Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys may not actually be as close as Dak Prescott says.
In the aftermath of the Philadelphia Eagles beating the Kansas City Chiefs to prevent the Chiefs from a three-peat, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott spoke to the media. Prescott didn’t mince words and said it was the Cowboy’s turn to win one of their own, and the team was close to winning a title. Not so fast, Mr. Prescott. There are reasons why the Cowboys have a lot of work to do, and changes to make before they can be seriously considered to win a championship. Here’s where the Cowboys and Eagles differ what separates the Eagles from being a contender from the Cowboys.
When comparing the Eagles and the Cowboys, the first thing that stands out is the differential in the offensive line. For years, Dallas had one of the most dominant offensive lines, and the Eagles weren’t too far behind. Recently, the Cowboys have had to retool the unit due to departures in free agency and many of their players getting older, like Tyron Smith. Meanwhile, the Eagles have done an great job in replacing Jason Kelce with Cam Jurgens, and their offensive line continues to thrive in short-yardage situations.
The Cowboys are hinging their hopes on the future of their offensive line based on the development of Tyler Guyton, who had a rough first year in the league. He struggled with technique and penalties. He’s talented and of tremendous size, but there is much room for improvement. Terence Steele, the team’s starting right tackle, has regressed since signing a five-year, $82.5M extension in 2023. There’s some hope with how well Cooper Beebe fared as a rookie at center. However, the murkiness around the future of Zack Martin casts a cloudy outlook on the future of the Dallas offensive line.
The advantage again goes to Philadelphia from the big boys upfront to the skill position players on the outside. Dallas has one legit wide receiving threat with CeeDee Lamb, and he is terrific. Lamb is an All-Pro receiver with several Pro Bowl appearances, but who else do the Cowboys have after him? The Cowboys’ passing success mainly depends on CeeDee Lamb and opposing teams try to slow him down with bracket coverage. We’ve seen teams do just that and force someone else to make a play to less than inspiring results.
Jalen Tolbert has shown flashes but not enough that you feel that he is a viable number two option in a competent passing attack. Meanwhile, the Eagles have a Heisman trophy winner in DeVonta Smith as their #2 wide receiver behind A.J. Brown. Not many teams can boast that about their roster. This may be overkill, but the Eagles also have a former first-round pick as their third wide receiver. (Jahan Dotson) The Eagles don’t find themselves sputtering on offense because the other team took away their best receiver; they turn to the best option that can also...
