Time will tell whether or not the Cowboys can really turn this whole thing around.
Under head coach Mike McCarthy, the Dallas Cowboys have not looked this confusing since 2020. For a franchise that has been able to win 12 games three seasons in a row, it seems like things are going in a completely different direction.
The Cowboys are 3-4 and trying to get back to .500 for the third time this season. They are about to face a rising Atlanta Falcons team. Here are five ways Dallas can get back to winning ways on Sunday and throughout the second act of the season.
First Point: The defense needs to create more takeaways
The last time the Cowboys defense had multiple takeaways in a game was in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns and Deshaun Watson—that was a long time ago. Dallas’s turnover ratio is (-8), the worst of McCarthy’s tenure with Dallas. At the end of the miserable 2020 season, the Cowboys were (-3). The team still has time to correct its mistakes in taking the ball away, and that starts with specific players returning from injury.
DaRon Bland has been activated ahead of Sunday’s game and could be active for the first time all season. He has been listed as DNP through Thursday, so it may be another week until his return.
Trevon Diggs has not had the opportunity to get his hands on the football much since teams have decided running on this defense will be fine. Bland (14) and Diggs (16) have combined for 30 interceptions since 2021, ranking third and first individually among all secondary players during that stretch.
The Cowboys could desperately use any production from the other corner position instead of having rookie Caelen Carson, Andrew Booth, or Amani Oruwariye on the outside. Bland is also the pick-six king, so generating points from the defense could help give the offense time to work on their running game if they are ahead in games.
Turnovers should never be tethered completely to a team’s success, as turnovers could be a volatile statistic, but for the Cowboys’ current state, it feels like takeaways need to be the lifeblood of winning games moving forward.
Second Point: Manufacture targets for the offense’s best players
On the final drive for the Cowboys against the San Francisco 49ers, Dak Prescott attempted to target CeeDee Lamb on the first play, which should have ended with a Fred Warner interception. He targeted Jake Ferguson, who stepped out of bounds, KaVontae Turpin, on a contested catch throw, and Jalen Brooks, as he was double covered—unacceptable offensive football from multiple angles.
Prescott should have made better decisions in that situation, no question. Still, to his defense, he doesn’t have talented personnel around him when Turpin (a kick returner by nature) and Brooks (a developing seventh-round pick) are running routes in the game’s most critical moment.
Until Brandin Cooks returns from his knee injury, the Cowboys offense should run through Lamb, Jalen Tolbert, Jake Ferguson, and Rico Dowdle. Those are the four players who have proven to have chemistry with Prescott and be the offense’s best weapons.
These WRs have glue for hands pic.twitter.com/8089IHZQPj
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) October 28, 2024
On the final drive, it was malpractice for Dallas not to manufacture something for Lamb a second or third time. It was malpractice for Tolbert not to be in the position of the contested catch instead of Turpin. Tolbert is second among wide receivers with a +13.2 percent catch rate over expected, sandwiched between A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.
Tolbert ranks second on the team with six contested catches and has a remarkable 113.3 passer rating when targeted, the highest among the Cowboys’ wide receivers. Moving forward, head coach McCarthy and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer need to find innovative ways to position their players for success. However, this task is more challenging than it sounds, as fans have been calling for changes since Week 2, yet there has been little improvement.
Third Point: The safety position needs re-evaluation
On Monday, Mike Zimmer was asked about his evaluation of the safety position during his media availability. Zimmer declined to evaluate his players to the media. Maybe he decided not to comment because he has already figured out what the right move is.
It has been no secret Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker have not had their best seasons. Wilson, specifically, is coming off a performance in which tight end George Kittle was allowed four receptions on four targets for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Throughout his career, Wilson has not been the best defender in pass coverage. Using him this way might not be the best use of his skill set. He is a hard-hitting, fearless defender who needs to play closer to the line of scrimmage as a chess piece.
If the Cowboys need someone to play the tight-end eraser role, Juanyeh Thomas has shown flashes to be up to the challenge. In Week 1 of 2023, Thomas was matched up against Darren Waller and played the respected tight end really well. Even Markquese Bell could get some run-in pass coverage, having the size to cover a team’s bigger targets.
The media may be unclear about Zimmer’s evaluation of the safety position, but Sunday will provide a good indication of whether he has made any adjustments to his defense’s back end. The team will be up against Kyle Pitts, who is coming off a performance that included two touchdowns.
Fourth Point: A mobile Prescott is a luxury, not a necessity
Jerry Jones made sense when he talked about not wanting to see Prescott run the football as much. There has been a lot of criticism this week about the quarterback’s inability to tuck the ball and run if nothing is open in the passing game.
Jerry Jones on @1053thefan was asked about the perceived reluctance from Dak Prescott to run with the football this season:
“You really don’t want to see him… you don’t want to see him really take off with that ball. These quarterbacks that run, you know they’re going to get…
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) October 29, 2024
Joe Flacco (26 yards), Bryce Young (32 yards), Tua Tagovailoa (41 yards), and Dorian Thompson-Robinson (44 yards) have more rushing yards than Prescott (24) in 2024. Each of the four quarterbacks listed has not played in more than five games, and DTR has played in just one game.
A mobile Prescott that can move outside of the pocket to get receivers open is what works, but since 2021, having No. 4 rush for at least 20 yards in a game does not post an undefeated record. The Cowboys are 7-5 when Prescott passes 20 rushing yards in a game. Actually, when Prescott rushes for ten or fewer yards, Dallas is 20-7 since 2021 and has a record of 9-2 when he runs for zero or negative yardage.
There’s no question Prescott should not be a statue in the pocket, but the team needs to get its run game going to allow its play-action game to exist again. In those moments in the past, Prescott has shown he can tuck the ball and run for a few yards to keep the drive alive, but the offensive line and running backs need to open that door.
Fifth Point: Stick with the growing pains along the offensive line
If not for Chuma Edoga getting hurt in training camp, he may have started the season as the team’s left tackle. The Cowboys knew that, heading into the year, rookie Tyler Guyton would need some time to develop and transition to become Prescott’s blindside blocker.
Guyton was instead thrown into the fire from the jump, having to face Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa, Cameron Jordan, Brian Burns, and other elite NFL pass rushers to start his career. While the first-round pick has had more downs than ups, he has shown great progress over the past few weeks and is coming off his highest-graded performance.
Against the 49ers, Guyton finished with a 73.7 Pro Football Focus grade, 10th best for Week 8 among all tackles. His fellow rookie offensive lineman, Cooper Beebe, also had his best PFF grade of the season (77.3) and was sixth and fifth among all starting centers for Week 8 in run blocking and pass blocking.
The Cowboys have struggled running the football and scoring points because the continuity along the offensive line is taking a lot longer to develop. Still, Sunday against the Falcons could be another step in getting better.
Atlanta pressures the QB at the lowest rate in the NFL, has the least amount of sacks 6, and 4th least amount of QB pressures despite ranking 13th in pass attempts. They don’t have one of them ones on the edge either.
If the OL can’t hold up this week, boy!
— Skywalker Steele (@SkywalkerSteele) October 30, 2024
Atlanta has had the fewest sacks, with six total through eight weeks, and pressures opposing quarterbacks at the lowest rate in the NFL. Matthew Judon is their best pass rusher, but he is no longer on the level of Garrett or Bosa. Guyton and Beebe could use Sunday as a get-right game and hopefully carry some positive momentum into the final part of their rookie campaigns.