It’s difficult to judge who were the impact players for the Dallas Cowboys last week in the season opener due to performing poorly in all three phases the game, but hopefully this week will be different. Hopefully multiple players will step up and make some key plays that helps sway the game in the Cowboys favor, securing their first win on the season.
Last week we attempted to predict one impact player from both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, choosing WR Ryan Flournoy and DB Caleb
Downs. Both made plays, but not quite the game-changing ones we were hoping for. This week we decided to double down by choosing two offensive and defensive players, because Dallas needs all the help they can get.
OFFENSE
WR CeeDee Lamb
After failing to find a rhythm on offense last week against the Giants, the Cowboys need to get back to what they do best, feeding CeeDee Lamb with quick, high percentage passes to move the chains. Once that’s established, everything else should fall in place. From opening up better running lanes to airing it out down the field to George Pickens, No. 88 is still the engine that drives this offense. As such, he should be targeted early and often this week against the Commanders.
TE Jake Ferguson
After Dallas Goedert shredded the Commanders secondary last week for 77 receiving yards and two touchdowns, look for the Cowboys to exploit that weakness as well in this Week 2 matchup by getting Jake Ferguson much more involved. In the season opener he was only targeted twice and called both passes for a measly six yards. With the attention CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens should command, No. 87 should be able to find some favorable matchups working the middle of field and down the seam.
DEFENSE
DT Quinnen Williams
Quinnen Williams earned the fifth highest PFF grade (77.6) for the Cowboys for his performance last week against the Giants, but didn’t really play up to the standard we expect from him. Maybe he just needed to knock off a little rust after watching from the sideline in preseason or was surprised by the physicality the Giants played with last week. Whatever the reason, we believe a fire will be lit under him and he will look much more the All-Pro DT we’ve seen in the past this week against the Commanders.
OLB Donovan Ezeiruaku
Donovan Ezeiruaku surprisingly earned the best PFF grade (86.8) from his performance against the Giants. He was Dallas’ leading tackler last week and was pretty impressive against one of the better young, talented LTs Andrew Thomas. We expect even more from him this week going up against an injury fill-in for Laremy Tunsil, Brandon Coleman. Coleman is a solid starting blindside protector, but not nearly as good as what No. 6 squared off against a week ago. Don’t be surprised if he exits Week 2 with multiple QB sacks.
