Blogging The Boys
The viability of the 2025 Dallas Cowboys being a team in playoff contention is on the line as the team plays a late afternoon kickoff from AT&T Stadium for the first time in week seven. The Cowboys will stay in either this timeslot or primetime for the following seven weeks after this Commanders game, and it will take a complete team effort to avoid going into this stretch at 2-4-1. If it feels like things have already reached a fever pitch with how much national and local coverage has gone into stating the obvious about how bad the Cowboys defense has been, the sobering news is there’s still room for it to get worse. The Commanders offense presents challenges in all of the areas this defense has looked helpless to stop, making this yet another game the Cowboys will need near flawless execution on offense to win.
The Cowboys defense is trying to play a new zone scheme under Matt Eberflus with a lot of carryover players from Dan Quinn’s non-zone, much more aggressive defense. The Quinn defense is still playing a style that will be familiar to Cowboys fans in this matchup against their former DC, but just how much the Cowboys can take advantage on offense will depend on how many big plays and points their defense is giving up again.
The lasting image from the loss at the Carolina Panthers was the defense getting bullied on a drive that ended with the home team kicking a winning field goal as time expired, but prior to that the offense also had one of its worst sequences of the season to take matters out of their own hands with a punt.
The Cowboys were without both Tyler Booker and CeeDee Lamb, both expected to play against the Commanders. Much like Tyler Smith at left guard had some struggles getting reacclimated to the lineup last week, the rookie Booker may have some similar struggles against a tough defensive front for Washington. Still, with both Lamb and George Pickens on the field together again, the Cowboys can hope to get the ball out of Dak Prescott’s hands to counter this and play ball control through their two star receivers and TE Jake Ferguson.
Let’s get to our weekly look at what could make or break this third divisional game of the season and second at home for the Cowboys, the first of two meetings this season against the Commanders with the latter coming on Christmas Day on the road.
The Panthers loss for the Cowboys may have been yet another game where the offense was asked to do too much and put in an unfair situation, but the reality is that situation isn’t likely to change in one week. The Cowboys would, of course, welcome their defense putting up more resistance against the Commanders, but...
