Life is often plagued by mysterious questions. If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Similarly, if a football game ends in a tie, but the Cowboys looked good during it, is it really a reason for optimism?
That’s exactly the question that our own Tom Ryle and David Howman are attempting to dissect right now. Dallas showed some good things in Sunday night’s tie with the Packers, but does it mean anything?
Tom: I have tried to be realistic about the Cowboys this season, especially after the extremely narrow win over the Giants and the embarrassing loss to the Bears. But it is hard to not see some bright spots in the Packers game.
Yes, there were some real issues, mostly in the repeated inability to keep Green Bay from hanging 40 on the scoreboard and salvaging a tie. But another way to look at things is that they were sooooo close.
On the final drive of overtime, the defense stiffened at just the right moment in denying the winning touchdown. And had they batted that final pass back into the end zone, the questionable clock management by the Pack would have seen time expire before they could kick the field goal.
Look, if Matt Eberflus can just figure out a way to cobble together a pass rush, the defense can manage to slow opponents down just enough. Because this year’s offense is cooking.
David: Cooking may be an understatement, Tom.
Raise your hand if you had this offense hanging 40 on Micah Parsons and the Packers defense without CeeDee Lamb? Okay, now put your hands back down and be honest.
Brian Schottenheimer called an absolute masterclass of a game offensively, and Dak Prescott was on one from the very start. Javonte Williams continues to prove the doubters wrong, too. The offense wasn’t perfect, but they came pretty darn close to it. The play-calling was superb, and the players made plays drive after drive.
Doing that in a vacuum is impressive. Doing it without Lamb, and with two backups on the offensive line, against one of the league’s best defenses? That’s downright special. Which brings me back to the point I was making last week: this team is a playoff contender so long as Prescott is on that field.
Tom: While we are talking about the makeshift offensive line, did you notice that Parsons had very little impact until he snuffed out what would have likely been the winning touchdown in overtime? I’ll just leave that for people to consider.
Clearly, in a next up league as injuries take their inevitable toll, the next guys up were ready. George Pickens had his second best day catching the ball, the rest of the receiving corps all pitched in, and as you mentioned, Dak had a nearly perfect game. We didn’t see as much from the running game, but given the situation, that is understandable. They had to march down the field and score to catch up, then keep up.
Don’t forget the special teams, which came up with a truly special play on the blocked PAT. That turned into a three point swing that was crucial in this not turning into a defeat.
And I can’t remember when the sports pundits talked about how a tie game was one of the best of the entire weekend. It’s shaping up to be a bit of a crazy season, and despite their 1-2-1 record, Dallas is not out of it yet. That itself sounds kind of nuts, but with a very winnable couple of games coming up, they have a real chance to get back in the thick of things.
David: And as you alluded to, the defense maybe showed some promise too. To be clear, I’m not ready to start appreciating Matt Eberflus, but there weren’t nearly as many coverage busts and – hey! – we even saw a takeaway! I forgot that was allowed.
The offense is playing at such a high level, and clicking on all cylinders, that it would really only take some baseline competent defensive play to start stacking up wins. Consider the fact that there are only seven teams in the NFC right now with a winning record, and two of them have already faced Dallas.
Of course, one of those teams is the Eagles, and we felt similarly positive about the Cowboys after that season opener before being brutally brought back down to earth.
Tom: And there, as someone once said, is the rub. They should have beaten Chicago, but didn’t even come close. If they lay another egg against the Jets or Panthers, or both, then this could easily spiral out of control. They haven’t proven anything yet. But going into the Packers game, there seemed to be little to no hope at all for avoiding a wasted season.
Now we can have at least a measure of hope. All we can do now is wait to see if they are dashed.
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