Brian Schottenheimer needed one game to prove he’s an upgrade over Mike McCarthy- Jerry Trotta, The Landry Hat
Brian Schottenheimer is already making the offense look more modern.
Micah Parsons was the two-ton elephant in the room going into Thursday night, but all eyes were glued to how Brian Schottenheimer would fare in his first game as an NFL head coach. While the Dallas Cowboys came up short in a 24-20 dogfight, it’s not to be very high on Schottenheimer.
For starters, Schottenheimer had his team ready to play. The Cowboys outmatched the Eagles’ physicality for large stretches after preaching all offseason that they would be a physical side. Beyond that, Dallas was extremely discipline. Their four penalties were the fewest they’ve had in a Week 1 game since 2015, per ESPN’s Todd Archer.
As if that wasn’t enough, Schottenheimer passed the play-calling test with flying colors after Cowboys fans had to endure Mike McCarthy’s bland and outdated offense the last five years.
Brian Schottenheimer is already a better play-caller than former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy
According to Next Gen Stats (via ESPN analyst Mina Kimes), the Cowboys used motion at the snap on 42 percent (!) of the plays against the Eagles. That would’ve ranked fourth in the NFL last season. Just three teams leaned on motion at the snap less than Dallas under McCarthy last season. Ladies and gentleman, the Cowboys finally have a modernized offense.
Kavontae Turpin in particular was used in motion on 53.8 percent of his snaps, including nine in motion at the snap, per Next Gen Stats. That nearly doubled his motion rate under McCarthy in 2024.
Turpin was only targeted twice and received two carries, but putting him in motion allowed Schottenheimer to pick up on how the Eagles were deploying Cooper Dejean and Vic Fangio’s other chess pieces.
The overall play-calling and scheme design was night and day compared to last season. While new offensive coordinator Klayton Adams and offensive line coach Conor Riley deserve some flowers as well, Schottenheimer deserves the most credit for standing on business.
Back in his introductory press conference, Schottenheimer vowed to make the offense “multiple” and said he was a big believer in shifts and motion. It’s one thing to say that publicly to sell a vision. It’s another to implement it and do it successfully against a really good defense.
Views from the couch: League-wide things to watch for Cowboys fans in Week 1-Sean Martin, Blogging the Boys
Even though Dallas isn’t playing today, pay attention to this during the Week 1 slate.
Early kickoff: New York Giants at Washington Commanders
This is an obvious place to start for so many reasons. By the end of week one, the entire NFC East will have seen how they fared against one of their closest rivals. The Cowboys came up four points short against the Eagles, and now the team the Eagles hosted in last year’s conference championship will start the season at home against the Giants.
Some Cowboys fans may be watching this game with more of an interest in what the Commanders will look like in year two under Dan Quinn and with Jayden Daniels at quarterback, as well as a player that’s been a thorn in their side in the past, Deebo Samuel. The road team is next week’s opponent coming to AT&T Stadium, and if the Cowboys are going to continue their dominance against the Giants, they’ll have to do it against a new quarterback.
Russell Wilson will be making his debut for the Giants in this early kickoff game. Wilson wasn’t exactly the answer for the Pittsburgh Steelers last year (who the Cowboys did not face when they beat the Steelers either), but he adds a level of viability at the most important position in the game the Giants haven’t had in some time. Mobility also isn’t his strong suit anymore, but given the Cowboys’ defensive struggles against Jalen Hurts scrambling in the opening loss, it will be something to keep an eye on just a little bit.
The Commanders swept the Giants last season with a 21-18 win in week two and 27-22 win on the road in week nine.
Early kickoff: Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints
We go from a former Cowboys player making his debut elsewhere, to a former coach making his debut as a head coach for the first time. Kellen Moore’s first game with the New Orleans Saints comes at home against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
The Saints are one of the teams projected to be in contention for the number one overall pick this year, and whether or not that’s fair to a coach who was just the Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator (in Philadelphia) will start to be found out in week one. The Cardinals lost five of their last seven games a season ago, so this might be an early opportunity for the Saints to get a win that would still come as a surprise. They are a 6.5-point underdog at home on FanDuel.
