Blogging The Boys
The first week of the NFL season is in the books, and the Cowboys are 0-1 despite a very entertaining opener in Philadelphia. The shocking trade of Micah Parsons didn’t stop them from playing surprisingly competitive football and having a shot to win right until the final minute.
As such, many have come away from the game with a sense of optimism, despite the loss. Brian Schottenheimer’s offense looked promising, and the defense rebounded after a rough first half. But moral victories don’t actually count, and not everyone is sold on the warm fuzzies right now.
Our own David Howman and Tom Ryle have opposing views on where the team stands right now, one game into the year.
David: This game reminded me of the 2021 season opener, also the NFL’s kickoff game on the road against the reigning Super Bowl champions. Dak Prescott, fresh off a season-ending injury, was cooking against the Buccaneers and went toe-to-toe with Tom Brady in a game the Cowboys were supposed to lose by more than the two points they actually lost by.
I walked away from that game feeling as positive as I ever have about a loss, and the Cowboys wound up winning the next six games en route to a 12-5 season and the division crown. I’m not saying the Cowboys are about to win six straight, but I saw enough in this game to make me feel they’re at least capable of doing exactly that.
Tom: I’m thinking more about another season opener, last year’s big win over the Cleveland Browns. Spirits were sky high after that, and we remember how things wound up.
Obviously there is little comparison between last year’s Browns and the defending champion Eagles. What is common to both situations is the tendency to read too much into week 1 of the long NFL season. It is quite possible Philadelphia was still getting their legs under themselves and were just not quite up to their usual standards. The bizarre ejection of Jalen Carter before the first play from scrimmage also had to have had some impact.
I will freely admit that I was favorably impressed at the job Brian Schottenheimer did getting this team ready to play and how the offense came out strong. This could easily have been a win if CeeDee Lamb had not had a string of drops. But let’s see how things go this week before we start planning for the playoffs. Schotty has to keep them focused and not expecting to just walk over the New York Giants after their desultory showing against what appears to be a very good Washington Commanders squad.
David: Yeah, there’s a gaping difference between the Browns and Eagles, but there’s also a big difference between last year’s offense and what we saw on Thursday.
The Schottenheimer offense was basically everything we’ve been asking for. They used motion at the snap on 42% of their plays – that would’ve been fourth-most in the league last year...
