The Cowboys OL depth is already being tested, as Brock Hoffman will have to replace Cooper Beebe for at least six weeks.
The good news for Dallas is Hoffman has 39 NFL games under his belt by now including nine starts in the last two years. He’s a solid backup and one of the best across the team’s offensive line. However, it’s a tough blow for the offense and one that throws a wrench into one of the best things we’ve seen from head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s offense: The run game.
Cooper Beebe is a crucial part of successful rushing offense
The Cowboys won on Sunday in large part thanks to Dak Prescott’s heroics throwing to CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, who combined for 180 receiving yards. But there’s no denying Dallas has a rushing offense it can count with. Javonte Williams has proven he can be a solid RB1, going for 97 rushing yards in 18 attempts.
But a lot of the team’s success has been the result of Schottenheimer’s and Klayton Adams’ scheme, which uses plenty of pre-snap motion and pulling blockers. Beebe is a crucial part of the latter, often making key blocks to spark explosive plays. We’ll see how Hoffman taking over affects the team’s approach. Not to mention, Beebe and the Cowboys guards—Tyler Smith and Tyler Booker—were perceived as the core that allowed the offense to be physical running the ball.
Beebe’s is the first major injury the Cowboys suffer this season and it will be one that tests a young coaching staff praised for what it’s done with the offensive line. For Hoffman, it’s time to step up.
Clowney on joining Cowboys, potential impact & 2025 plan – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com
The Cowboys know they need more pass rush from their defensive ends, and addressed the position by signing Jadeveon Clowney following Sunday’s win.
Currently spending his offseasons in Houston, and a free agent to this point in 2025, Clowney was careful in selecting his next team, especially coming off of two very productive seasons with the Carolina Panthers that proves he has plenty left in the tank — now seeking the ever-elusive Lombardi trophy at this point in his career.
Only one season removed from racking up 9.5 sacks in 2024 and, despite being asked to do more coverage in 2025 than he’s likely ever had to do, Clowney was still able to produce 5.5 sacks en route to leading the team in several critical categories, from sacks to pressures and more.
A huge part of the pitch to land Clowney came from not only Schottenheimer, but also, of course, defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, when a tidbit was dropped that made Clowney’s eyes light up like an LED billboard on I-635 East in the middle of the night.
His days of being asked to cover are mostly over, at least in Dallas they are.
“I go forward,” Clowney said. “Last year, I did a lot of dropping, and that’s not my strong suit — covering. I mean, of course not. When you’re big, you go forward. When I came here, [defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus] said, ‘You probably won’t drop [any].’
”I was like, “Oh, my God, I’m looking forward to that.’ I get to go forward a lot more than I did last year, so I’m looking forward to just rushing the passer.”.
That bodes well for his ability to harass opposing quarterbacks, Clowney going so far as to note he was forced to drop 10 pounds last season to be able to cover more effectively. He’s set to change course in that department though, stating he’s currently at 245 pounds but will add the 10 pounds back now that he’s in Dallas.
Clowney is a fan of his proposed role in Matt Eberflus’ defense, and expects to get out there right away in week three at the Bears.
The Cowboys officially signed Jadeveon Clowney and the veteran edge rusher doesn’t feel like he needs much time to get ready to start contributing to their defense.
Clowney has not practiced with the Cowboys at this point, but noted that he signed with the Titans in September 2020 and played in their season opener later that week.
“I do expect to play, but I don’t know the snap count,” Clowney said, via Clarence Hill of All City DLLS. “That’s up to the coaches. I walked into Tennessee in Week 1 and played 40 snaps in [Denver]. It’s nothing new to me. It’s football. Just go out there, be physical and play your game.”
’Make another play’: George Pickens, Cowboys’ newest ‘demon’, spurs team to resilient win – Todd Brock, The Cowboys Wire
A change of scenery has served George Pickens well, catching his first touchdown for the Cowboys against the Giants.
“You’re starting to understand how much of a demon he really is,” teammate CeeDee Lamb said of the fourth-year wide receiver who came to Dallas in an early-May trade.
By itself, the former Steeler’s stat line may be misleading. He caught just five balls on nine targets on the day. But his 13.6-yards-per-reception average was huge, and his first touchdown as a Cowboy couldn’t have come at a bigger moment, putting the team on top with under a minute to go in regulation for what many figured would go in the books as the winning grab.
“I wanted to get the touchdown,” Pickens said later. “I wanted to get in that box, but like I said, it’s definitely for the team, because I know what type of guys these are. So with special plays like today, you can win a lot of games.“Looking for a free mini puzzle? Play the USA TODAY Quick Cross now.
But as we all saw, both the Cowboys and Giants still had extra tricks and treats in store. It took a few more special plays- and an entire overtime period-for Dallas to actually notch the win on Sunday.
And as the demon, Pickens brought plenty of fire in the extra frame. On the offense’s second possession of overtime, a 19-yard gain would have put Dallas on the doorstep of Brandon Aubrey’s range, but it was negated by a very questionable offensive pass interference call.
How Javonte Williams is bringing stability to the Cowboys rushing attack – Dan Rogers, Blogging The Boys
Javonte Williams’ 30-yard touchdown run vs. the Giants was the longest for the Cowboys since Tony Pollard in 2022.
Another thing that has given the Cowboys new life is the presence of a rushing attack. New head coach Brian Schottenheimer vowed to fix the running game with a combination of increasing the strength of their offensive line, developing better run schemes, and executing with more powerful runs. They brought over former Arizona Cardinals offensive line coach Klayton Adams to help, and so far, they are doing what they said they were going to do.
Last year, the Cowboys finished third-worst in rushing yards per attempt at measly 4.0 ypa efficiency, but so far after just two games, they are rushing at 5.1 ypa, the sixth-best in the league. There are a lot of factors that contribute to this improved rushing attack, but one big one is free agent running back Javonte Williams. The 25-year-old running back is off to a great start with his new team. Through two games, he has 151 yards on 33 carries, averaging 75 yards a game and 4.6 yards per attempt. It’s a small sampling, but this is a 70% increase over his time in Denver. He also has an impressive 60% rushing success rate, third best in the league, and only he and Christian McCaffrey have double-digit first downs this season. He has the second-highest EPA, trailing only Kenneth Walker. Again, it’s only been two weeks, but he’s near the top of several rushing metrics this season.
Williams also adds 20 yards a game as a receiver, which is right on par with what he’s done almost every year during his time in Denver. He’s proven himself to be a complete player out of the Cowboys’ backfield so far this season as he handles the lion’s share of the work.
He looks to be the perfect fit for this offense. He does a great job being patient and allowing his blocks to happen so he can find the running lanes. It’s not super athletic, but he shows enough wiggle to finesse through the creases and then powers through with those big legs. Once he gets going, he’s hard to bring down, as no player forced more missed tackles in Week 2 than Williams. It’s not sexy, but his football intelligence, physicality, and relentlessness have added some stability in the Cowboys’ rushing attack.
He has completely changed the Cowboys’ short-yardage outlook as he has a nose for the endzone. He already has three rushing touchdowns this year, which is one more than Rico Dowdle had in 16 games last year for the Cowboys. Williams also had a 30-yard touchdown scamper on Sunday, which is already longer than any rush Dowdle had last season.
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