“We’re looking for world class competitors. Guys that wanna compete every day to be the best version of themselves. We are looking for people with a relentless work ethic.”
Those were the words that Brian
Schottenheimer said in his introductory press conference as the new head coach of the Cowboys. It wasn’t anything revolutionary – almost every new head coach talks about wanting competitors who are mentally and physically tough, etc. – but it’s something Schottenheimer has continued to preach to his team as he tries to navigate his inaugural season through some rather unusual and choppy waters.
Sunday may have proven that he’s onto something.
The Cowboys got blown out by the winless Bears two weeks ago on the road. Then they came home and, with CeeDee Lamb and others on the sidelines with injuries, took the Packers all the way to the final frame, quite literally. That right there suggested a form of resilience that Schottenheimer is trying to instill in this team.
Of course, we’ve been down this road before with other coaches. Jason Garrett had plenty of moments where his team played hard and persevered, and it meant nothing. Mike McCarthy made a habit out of his team responding to a loss by blowing out their next opponent; it never made a difference in January.
So who knew if this new show of resilience under the new coach would actually last? Recent history suggests it won’t. But Sunday’s game in New Jersey, even if for just a week, seemed to hint that this may actually be different.
Four different starters on the offensive line were ruled out for this one. Lamb was still out, too, and KaVontae Turpin joined him on the sidelines this time. Miles Sanders missed every practice this week, leading to Jaydon Blue’s NFL debut. And the defense was down two starters in Marshawn Kneeland and Malik Hooker, with Jack Sanborn exiting the game early on too.
All the odds were stacked against them. And, just like the last time this team went on the road, they were facing a winless team that was itching for their first taste of victory. Just like last time, they were led by a head coach who assisted Dan Campbell’s Lions the last four years and a quarterback who saw his career dragged down by the tenure of Matt Eberflus in Chicago.
Oh, and the Cowboys hadn’t beaten the Jets on the road since 2003; this rookie class hadn’t even been born yet. It felt like everything in the world was screaming that the Cowboys would lose this game.
That didn’t happen. Not only did it not happen, but it never even came close to happening, really. The Cowboys throttled the Jets, and for the first time all season, their defense actually looked competent. Good in some areas, if you can believe it.
The offense continued to move, too. It wasn’t as good as last week’s outing, but given the rash of injuries on that side of the ball, it’s still wildly impressive that they came three points shy of another 40-burger. Schottenheimer continues to dial up easy plays for Dak Prescott, who is dialed in right now and playing among the best football of any quarterback right now.
Javonte Williams also continued to cement himself as the unquestioned top running back in Dallas. He hit his first 100-yard rushing game as a Cowboy and scored twice despite having so much fluctuation on the offensive line. And Prescott was also sacked just once, too.
Going back to Schottenheimer’s desire to field a roster full of world-class competitors, guys who love the game of football and are ready to play whenever it’s time for the next man up. That’s exactly what happened in Week 5, and the Cowboys overcame significant amounts of adversity to get the win.
Here’s the best part: reinforcements are on the way.
Tyler Smith was technically active against the Jets, and seems likely to be back next week. Tyler Guyton missed this one with a concussion, but should return soon. Both CeeDee Lamb and Tyler Booker remain off of the injured reserve, usually a good sign. If the offense is putting up these kinds of numbers now, imagine what they can do when they get healthy.
In the same vein, imagine if this game was the first sign of what’s to come for the defense. They doubled their season total for sacks in just one game, and did so against a mobile quarterback too. They got a takeaway and didn’t have huge coverage busts, either.
If Schottenheimer can keep this offense humming, and the defense can take maybe two more steps forward, the Cowboys may be a real problem for the rest of the league. That’s an admittedly big “if,” sure, but this most recent win suggests there may actually be capable of rising to the occasion.
