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By Jon Machota 2h ago
FRISCO, Texas — Even the harshest of critics would have to acknowledge that the Cowboys are off to an impressive start.
With four games completed in what would typically represent the first quarter of an NFL season, Dallas sits at 3-1 and atop the NFC East standings. The Cowboys’ only loss came on opening night to the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers on a game-winning field goal in the final seconds. Three wins have followed over the Chargers, Eagles and Panthers, who have a combined record of 7-2 in their games not against the Cowboys.
The most impressive aspect might just be that Dallas hasn’t exactly been at full strength, either. In Sunday’s 36-28 win over Carolina at AT&T Stadium, the Cowboys were without the following starters: RT La’el Collins (suspended), WR Michael Gallup (calf), DE DeMarcus Lawrence (foot), DT Neville Gallimore (elbow), LB Keanu Neal (Reserve/COVID-19) and S Donovan Wilson (groin).
The two positives from those absences are that none are out for the season and several players have stepped up to not only keep the ship afloat, but gain valuable experience that should only benefit the depth of the roster.
Following Sunday’s game, wide receiver Amari Cooper compared that depth to what Nick Saban has built at Alabama. Cooper, who won a national championship with the Crimson Tide in 2012, said through his athletic career, the depth is what has separated the best teams.
“That’s really one of the biggest things I see here,” Cooper said. “The coaches, (the front office), they’ve done a great job at bringing players in who make plays. It’s like we didn’t make a lot of mistakes with the players we picked to play on this team.”
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn spoke Monday about how the defense has already played 30 players in the first four games: 13 defensive linemen, 11 defensive backs and six linebackers.
“That’s significantly high, if you think about it,” McCarthy said. “That’s usually in the teens in my experience over a four-game period. That excites us because we feel like that will really help us moving forward and then when the other guys do come back, the competition’s still there.”
Quinn added that he is “absolutely thrilled” that there is more to come, mentioning Gallimore, defensive tackle Trysten Hill (knee) and rookie cornerback Kelvin Joseph (groin).
“They’re starting to become connected, an extension of one another doing their job so the next guy can do his,” Quinn said. “We’ve got plenty of stuff to work on, don’t get me wrong. I’m completely pissed about the red zone. Still too many big plays for my liking, but I like the energy, the attitude and the style the group is playing with.”
The top two seasons the Cowboys have had over the past decade began with a loss in the season opener and then a 3-1 start. The Cowboys lost the 2014 season opener to the 49ers and won their next six, finishing 12-4. The Cowboys lost the 2016 season opener to the Giants and won their next 11, finishing 13-3. Both of those Dallas teams lost in the divisional round of the playoffs to McCarthy-coached Packers’ teams.
This season has a similar feeling to this point.
“Everybody on the team is genuinely getting really close to each other,” Cooper said. “It’s a great culture. We’re building a great culture. I can’t even really explain it. But it feels like something special is going to happen.”
One example McCarthy shared was about how he asked the players to show up earlier than usual to the stadium before the noon kickoff on Sunday. When McCarthy arrived at AT&T Stadium, the locker room was full.
“If you ever see us on a road game and go down to a meal at night, the (team) snack, you’ll see 20 guys down there,” McCarthy said. “The camaraderie in this particular locker room is high. That’s important. All those things factor into it.
“The way we communicate, the direct honesty the coaching staff has to bring to the table is important, but just like anything when you win, that’s the ultimate. That’s what really adds to it.”
Postgame Jerry Jones. It’s been a while since the Cowboys owner and general manager met with a group of reporters after a game. Jones has been known to hold court for sometimes as long as the locker room is open to the media after a game, roughly 30 minutes. But that didn’t happen last year. The pandemic prevented reporters from attending postgame interviews in person. Jones was stopped for about five minutes by a small group following Sunday’s win.
And somewhat surprisingly, he was more reserved than expected following his team’s third consecutive win.
How good can this Cowboys team be?
“All the respect in the world for (the Panthers),” Jones responded. “They are, I mean, a solid team. They got the quarterback (Sam Darnold) playing well. That was a very meaningful win. Probably a little early to take some of your key guys out there near the end, but I understand some of them were limited a little and have reasons for being out. But, boy, you just couldn’t cut their head off. They just kept coming.”
A few minutes later: Are the Cowboys a team the rest of NFC has to watch out for?
“Oh, I don’t know,” Jones said. “This is one by one here. At some point, even though we got up on them pretty good with no timeouts, you see that’s the NFL. But I was really proud of our guys. They kept their cool and played.”
