FRISCO, Texas – If anyone had been paying attention to me leading up to the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, one of my biggest worries had been the Cowboys offensive line.
Way young, especially if Nate Thomas had to start at left tackle had Tyler Guyton not been ready to return from the knee injury knocking him out of practice since the end of July. Combine that with rookie Tyler Booker starting at right guard. Plus, knowing starting center Cooper Beebe is just in his second year playing that position.
Now, certainly helped Guyton, equipped with one padded practice, was able to play at left tackle, and play he did, taking every one of those 61 offensive snaps. And that Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter spat a $57,000 spit at Dak Prescott before the first snap from scrimmage, thrown out of the game for such an absurd act.
Even so, those five guys, Guyton, Tyler Smith, Beebe, Booker and Terence Steele had never played in a game all together. Not even a preseason game nor really a scrimmage with the Rams since Guyton already was shelved with that bone fracture in his knee.
Well, worry averted.
This offensive line turned in a mighty commendable performance in the season opener, if considering Dallas ran for 119 yards against the Eagles. Not until the eighth game of the 2024 season did the Cowboys run for more than that in a single game (137 vs. Atlanta). If considering Dak Prescott was not sacked a single time; only once last year did the Cowboys quarterbacks finish a game with zero sacks (second Giants). And if considering Dak only suffered one QB hit, though there were several pressures he avoided.
Also, let's consider this. Not only did the Cowboys rush for 119 yards, but Javonte Williams actually ran for two touchdowns, albeit 1-yard each. But hey, they never rushed for multiple touchdowns in a game last year and only had a season total of six in 17 games.
And get this, the last time the Cowboys rushed for multiple touchdowns in a game was Nov. 12, 2023, against the Giants, and that was 24 games ago.
So give these guys a hand.
"The cohesiveness was there," said right tackle Terence Steele, one of the two veterans on the offensive line. "We knew the preparation was there."
But beware, this Giants front coming up at noon on Sunday will present a stout pass rush, with the likes of Kayvon Thibodeaux, Brian Burns, first-round draft choice Abdul Carter (a Micah Parsons starter kit) and, oh, former Dallas defensive lineman Chauncey Golston.
And don't ever forget, this starting five will be the key to this Cowboys offense being prolific with the skill players they have.
• Always Something: My second worry was the Cowboys secondary, not knowing how much, if any, cornerback Trevon Diggs would be able to play. Knowing either way, Kaiir Elam would have to start likely at one of the corner spots, not having started but four games last year with Buffalo. And then how well would DaRon Bland make the transition from outside corner into the slot. Well, the Eagles only threw for 152 yards, with 12 of their 19 completions going to tight ends and running backs. But never fail, nothing ever goes smoothly in the NFL. Bland missed practice on Wednesday, listed DNP with a foot injury on the injury report and sounds as if the 2022 and 2023 team interceptions leader could very well miss multiple weeks. Just when you think … that likely means Diggs, who played 27 snaps in the opener (43 percent), mostly on nickel downs, will be needed to play a full game outside with Elam. Then, chances are had Diggs not been ready to play in the opener, recently acquired corner Reddy Steward, who was active for the Eagles game, would have moved into the slot. And if Bland can't go Sunday against the Giants, the Cowboys very well might need to go to Steward as the slot corner. "Got to be ready when my number is called," Steward said, knowing he was the next guy up Thursday night in the slot, pointing out he played a little slot corner in college but "not as much as I did last year" with the Bears under then head coach and now Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.
• Why Jadeveon? That's an easy answer to me, and evidently to head coach Brian Schottenheimer, too, when asked about the possibility of signing Jadeveon Clowney, who spent the day here at The Star on a visit and even stayed to watch practice, saying, "Any time you have the chance to potentially add a good football player, why wouldn't you kick the tires." And for several reasons. A veteran pass rusher. The Cowboys had an open roster spot after placing Perrion Winfrey on injured reserve. This is Week 2, so vested veteran contracts are not guaranteed for the season. Chances are the 12-year veteran likely was waiting for a team in need, and those guys are averse to training camp. And the Cowboys have roughly $37 million in salary cap space. That means, not only do they have room for an incentive-based salary, but unlike previous seasons when they were tight against the cap, they have room to speculate, meaning they have room to absorb a potential mistake, if nothing else. Also, besides having 11-year veteran defensive end Dante Fowler, this is a young and inexperienced position. At defensive end, we are talking about Sam Williams coming back after missing the entire 2024 season; Marshawn Kneeland in just his second season; rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku; and James Houston, who has bounced around the NFL the past few years. While Clowney only had 5½ sacks last year with Carolina, as recently as 2023 he registered 9½ sacks for the Ravens. "I think there is value being a veteran and value in the experience they have," Schottenheimer said of the Cowboys seemingly interested in signing Clowney.
• Shorties: While Jalen Hurts is credited with completing 19 of 23 passes for just 152 yards against the Cowboys Thursday night (only 6.6 yards an attempt), 12 of those completions were to tight ends and running backs. And if not for his 51-yarder on the deep post to Jahan Dotson, the Eagles next longest play was 20 yards, and after that the next three were 15, 12 and 10, that's it … Another shame the Cowboys lost that game … Last time the Giants beat the Cowboys was the final game of the COVID-affected 2020 season, 23-19, Dallas now having won eight straight and 15 of the past 16 … Heard someone on the radio say Eagles defensive tackleJalen Carter won't suffer a further suspension for spitting at Dak, but hey, his suspension is not getting paid his Game 1 paycheck worth $57,000, and to the rest of us that's a mighty costly penalty … The Giants might say they are staying with Russell Wilson as their starting QB, but as Schottenheimer points out, they did have a package ready for rookie QB Jaxson Dart. And just because Wilson starts, doesn't mean he has to finish … How's this for digging into a stat? The Cowboys didn't have a three-and-out in any of their eight possessions against the Eagles, making them just one of four teams without a three-and-out the opening week.
And let's change things up for this week's last word, turning to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones when asked on flagship radio station 105.3 The Fan about Micah Parson's first performance in Green Bay's victory over Detroit, something short and sweet.
"We were all interested in that game and how Micah played," Jerry said. "Not one thing unexpected for me as to how he played. He's gotten on a good team up there in Green Bay, and we're going to get them right here, get a first-hand look at the entire team, not just Micah.
"So from what I saw of him, I thought he was able to get in there and play without having any influence from his back. And, uh, I say that with a straight face, I do. Having said that, I wish him well."
Yeah, straight face. Read between the lines there please.
