It really is unfortunate. Life in the NFL is so dependent on having elite quarterback play and if you can find it you better cherish it. Ideally you have an offensive play-caller who is capable of devising creative ways to utilize the player in question, and if you are even more fortunate you have high-level pass-catchers who can take care of business once the ball leaves his hands.
The Dallas Cowboys have these foundational things, and had them in their most nirvana-like state on Sunday night. They do not have a win to show for it, they don’t have a loss either, which is incredibly frustrating.
Sunday night was incredible theater and that was just the way NBC wanted it, with this being Micah Parsons’ return alongside the Green Bay Packers who were visiting the building for the first time since destroying the Cowboys in the 2023 Wild Card Round. In many ways a tie was a fitting end to a saga that sucked up every bit of oxygen for the last two months.
Here is our Stock Report from all of the action.
Stock Up: Dak Prescott
It is Shakespearean how Dak Prescott is living out Tony Romo’s career in every possible way.
Those who have been around long enough will recall that Romo played so admirably through the early years of the Jason Garrett era and that he was constantly let down by porous defenses (2012 and 2013 are what we are specifically referencing here). His play endeared Romo so much to Cowboys fans to the point that Prescott taking over the job became one of the more divisive subjects in franchise history.
I simply do not know what else Dak Prescott has to do to help this team. He is playing outstanding football this season and his team’s record is limiting the presentation of that. If there are any demerits against him from Sunday night I suppose that he scored too quickly near the end of regulation. What a silly thing for him to do!
Stock Up: George Pickens
The score in question belonged to George Pickens and it was his second of the night. My goodness, what a star.
It is beyond impressive that the Cowboys were down CeeDee Lamb and that the entire world knew that George Pickens was going to have to be the team’s offense… and that he successfully was. George reeled in 8 of his 11 targets for 134 yards and the two scores and was the highest point of clutch/stability that the team had.
Prior to the game there was an obvious note that there would have to be several this is why you trade for George Pickens moments if the Cowboys were going to succeed. It sure would be nice if a long-term deal were already in place here.
Stock Up: Jake Ferguson
Jake Ferguson caught a touchdown! It happened!
It was awesome to see Fergy break his drought, one that began with the Packers of all teams, and to be so reliable. He caught all seven of his targets and proved for the second week in a row that he is a very trustworthy safety blanket for Dak Prescott. We are only four games in, but it is more than fair to say that he is proving the team correct for giving him a long-term extension back during training camp.
You need your tight end to be clutch and dependable. That is exactly who he is proving to be.
Stock Up: Javonte Williams
It feels like we have already apologized to the front office for doubting things here and that should stand on its own. But Javonte Williams is playing so well that we might have to apologize again.
Consider that Javonte carried the ball over 20 times and still averaged over four yards per carry. The offense is humming along and a big reason for that is the run game is consistent. You can make an argument that this is the most fluid things have been on the ground for the Cowboys since 2019ish. It has been some time.
Good for Javonte Williams. Good for the Cowboys. Great job front office.
Stock Up: Nate Thomas, T.J. Bass, and Brock Hoffman
We could have given Klayton Adams the stock up here, but the players deserve some love. Take a bow, gentlemen.
Our greatest fear over the last week was that the Cowboys were going to have to play a game without both Cooper Beebe and Tyler Booker. When Tyler Guyton needed help it exacerbated the issue. Never fear. Nate Thomas, T.J. Bass, and Brock Hoffman are here!
Having your reserve linemen (three of them!) step in and shine against a stout pass rush group is highly impressive stuff. When you add the narrative of it being Micah Night it only adds to the impressiveness.
Stock Up: Ryan Flournoy and Jalen Tolbert
On the subject of role players stepping up, welcome to the Dallas Cowboys, Ryan Flournoy!
Obviously Flournoy has been around for a minute, but Sunday night was his coming out party. Brian Schottenheimer utilized him in a number of ways, including a creative play out of the backfield which is why it is totally fine to do that, and the offense benefited from it greatly as a result.
It goes without saying that Jalen Tolbert has more time served than Flournoy, but he deserves some kudos for delivering when the moment mattered most. That sideline catch was unreal.
Stock Up: Brian Schottenheimer
Matters with the Cowboys are frustrating on some levels right now, but if there is any reason for optimism moving forward it is because they have the quarterback and this man. Brian Schottenheimer is for real.
We have seen Schotty call some impressive offensive outings through just four games and Sunday may have been his finest. He balanced the run game with attacking through the air very well and was appropriately aggressive when moments called for it.
Stepping back from play-calling and into the head coaching realm, he also benched Trevon Diggs prior to the start of the game. Diggs noted after the game was over that he was not held out for any sort of health reasons which means that Schotty made the move for performance reasons. No one is celebrating the demotion, but it feels significant to see that the Cowboys head coach (given the restrictions that come with the job) has the leeway to bench a player making serious money for the team.
Stock Down: Jack Sanborn
I really don’t know what to say. It was bad. Oftentimes young players will say that the NFL game “slowed down for them” when they begin having success. This is the opposite of that. The game appears far too quick and fast for Jack Sanborn at this point.
When the Cowboys hired Matt Eberflus we noted that the team always had reliable linebacker play when he was coaching that group during his first stint with the team. This is also the opposite of that. This is among the worst linebacker play the Cowboys have had in some time. The middle of the defense is completely vulnerable and Jack Sanborn, who Flus brought with him from Chicago, is arguably the biggest culprit in that regard.
Stock Down: Kaiir Elam
The Cowboys love their former first-round picks and have discovered some solid players by sifting through that bin. As has been said we are only four games in, but this does not appear to be one of those instances. Kaiir Elam is quite the liability.
It is a really tough situation at cornerback overall right now. Elam “won” this honor today, but Trevon Diggs is playing poorly as noted. DaRon Bland did not exactly have a great game. The Cowboys do not have a reliable cornerback on their team at present time.
Stock Down: Matt Eberflus
However this season ends for him, it is important to contextualize the situation for Matt Eberflus. He lost the best player in his room a week before the season began because of the trade. There are all sorts of injuries. These aren’t meant to be excuses. These are simply objective facts that are relevant for discussion.
Also objectively factual is the reality that the Cowboys defense is among the worst that we have ever seen. Literally. The talent is questionable, sure, but the NBC broadcast spent five whole minutes talking about the cons to Eberflus playing so much zone coverage. At a certain point coaches have to adjust.
We are not seeing this from Eberflus. His highest point of success through four games has been slowing the Philadelphia Eagles offense down in Week 1 and we have enough data now to say that this was probably more of a result of the lightning delay in that contest than the Cowboys defense showing teeth.
I don’t know how much further this stock can go.
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