Dak for MVP? Through four games, Dak Prescott hasn’t thrown for the most passing yards or the most touchdowns. Three quarterbacks have a better passer rating. But he has certainly played like one of the league’s most valuable players. He’s averaging 267 passing yards per game to go along with 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions with a completion percentage of 75.2 and a passer rating of 116.9. Prescott threw four touchdown passes Sunday. He’s now alone in second place in franchise history in games of three or more TD passes. Tony Romo has the all-time franchise lead with 40, followed by Prescott with 21 and Danny White with 20.
The other players in MVP consideration through four games: Kyler Murray, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady.
Is Prescott exceeding Jones’ expectations?
“Yes,” Jones said. “Yes, he has. I don’t know why I might be surprised. He just always seems to get better every time he goes out there. It sure felt good to have him out there (Sunday) as a veteran, yet when you really look at his time in the league, he’s a young quarterback as quarterbacks go. That really gives me excitement for the future.”
Injury updates. Cornerback Trevon Diggs didn’t play in the fourth quarter because of back tightness, but it’s not expected to keep him from practicing this week or playing Sunday against the New York Giants. “Yeah, I think he’s going to be fine,” McCarthy said.
Cooper doesn’t expect his hamstring injury to prevent him from playing Sunday. “I think it’s going to be good,” he said. “I just tweaked it. It’s just part of the game. I’m going to rehab it and get some treatment on it. As long as I can run, I’ll be good.”
Defensive end Bradlee Anae and Neal are expected to return this week after missing the past two games while being on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. No players have been added to the list. Veteran swing tackle Ty Nsekhe (illness) is also expected to return this week. Defensive tackle Carlos Watkins (knee) has a chance to play Sunday, but defensive end Dorance Armstrong (ankle) is still probably another week away from returning.
More cowbell. What did Quinn say to Diggs when he saw him after his two-interception game on Sunday?
“The first thing I say is keep pedaling downhill, man,” Quinn recalled. “Keep attacking. After that, like all things, that’s what today is about, getting to the truth of the performance, things we did well, things we need to work on. That’s always the case (the day after a game). But he’s really just in a, I just want him to stay in this pocket of where he’s at.
“He’s present. He stays focused and he doesn’t look past anything other than nailing that day and that week. I’ve been impressed by that so far. But for him, just keep pedaling hard downhill, man. More cowbell.”
Diggs leads the NFL with five interceptions and eight passes defended. Twenty-six NFL teams haven’t intercepted five passes in their first four games. Quinn was asked if Diggs reminds him of any other player. Quinn has said before that he’s not a fan of comparing players, so the expectation was that he wasn’t going to provide a name. And he didn’t. But he did include this clue.
“Certainly I have had players in the past who have had that kind of length and ball skills,” Quinn said, before adding that the player he was thinking of “just came back in the league.”
Five-time All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, who Quinn coached with the Seahawks, signed a one-year deal with the Buccaneers last week.
Ezekiel Elliott ran for 143 yards against Carolina. (Tim Heitman / USA Today)
Plenty of room to improve. Following one of the best rushing performances of his career, Ezekiel Elliott wasn’t pleased with how the Cowboys finished Sunday’s game. Dallas was up 33-14 entering the fourth quarter. They were outscored 14-0 in the final nine minutes.
“We came out and we played really well the first month of the season,” Elliott said after rushing for 143 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. “But the biggest thing I want to see is us play a complete game. I think we’re good enough where, we shouldn’t, but we get up and I think we kind of let our foot off the gas pedal. I think our next step as a football team is going out there and choking a team out.
“I think last week and this week we had opportunities to end the game early, but we kind of let them hang around. I understand this is the NFL, but I want to see us as a team take that next step.”
Dak’s reaction. Fans in the AT&T Stadium Miller Lite Club, which is located at field level behind the Cowboys’ bench, can watch the postgame press conferences of McCarthy and Prescott on the other side of a glass wall. There’s usually some cheering, but nothing like after Sunday’s game.
Fans shouted and banged on the glass throughout Prescott’s postgame press conference, causing the Cowboys QB to laugh and encourage them on multiple occasions by waving his arms for them to get louder.
“For it to be a noon game, they’re ready to go,” Prescott said.
He was then asked by a reporter if he could calm the crowd down.
“I don’t want to calm them down,” a laughing Prescott responded. “I like it. We missed this last year. What are you talking about? I have to call the snap in this, y’all can ask questions in this.”
