending Champs and lose not by a landslide but by 2 points. The Cowboy’s offense played very well together, even though the running game was nonexistent. The offense moved the ball well and only committed one turnover, which was on a tipped pass. The defense is another story altogether. They looked like the same defense from last year, giving up tons of passing yards. The bright sides were that they were able to control the run and forced three turnovers. Now, this week’s challenge comes in the form of the Chargers, which anyone will tell you won’t be an easy win unless their defense shows up.
Going into this week, the Cowboys have lost three main starters for this week’s game. La’el Collins, who is a strong point on the offensive line, will miss the next 5 games due to failing the abusive substance law with the NFL. While it was never said that he was using the product, he is being punished for missing the testing process. Michael Gallup, one of the fastest Wide Receivers on the team, will miss the next three weeks with a calf strain. The Cowboys put him on the 3-week IR for now. The offense needs him but, Cedric Wilson and Noah Brown will fill in for him and are capable receivers. For now, look for Cee Dee Lamb and Blake Jarwin’s targets to go up over the next few weeks. Demarcus “Tank” Lawrence broke his foot this past Wednesday, and is his timetable is unclear now. This is a massive loss to a defensive line that is trying to rebuild itself. Mailk Hooker on the other hand is ready to make his Cowboy’s debut and is set to be a real “Ball Hawk.”
Like every team in the NFL, covid testing is a priority. Randy Gregory had tested positive but is awaiting his second test result to see if it was a false positive so he can join the Cowboys to play against the Chargers. This is just a big blow to the offense and defense with the various injuries. The Chargers are an explosive passing team and have competent runners. I can see the Chargers exploiting this weakness and run the ball more, unlike they did against Washington, and even if you stop the run, they have dynamic receivers.
For the Cowboys to win this week, one thing has to emerge from the smoldering ashes from last week: the running game. Zeke rushed the ball 11 times for 33 yards last week. He must have at least 15-20 carries and Pollard to have at least nine for this offense to work. Play-action is an essential part of this offense, and if they don’t get the run game going, the Chargers will not fall for it. Dak Prescott must be the same quarterback as he was last week and spread the ball around. Cooper and Lamb will be the featured receivers, and it is possible for both to have 100-yard games and at least 1 touchdown each. I expect Zeke to have 80-120 yards on the ground, a few receptions, and a total of 2 touchdowns.
This Cowboys offense can outperform anyone they face, but the defense will have to stop one of the top 10 quarterbacks in the league, Justin Herbert. Herbert showed off his talents against a stingy Washington defense, and if the secondary plays like it did last week, the game will be a hard fight and might force Dak into throwing 50 passes again. The Cowboys also signed a placekicker to the practice squad, putting Greg Zuerlein on notice that he will be benched if he keeps missing kicks. I see him having a much better game this week.
I look for a more balanced attack this week, and controlling the ball and the time of the game will be much better. The prediction of the week is the Cowboys 24 to 17 over the chargers.
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