The Dallas Cowboys came into Week 2’s away matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers off a tough defeat to open the season in Week 1. While there are no excuses nor moral victories, just facts, they went toe to toe with the greatest to ever do it and the Super Bowl champions.
At the very least, it gave them something to build towards. On Sunday though, they weren’t those same, consistently, electric Cowboys on offense. They scored twice, on the ground, to open the game after looking electric early and taking the ball up the field with ease, but they wouldn’t be able to do that again for the rest of the game.
In fact, they wouldn’t even score again until the fourth quarter and that wasn’t all of their own accords, which is where the next part comes into play. It is a team game, so they should be able to lean on the other side a bit, but the offense wouldn’t have gotten that first field goal opportunity, perhaps and based on the rest of the game up until that point, without a big turnover play by the defense.
Even on the drive prior to the final Cowboys drive, the Chargers had a chance to score a touchdown, but the defense held. Yes, you could look to the breaks they received in the form of flags and the sack based on circumstances against Herbert, but they got those breaks because they were working so hard and being aggressive.
Dallas Cowboys: No One Great, But Everyone Made Plays When They Counted
They kept fighting and pursuing, figuratively throughout the game and literally on the pseudo sack, in just one specific example. They are the reason the Cowboys were able to win this game, as Dak Prescott and the offense weren’t able to quite take it with their own offensive explosiveness.
Again, they made the plays that needed to be made, such as the early scoring and the in-between stuff to set up the field goals, but that also applied for the other side of the ball as well. That’s the whole point of it all.
No one was great or stunning on Sunday, not one player and not one side of the ball. But, everyone made the necessary and big plays when they mattered the most, big enough to secure the victory.
Justin Herbert and that Chargers team aren’t terrible and they can definitely be explosive, especially with Herbert’s arm talent and their overall skill players, so this was a good win. The Cowboys can and need to be better moving forward though. They trudged to a victory here, but you have to take it and especially for your first of the year. There were a few individual notes of mention though.
Dallas Cowboys: There Are Some Thoughts That Deserve Attention Though…
With rookie, Micah Parsons, starting at defensive end, he played well and though his opposition wasn’t the strongest at all times, it worked out well here. It may be something seen moving forward and especially without DeMarcus Lawrence, so that was encouraging.
Also, on the final play and that whole sequence, don’t you have to call a timeout if you are Coach Mike McCarthy? You can’t worry about what the Chargers are going to do… or not, as you are in control and have to worry about winning the game, as opposed to not losing the game.
That’s how you, in fact, lose games. If the Cowboys lose here, that whole thing is magnified a ton and it’s still something to keep in mind regardless of how the game turned out, as he’s infamous for his handling of the clocks, timeouts, and end of game scenarios.
Luckily for him, it worked out this time. It’s definitely a situation worth continuing to monitor though, as he needs to be better there if the Cowboys want any shot at being serious moving forward. He isn’t the only coach that needs to tighten things up though.
Dallas Cowboys: They Got This One, But They Must Continue To Sharpen Up
Special teams has to be better. They just need to play better and they need to cut out the silly penalties. Further there, Greg Zuerlein is on his way to redeeming himself, and though only 2/2, that’s perfect. Plus he had the big one to win it as time expired and was coming off a back situation in the opener.
He still has to keep nailing field goals and extra points moving forward, to be clear. However, that’s a way to make sure people are capable of forgetting those early gaffes. The defense is a lot better at making plays on that side of the ball, but they give up a bit too much, at times, too. That’ll get better as the season progresses though with more gelling and comfort in the scheme, hopefully.
This was a good win because it was a win. They needed to get this one, as starting 0-2 doesn’t typically bode well for playoff hopes and yadda yadda yadda. It wasn’t anything magnificent, but it’ll do. The defense did their jobs for the most part and to be frank, Dak Prescott has to be better, he just has to.
When you are who he is, has reached the status he has and has requested to be treated that way in all forms, especially on the salary cap, you have to be better than good enough. The rest of his team helped him out a ton today though and again, as they should, that’s why though no one was great, everyone made the plays they needed to when they counted the most to get a good team win.