Dallas Cowboys: 3 keys to beating the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2
The Dallas Cowboys will look to get back on track in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers. In their season opener, they came up just short, losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 31-29. Even with the loss, the Cowboys played one of their best games.
As a result, there were many key takeaways from that game including quarterback Dak Prescott’s performance. Prescott didn’t look one bit rusty in his first game back since October 2020. The former Mississippi State product threw for 403 yards, three touchdowns and led the Cowboys down the field late in the fourth quarter to take the lead.
It was encouraging to see Dallas play with one of the best teams in the league. They moved the ball quite easily on offense and this defense created four turnovers including a big forced fumble by safety Damontae Kazee.
Even though the Cowboys played solid in their first game, it wasn’t enough to take down the defending Super Bowl champions. They now draw another tough matchup against a new and improved Chargers team.
A loss here could dig the Cowboys into a deep hole. Last season, of the 11 teams that started 0-2, none of them made the postseason. This is an extremely important game, one that Dallas has to win, so here’s how they do it.
Dallas Cowboys: 3. Protect Dak Prescott
The Cowboys have to protect Dak Prescott every single game including this one. Last week, this offensive line only allowed one sack to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which was a major accomplishment for this group. Remember, this team was also without arguably their best lineman, Zack Martin, who was on the COVID reserve list.
Last season, this Buccaneers defense ranked as one of the best at getting to the quarterback. They averaged 3.0 sacks per game and 48 total sacks, which was the fourth-best in the league. Additionally, Tampa Bay has the same starters on defense from a season ago.
The Cowboys did all they could to protect their franchise quarterback. However, they have to do it once again without one of their top linemen, tackle La’el Collins. Collins was suspended five games by the NFL for violating the substance abuse policy.
Dallas’ main priority this week will be to block defensive end Joey Bosa. Bosa is one of the games best when healthy, so the Cowboys will have their hands full for this contest. The former Ohio State star was the only Chargers player to record a sack in Week 1.
At the end of the day, the Cowboys probably have to let Prescott be as comfortable as he can be in the pocket especially after his gruesome injury. If they can protect him and allow Bosa nowhere near him, they can be in good shape for this game.