The Dallas Cowboys are preparing for another matchup against an NFC heavyweight, this time taking on the NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles. The Cowboys’ first measuring-stick game went about as poorly as possible when they got demolished by the San Francisco 49ers in early October.
That was Dallas’ fifth game of the season so there was plenty of football left to play. This week, the Cowboys are approaching the midway point of the season. Sunday will be their eighth game, with nine remaining, including another showdown with the Eagles.
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With the big game fast approaching, let’s examine how parts of the team are trending with a stock report.
Trending up
According to Pro Football Focus, Prescott has a 93.2 PFF Grade in his last two games, which is the highest among all quarterbacks. In the win over the Los Angeles Chargers before the bye week, Prescott finally displayed a threat with his legs, both in designed runs as well as scrambling behind the line of scrimmage after breaking the pocket. Prescott carried that over into the win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, too.
Coming into the season, there was a lot of chatter about Prescott’s need to cut down his interception total, and there was merit to that discussion. However, Prescott is at his best when he’s operating with confidence and that’s been the biggest difference in the two games since the 49ers debacle. Prescott’s feet get a lot of attention for their usage, or lack thereof, but it trickles into every part of his game.
Two games ago, Prescott opened eyes with his touchdown run on fourth down against the Chargers. On Sunday, he had one of his best passes of the season when he found Jake Ferguson for a touchdown on the opening drive of the game. He’s gotten CeeDee Lamb involved early and often and Brandin Cooks is starting to show up more as well. Others around Prescott have to do their job but when he’s doing his at a high level, it helps all of that come along.
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— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) October 29, 2023
Credit the Cowboys for their unwavering confidence in Aubrey. After the first week in pads at training camp in Oxnard, Calif., Aubrey and Tristan Vizcaino both had a rough showing. The Cowboys cut Vizcaino and went all in on Aubrey. The rookie kicker has gone 18 for 18 to start the season, including a career-long 58-yard field goal Sunday.
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One of Aubrey’s most important traits has been his poise. The rookie’s first NFL regular-season kick was a missed extra point. For a team — inside and outside — reeling from the Brett Maher playoff debacle last season, there was added pressure for Aubrey to right the ship. He did it instantly and hasn’t missed since, making field goals from a variety of distances, in good and bad weather and in some clutch situations as well.
“He’s been fantastic,” special teams coordinator John Fassel said. “He hits good balls almost every time, he’s got a really good operation with Bryan (Anger) and Trent (Sieg), snapping and holding. … His poise on the sideline and endurance during a game is really outstanding.”
The Cowboys entered the season thin at linebacker, especially so after losing DeMarvion Overshown in the preseason. That void took to a different level after Leighton Vander Esch went on IR with a neck injury suffered against the 49ers.
Bell has been one of the most important players in helping the Cowboys manage the movements at linebacker. He was a safety when training camp began in Oxnard and the Cowboys converted him to linebacker as camp came to a close and the regular season on the horizon. As he’s learned a new position, physically and mentally, defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has remained patient.
“A guy like him that has the traits, you just want to put him in a space where he can do that,” Quinn said.
Bell’s emergence as a productive linebacker has a domino effect — it allows the Cowboys to continue using Micah Parsons freely and not feel compelled to play Parsons off the ball more than they want because there’s a need in that spot. Bell is still learning and growing but what he’s shown is impressive.
There was already a lot of excitement in the building about Bland but the Cowboys didn’t know what his ceiling would be. It could have been just what he showed last season as a rookie and, for a fifth-round draft pick, that would have been great. Instead, Bland was thrust in a prime slot after the Cowboys lost Trevon Diggs for the season to a knee injury. Bland’s stock has soared more with each passing game.
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Bland leads the NFL in interceptions since he entered the league last year and had his third pick six — which also leads the NFL — of the season against the Rams. And while the pass coverage and interceptions will always get the shine for cornerbacks, Bland has also been great at the line of scrimmage, helping in the run defense on the edge and sniffing out screens, as he did on a crucial play in the red zone Sunday.
.@DaRon_Bland and pick-sixes just go together 🤧
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— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) October 29, 2023
Honorable mention: CeeDee Lamb, Jake Ferguson, Jalen Tolbert, every special teams unit
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Offensive line
As unfortunate as it is, Tyron Smith’s inconsistent presence on the field is one of the season’s most predictable things for the Cowboys. He’s still a solid player when he plays but he’s done everything from be active but not able to play, to be a sure absence all week to a late scratch after being expected to play.
The story of the Cowboys’ front five was that yes, depth is an issue, but as long as the preferred five are on the field, as infrequently as it may be, they will be fine. That hasn’t been the case even when all five of them have played together. The 49ers game was the first time and that did not go well. Against the Rams, albeit without Tyron Smith, Prescott was sacked on three of the first four plays (one of those was nullified by penalty).
There is individual talent at the top of the depth chart, almost across the board, but it hasn’t come together. Zack Martin and Tyler Smith have been decent but the rest of the operation has been too inconsistent.
Running game
A lot of the reasons for this trending down could be tied to the offensive line. However, there’s culpability elsewhere, too. Tony Pollard is a quality NFL running back but he hasn’t shown enough consistency to be the lead No. 1 that the Cowboys are featuring him as. Rico Dowdle is a good complementary piece but that label is part of the issue. Unless proven otherwise, the Cowboys appear to have a backfield full of complementary pieces.
Again, the O-line deserves a healthy share of the blame and coach Mike McCarthy could do more — using Prescott in a few more designed runs, using Lamb and other playmakers out of the backfield — to scheme up a better product in the run game. But the running backs are certainly part of it as well.
When somebody is a veteran receiver like Gallup is, more than a year removed from injury and with a sample of being able to produce in a talented wide receiver room, the expectations are higher. Gallup hasn’t lived up to them. Some things are matchup based and Gallup has had a couple of good games and encouraging moments throughout but it hasn’t been consistent.
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Against the Rams, Lamb was the top wideout with 51 snaps and Cooks was second with 38. Gallup was third at 32 but the gap between him and Jalen Tolbert, who took 27 snaps, is closing. Tolbert had eight snaps on third downs to Gallup’s five. If Gallup doesn’t start to pop off more, it may be in the Cowboys’ best interest to start giving a lot of his opportunities to Tolbert.
Defensive depth
Bland has been a pleasant surprise filling in for Diggs, but one reason why that’s been able to capture the headlines is because Jourdan Lewis has held his own in the No. 3 spot vacated by Bland. If there’s an injury to Stephon Gilmore, Bland or Lewis, the drop-off is much greater. The same logic can be applied to linebacker, where Bell has been great but that unit has exhausted all of the injury hits it can take.
Whereas the offense — offensive line notwithstanding — has the personnel and simply needs them to step up and play up to potential, the defense has most of its players playing to the level they need to be. There just isn’t a whole lot of cushion behind the players already in the mix. The Cowboys feel good about their system to be able to elevate the guys who get on the field. After not making any moves at the trade deadline, the Cowboys have to hope that formula keeps working.
Honorable mention: Mazi Smith, Deuce Vaughn
(Photo of Markquese Bell: Michael Owens / Getty Images)
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