Dallas Cowboys: 3 players whose stock rose Week 1, and two who fell

Dallas Cowboys Stock Down: Anthony Brown

There is no nice way of saying it, Anthony Brown had an absolutely horrendous game for the Cowboys on Thursday night. I am not quite sure what the team was thinking when they stuck him on four-time All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown, but it went pretty much exactly how you’d expect.

Brown was burned time and time again as Tom Brady had a field day identifying number 30 and throwing the ball directly at him with little-to-no resistance.

I think Brown is a better corner than he showed on Thursday night, but I still don’t like him on the outside. With Jourdan Lewis manning the slot, second-round pick Kelvin Joseph on IR,  fellow rookie Nashon Wright still developing, and camp standout Maurice Canady seeing just two snaps Thursday, the Cowboys don’t have a ton of in-house options to replace him.

It goes without saying that Anthony Brown needs to improve in Week 2. He’s going to have a tough task as Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert will surely look to duplicate Brady’s success against him.

Dallas Cowboys Stock Down: Greg Zuerlein

There’s not really much to say here that hasn’t already been said. Sure, Zuerlein nailed a 48-yard kick with 1:24 remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Cowboys the lead, but he also missed three kicks (two field goals and one extra point) in a game the team lost by two points.

I don’t believe you can assign blame to a single person, but there’s no denying math. If Zuerlein makes one of those missed field goals, then it’s a different ball game and the Cowboys might have been able to walk out of Tampa Bay with a victory. The team has already put Zuerlein on notice, signing kicker Lirim Hajrullahu to their practice squad.