BY MARK HALPERN
This Sunday at 4:25 p.m., the Dallas Cowboys will host the New England Patriots in Arlington, Texas. After last week’s debacle against the Cardinals, the Cowboys need the Defense to play like it did the first two weeks of the season. The Offense has to show what it’s capable of. On paper, this team is top five in the league, but we only count reality, and right now, they’re 2-1.
Dak Prescott has to take all his chances this weekend to show Dallas fans he can do it. Jerry wasn’t messing around and made a statement by trading for Trey Lance. Whether Dak will be in Dallas next year will be up to him. The interception in the fourth quarter last week was just an ill-timed pass, and that’s what many Dallas fans, analysts in the NFL, and many other people have come to associate Dak with other than being a decadent version of Tony Romo. This weekend, Dak needs to run a smooth, turnover-free game, and this is a little to ask, especially with this team. Dak needs to start finding Brandin Cooks (who was said to be the game changer), whom the Cowboys traded a 5th-round pick in 2024 and a 6th-round pick in 2025 this past offseason. Cooks was supposed to take much pressure off Cee Dee Lamb, but it has been different. The running game has been a huge bright spot for the Cowboys, with Pollard, Dowdle, and Vaughn have been a solid three-headed running game. This group is one of the most robust running games in the NFL. The offensive line last week was missing three who were deactivated, and Tyron Smith dressed but did not play either (excuses, excuses. We all make them for our team, so listen.) So, it was a rookie line, and you could see the sync wasn’t there at all. So that forced a lot of false starts and constantly made it more than 12 yards on second down. The Cowboys are expected to have most of their offensive starters active for this game, so we will see what Dak and Company have in store for us.
The Defense, what wrong can you say of this squad? Yes, they let the Cardinals tune them up, but was it because they were tired? The Dallas offense needed to be on the field longer and couldn’t make plays. To say the Defense underestimated this team is the proper term, and they didn’t take them seriously, and instead of being 3-0, they lie at 2-1. What can’t you say about Micah Parsons that hasn’t been said already? I love to watch his competitiveness and his energy in every play. However, by the middle of the third quarter, you could see that he was tired, but he still got a huge, crucial sack in the fourth when Dallas needed it the most. The secondary and linebacker core just seemed lost and tired. If they go like this into this game, Belichick will expose it. Also, defensive penalties were another thing that cost the Cowboys. You can’t give up over 120 yards in penalties and be expected to win.
Dallas needs the Defense to play at a high level, as there is nothing that the great Belichick has seen, and the Offense has to win this game by putting points on the board more than the Defense scoring themselves.
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