Nobody can blame you for seeing red after the Dallas Cowboys gifted a victory to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. While Dallas committed more blunders than their opposition, they had a lead in the fourth quarter and later had a 1st-and-goal from the two-yard line with a chance to win the game.
You don't have to squint to envision the Cowboys with a 2-1 record and the talk of the NFL after defeating one of football's better teams. Instead, the "same old Cowboys" narratives have returned, and Brian Schottenheimer is getting crucified for his late-game decision-making.
The criticism and negativity are justified, but if you were to zoom out, it's not like the loss didn't offer any reasons for optimism.
Dallas just went toe-to-toe with an elite team, overcame a two-score deficit in the second half, and was in a position to win despite several self-inflicted wounds. There's a lot to feel good about with the Cowboys, who are entering a very winnable stretch of games.
Biggest positives from Cowboys' last-second loss to the Ravens
1. Jaishawn Barham, LB
Some guys just pass the eye test. And while it's hard to miss the 6-foot-2, 240-pound linebacker on the gridiron, what makes him stand out goes far beyond his intimidating frame.
Week 3 was another positive showing from Barham, who stonewalled Derrick Henry twice in massive moments in the fourth quarter.
The first came on 4th-and-goal with the Ravens looking to add to their 24-21 lead. Barham shot through the gap and hit Henry behind the line of scrimmage. Donovan Ezeiruaku wasn't far behind to complete the stop. The Cowboys responded with a 96-yard touchdown drive to reclaim the lead.
The second came on 3rd-and-1 with eight minutes left and Dallas leading 28-24. Barham blew up Henry's lead blocker and took on both players three yards behind the line of scrimmage. He looked like a superhero the way he was fighting off the block and simultaneously tackling Henry.
According to Next Gen Stats (h/t Joseph Hoyt, Dallas Morning News), the defense allowed 2.4 fewer yards per play and an 8.3 percent lower success rate with Barham off the field. He was second on the team with five defensive stops and finished with seven tackles.
Barham is learning on the job, but he has the makings of the next great Cowboys linebacker. Yeah, we said it.
2. The run game finally showed some juice
Brian Schottenheimer abandoned it right when he shouldn't have, but that takes nothing away from a needed bounce back from the rushing attack.
Javonte Williams carried 19 times for 98 yards and a touchdown, good for 5.2 yards a pop against a stingy Ravens defense. He finally recorded his first explosive run of the season (10-plus yards) and finished with three of them on the day.
It was the first time all season that Dallas engineered some movement at the point of attack. The run-blocking was finally in sync, but don't let that distract you from the fact that Tyler Guyton and Co. bullied a talented Ravens defensive front for long stretches.
We saw Klayton Adams' flumptuous scheme come to life. Reaches from T.J. Bass and Terence Steele. Combo blocks. Successful outside zones. The run game finally resembled last season's unit, ranking 12th in both rushing EPA and rushing success rate, per RBSDM. You'll take that all day without Tyler Smith.
3. Tyler Guyton continues his ascension at left tackle
You really haven't heard a peep from the left side of the line over the first three games. Much like not hearing a lot from a cornerback, that's a good thing.
Guyton wasn't perfect on Sunday, but he also held his own. He allowed four pressures across 44 pass-blocking snaps, all of which came against Trey Hendrickson, one of the NFL's most prolific pass rushers over the last four seasons. More importantly, Guyton didn't allow a sack and kept a clean sheet on his other 22 pass-blocking reps.
In three games, the former first-round pick has yet to allow a sack or be flagged for a penalty, and his 75.6 PFF grade is 13th among offensive tackles. He's quietly developing into a good left tackle. It'd be a monster development for this team if he keeps it up.
So far, really, really good, though.
4. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are in a groove
Lamb has been elite from Week 1. That continued against Baltimore, as Lamb hauled in seven of eight targets for 112 yards, including a long of 49 on Dallas' 96-yard drive to regain the lead early in the fourth quarter.
For the third straight week, Lamb was uncoverable. No receiver has a higher passer rating when targeted than Lamb's 157.8, per Pro Football Focus. He's also third with 3.22 yards per route and sixth with 89 yards after the catch. Dak Prescott would be smart to keep feeding him in high-leverage situations.
Pickens hasn't had many "Oh sh**" moments thus far, but he was nails again on Sunday, catching seven of 11 targets for 88 yards, coming through time and time again as the Cowboys mounted their second-half comeback.
Lamb has been Prescott's go-to target, but Pickens has quietly been money in key situations. Ten of his 16 catches have moved the chains, meaning more than 62 percent of his receptions have resulted in first downs. If that's not value, I don't know what is.
Much like Winter, the George Pickens blow-up game is coming.
5. Quinnen Williams is back to being Quinnen Williams
Shame on me for not mentioning Williams sooner. Perhaps the biggest development from Sunday was that Quinnen Williams finally looked like Quinnen Williams.
In the first half, especially, Williams created pushback at the line of scrimmage, blowing up multiple running plays and forcing Lamar Jackson outside the pocket on passing downs. He had a game against the run and rushing the quarterback. PFF only credited him with three pressures and two defensive stops, which is exactly why stats don't always tell the full story.
Williams is adjusting to a scheme he hasn't played in since his days at Alabama. There was always going to be a learning curve as he reacquainted himself with different responsibilities.
His slow start to the year led to speculation about whether he's dealing with an undisclosed injury. He may not be 100 percent healthy, but Sunday offered the first glimpse of the player Cowboys fans expected to see this season.
With the secondary absolutely depleted by injuries, Dallas needs Williams to continue playing up to the contract he received right before the season.
6. The defense is showing marginal improvement
You could look at the scoreboard, see that Dallas allowed 34 points, and conclude that the defense didn't hold up its end of the bargain. That just isn't true. Does this unit need to be better? One thousand percent. But it made more than enough plays for the Cowboys to leave South America with a win.
According to Next Gen Stats, Derrick Henry was stuffed seven times, meaning he was stopped for no gain or for a loss. That's tied for the most stuffs he's ever had in a single game. That's significant!
Not many folks expected Dallas to put up a fight against Henry. And yet, they limited him to 3.4 yards per carry on 26 touches. Lamar gashed them for 50 yards on eight attempts, but he's a two-time MVP for a reason.
The run defense still showed up in a big way. Quinnen Williams was a beast. Kenny Clark had his most impactful game to date. Otito Ogbonnia has arguably been Dallas' best nose tackle, and Jonathan Bullard came up big on the 4th-and-goal stop on Henry in the fourth quarter. The big boys played BIG.
There's still plenty to fix, but let's remember that Dallas faced Lamar Jackson while scraping the bottom of the barrel in an injury-ravaged secondary. The offense went quiet for two quarters, giving Baltimore ample opportunity to take control of the game, and they still couldn't pull away.
If this were the Week 1 version of the Cowboys' defense, the Ravens might have hung 50 with that many possessions. We are grading on a significant curve, but there is something to build on.
Something is better than nothing.
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