As offensive coordinator for the Eagles, Moore was able to lean into the run game thanks to Saquon Barkley in ways the Cowboys could only dream of during his time in Dallas. It will be interesting to see the next evolution of Moore’s offense with yet another roster where his best skill player is in the backfield with Alvin Kamara. The Saints also named the mobile Spencer Rattler their week one starter. Rattler started six games a season ago as a fifth-round pick. Former Cowboys receiver Brandin Cooks will be one of Rattler’s targets in this game.
The Saints are the reason this game is on the watch list, but the Cowboys also will see the Cardinals this year in week nine on Monday Night Football.
The Cowboys must end the Mazi Smith experiment-Mark Heaney, Inside the Star
Why it’s time to move on from Mazi Smith.
Before the mayhem of the Dallas Cowboys’ Week 1 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles kicked off, one of the biggest pre-game stories was defensive tackle Mazi Smith being a healthy scratch. The former Michigan Wolverine and first-round pick had struggled to show his value over his first two NFL seasons, and this preseason didn’t change that narrative. As others made a name for themselves in the preseason, Smith struggled badly and admitted that fact to the press. Now that the season is underway, and he is a healthy scratch, it’s time to end the experiment.
Interior D-Line Solved: Mazi Smith Has Lost His Spot, & Potential
The very second Jerry Jones sent Micah Parsons packing to Green Bay, Mazi Smith’s Cowboys career ended. Kenny Clark, the player Dallas got in return from the Packers, immediately stepped into the role that Smith never could. Between him, Osa Odighizuwa, Solomon Thomas, and rookie Jay Toia, the interior defensive line had been fixed. Smith’s chances to prove himself are all run out, so why keep him around?
Depth? Well, Dallas has solid depth there, especially with Perrion Winfrey. Hope for growth? I don’t buy that either; if they had Smith in their future plans, he’d be getting reps, not watching games in street clothes. What it comes down to is money and pride. If the Cowboys cut Smith right now, it comes with a hefty cap penalty, and it would also be admitting a mistake.
By the Numbers: Cowboys penalties, run D, Javonte Williams’ TD two-fer among telling stats-Todd Brock, Cowboys Wire
What the numbers say about Dallas’ lost versus the Eagles.
Football is a game of numbers, but a 24-20 final score doesn’t tell the entire story of Thursday night’s regular-season opener for the Cowboys. Nor does CeeDee Lamb’s career-worst four dropped passes. Not even the 0-1 start in Brian Schottenheimer’s inaugural year is the number that matters most, especially with 94% of the season still to play.
Dallas will be searching for things to build on, and a deeper dive into the box score provides plenty: both positives to reinforce as well as opportunities for growth. While the team can look to Dak Prescott’s mostly-clean uniform, Javonte Williams’s touchdown two-fer, and some uncharacteristic red-zone success as Week 1 bright spots, there’s still concern for the defense’s well-documented Achilles’ heel and some snap distribution disparities that could stand to be evened out.
Time of possession, penalty counts, and big-play prevention: they’re all stats that are trending in the right direction for the Cowboys, even if it’s been just one game.
Let’s take a look inside some of the other numbers that help put the first game of 2025 season into a different perspective.
0: Sacks taken by Dak Prescott
The Dallas offensive line, revamped in the offseason with rookie Tyler Booker taking over for retired perennial All-Pro Zack Martin, kept Prescott mostly clean. The final stat sheet shows zero sacks for the vaunted Eagles D-line and only one QB hit on the night.Looking for a free mini puzzle? Play the USA TODAY Quick Cross now.
But Prescott deserves a significant amount of the credit for that; he used his legs (and that rehabbed hamstring) to buy time in the pocket and get himself out of a lot of trouble. Philly logged 13 pressures, and while Prescott recorded just three yards on his lone rushing attempt, he completed 75% of his passes thrown while under enemy fire.
1: Plays of 20+ yards allowed
Last year, the Cowboys defense was gashed for 52 plays of more 20 yards over the course of the season, an average of three per game. Against the defending Super Bowl champs Thursday, though, they allowed just one.
Hard to fault new Cowboys cornerback Kaiir Elam for Jahan Dotson’s 51-yard pickup late in the second quarter; it came on a picture-perfect bucket drop where the former first-rounder was providing step-for-step coverage. Dallas was concerned about their CB corps coming in; they’ll only get better as Trevon Diggs ramps back up and reinforcements Caelen Carson, Josh Butler, and Shavon Revel Jr. arrive.
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