The Cowboys had plenty of unanswered questions before last Sunday and the blowout loss to Philadelphia added a few more.
It wasn’t surprising to see the Cowboys go down in Philadelphia last Sunday. But a 41-7 blowout, especially with Eagles QB Jalen Hurts sitting out, was quite stunning. Dallas’ ineptitude on both sides of the ball threw some gas on existing fires regarding the team’s future and opened up some questions about this weekend’s finale against Washington.
Which QB should start in Week 18?
There’s something about facing the Eagles that turns Cooper Rush from a feel-good story into a sorry sight to behold. Once Philly adjusted following some decent early drives, and even they included a terrible decision that led to a pick-six, Rush stopped looking even remotely capable as a passer. We finally got to see Trey Lance, albeit for just one paltry drive at the end.
This Sunday’s regular-season finale has Dallas hosting the playoff-bound Washington Commanders. Dan Quinn has already declared that his team will be playing to win, wanting to preserve the sixth seed in the tournament. So the question for the Cowboys is whether they will match that effort the best they can or use this last game to evaluate talent.
One could argue that starting Lance this week isn’t throwing in the towel. While Rush did beat Washington earlier this year, that was with CeeDee Lamb still in the offense. Now without any game-changers in the passing attack, one thing that could give Dallas an edge is Lance’s athleticism and the ability to punish the Commanders’ generally aggressive defense.
Given how they’ve handled him the last two years, it’s pretty clear at this point that the Cowboys don’t believe in Lance as an asset now or in the future. But given what Rush put on display last week, Lance probably has the best chance of playing this week that he’s ever had with Dallas.
How badly does Dallas need WR help in 2025?
Nobody expects another receiver in Dallas to be as good as CeeDee Lamb. Only a handful of guys in the entire NFL are. But it’s become painfully obvious these last two seasons that the WR depth chart is lacking and needs to be a priority for the team this offseason.
Granted, evaluating pass-catchers since Rush took over at QB hasn’t been easy. But even when Dak Prescott was playing we didn’t see much difference in production. He’s only shown sporadic chemistry with Brandin Cooks and none with Jalen Tolbert or any other options; nothing like we saw in the past with guys like Michael Gallup and Cedrick Wilson.
While being older doesn’t help, Cooks seems like a bad scheme fit above all else. His best assets are underutilized in Mike McCarthy’s scheme. He’s not a good complement to Lamb and definitely not capable of stepping up as a primary option in Lamb’s absence. He shouldn’t be back next year, and that’s not about his talent but this just not being the ideal offense for him.
Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin, Jalen Brooks, and others are all perfectly adequate to bring back next year for competition and depth. Maybe you count on one of those guys emerging as a solid WR3, but you can’t do that and not make a more serious investment in the number-two spot. Even when Lamb’s healthy he needs someone else to draw the defense’s attention, and it’s especially vital to still have an impact player if he misses time.
Should we be worried about Jake Ferguson?
Staying on the subject of underwhelming receiving options, 2024 hasn’t been the third-year explosion anyone expected from Dallas’ top tight end. But while Ferguson’s down season is the biggest disappointment of any WR or TE, his comes with the most reasonable excuses and room for hope going forward.
Ferguson left Dallas’ season opener against the Cleveland Browns with a knee injury and sat out a game before returning in Week 3. He also missed two games with a concussion in November. But despite still managing to play in 13 games his production is still well short of his 2023 numbers, including having not scored a single touchdown.
There are several mitigating factors to consider. For one, Ferguson’s often looked like a guy playing hurt. He hasn’t had the same explosiveness after the catch, which naturally means he’s also going to have a tougher time getting open. There’s also been the Cowboys’ offensive line issues, forcing Ferguson to hang back more to help in pass protection than getting out into patterns.
A lack of chemistry with Cooper Rush also appears to be an issue. When Ferguson was out with the concussion, Rush was doing a solid job of making Luke Schoonmaker and even Brevyn Spann-Ford look like they belong in the NFL. But when Ferguson returned, we didn’t see any real uptick from the TE position. If anything, Rush looks less comfortable getting the ball to the starter.
The good news is that Ferguson still has one year left on his rookie deal and Dallas doesn’t have to make any big decision on him this offseason. There’s certainly enough room for hope his getting healthier, and getting Dak Prescott back, will bring next season closer to his own standard.
