Think of the most insane roller coaster you have been on in your life. Imagine if you didn’t have any handlebars and were strapped in by the seatbelts you find on a standard school bus. That is what it felt like watching the Dallas Cowboys win over the New York Giants on Sunday.
The game was filled with drama and storylines from start to finish. The offense seems to be humming, with Dak Prescott finding a spark in his connection with George Pickens. On the other hand, the pass defense had significant
vulnerabilities, allowing Russell Wilson to turn back the clock and burn the Dallas defenders for 450 passing yards. Not to mention the pass rush needs to find their closer in a hurry.
At the end of the day, what matters most is Brian Schottenheimer’s first victory as a head coach and adding one to the win column. There is just a lot to take away from a game that ended with 77 combined points.
First point: Brandon Aubrey is the new closer for the Cowboys
When Micah Parsons was in Dallas, any time a play needed to be made to close out a game, he would be the most likely to force an incompletion, record a sack, or force a fumble.
Since he’s no longer with the Cowboys, someone has had to step up and fill in as the team’s closer, someone who they can rely on to win the game when things are close. Brandon Aubrey has become the team’s new Mariano Rivera.
It’s an advantage for Schottenheimer to know that his offense can score three points within 30 seconds if they need to. All they need is a decent kickoff return, run one play that gives them a first down that brings them close to midfield, and they will already be within field goal range for Aubrey.
For most teams that are down three with 25 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, it feels almost impossible to even get past midfield. However, when the Cowboys were down three in the same circumstances, it felt possible due to the confidence the team has in their kicker. That confidence starts with Aubrey himself in a conversation Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated had with Schottenheimer.
Before Sunday’s game, Schottenheimer and Brandon Aubrey were discussing the line-to-make for field goals against the Giants, inside AT&T Stadium. Aubrey said if the offense got to the 50, he’d be fine—meaning he was comfortable kicking field goals from 67 or 68 yards out. “I’m like, What?” Schottenheimer said. “He said, No, seriously, the 50 and we are just fine.”
Having a weapon like Aubrey is something 30 teams can only dream of having in their arsenal (Chris Boswell of the Pittsburgh Steelers has shown he can boot the ball similarly to Aubrey). All the front office has to do now is make him the highest-paid kicker in NFL history. Don’t think that will happen? Todd France of Athletes First might say otherwise.
Second point: The Cowboys’ pass defense struggled, but they’ve been here before
There was nothing pretty about the way Dallas’ defense played the Giants’ passing attack. Malik Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson turned into Randy Moss and Cris Carter while Wilson looked like vintage Aaron Rodgers. Finding a temporary solution for the loss of DaRon Bland was challenging. However, it turned out the cornerbacks on the outside and the safeties were struggling more than Reddy Steward, who filled in for Bland in the slot.
As Trevon Diggs continues to recover from his injury, it’s reasonable to give him some grace as he works to increase the number of snaps he takes on gameday. However, for Kaiir Elam, Malik Hooker, and Donovan Wilson, there are not many excuses for why the secondary looked all out of sorts. Could it be because Matt Eberflus continues to run zone coverage more than any other defense in the league, maximizing the chances for miscommunication?
Whatever the case is, they will need to figure it out fast, as they have a struggling Chicago Bears team with multiple wide receivers coming up this week, followed by the Green Bay Packers with Jordan Love and their strong passing game. If there’s one positive note to come from the game, it’s that we’ve seen games like this before.
In 2016, the Cowboys’ defense, run by Rod Marinelli and his pupil Matt Eberflus, had a dynamic passing attack and a middle-of-the-road defense. During that season, the Dallas defense gave up over 350 passing yards three times—twice to the Washington Commanders and once to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- Week 2 vs Kirk Cousins: 28 of 46, 364 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
- Week 10 vs Ben Rothlisberger: 37 of 46, 408 yards, 3 touchdowns
- Week 12 vs Kirk Cousins: 41 of 53, 449 yards, 3 touchdowns
The Cowboys won all three of those matchups. The offense should not have to bail out the defense every week, but it is not impossible to overcome with Schottenheimer’s weapons.
Third point: Dak Prescott is playing lights out
A lot can be said about Dak Prescott and his postseason success, but when it matters most in the regular season, he continues to show he’s one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. Through two weeks of the season, Prescott is in the top five in most of Pro Football Focus’ major categories.
PFF categorizes “big-time throws” as a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window. Not only does Prescott lead all passers in that category overall, but seven of the nine have come on passes that are 20+ yards downfield. That’s tied with Russell Wilson for the most in that metric.
Schottenheimer has talked about wanting balance on offense, allowing the run and the pass to complement each other (we’ll get to that in a minute). However, this might not be the last time we see a Cowboys game like this in 2025, as they will face some of the league’s strongest offenses down the stretch. Prescott’s ability to maintain his composure and perform well in critical moments could create significant momentum for Dallas, helping to turn his regular-season success into a possible playoff run.
Fourth point: Javonte Williams is the key
After the game Sunday night, Dak Prescott was asked about his thoughts on running back Javonte Williams and what he means to the offense.
“I just told him right there in the locker room, man he’s a beast. Physical runner, never down, always moving his legs, greedy, that’s what you want in a running back. Greedy, physical and when he can get space like he did right in the thrid quarter, he’s running away from people. He’s a big part of this offense, super proud of him, super thankful that we’ve got a guy like that and which I’ve told you all before he’s a true pros pro…He’s a key to this offense.”
Williams set a season high with 18 carries, rushing for 97 yards and scoring a touchdown. He averaged 5.4 yards per carry, an average Dallas surpassed just twice last season with Rico Dowdle as the main back (minimum 15 carries). It’s only Week 2, and Williams has shown enough that it’s believable he can surpass that mark a few times this year.
The veteran running back demonstrated all of his skills on Sunday. Williams caught passes from the backfield, lowered his shoulder multiple times, displayed patience and vision, and had several explosive runs.
The Cowboys won on Sunday due to Aubrey’s leg and Prescott’s arm, but without Williams getting in the mix and consistently putting the offense in manageable situations, the outcome could have been drastically different. Credit also needs to go to the offensive line for opening the door for Williams to have success, but it’s nice to have a veteran back who can do a little bit of everything without strong-arming a roster spot for posterity purposes.
If Dallas can continue to feed Williams and sprinkle in some more of Miles Sanders and eventually Jaydon Blue, then the Cowboys’ rushing attack can be exactly where Schottenheimer wants it to be—leading the charge for his offense.
Fifth point: Dallas needs more from their edge rushers; signing Jadeveon Clowney should help
Last week, after the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, defensive end Sam Williams spoke in the locker room on Friday about how the questions regarding Micah Parsons needed to stop because he is no longer with the team. Sunday would have been a great opportunity for one of the edge rushers to step up against a depleted Giants offense and become the new alpha in the room.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. James Houston looked great on the opening drive, registering a sack, but was again limited in his snap count on the field. Houston, who is the least tenured player of the group, should not be the one having the most impact right now.
Over the first two weeks, PFF has the Cowboys rushers (Fowler, Kneeland, Williams, Houston, Ezeiruaku) with 16 total pressures. Over the first two weeks last year, Parsons had 14 pressures himself. We all know Parsons is a one-of-one athlete and talent, so expecting one of Dallas’ edge rushers to be exactly the same is a fool’s errand.
That’s why the team decided to go out and sign free agent Jadeveon Clowney. Relying on a 32-year-old pass rusher to jump-start something on defense is not where any team wants to be in Week 2, but give Dallas credit for not waiting around any longer for things to improve by themselves. Schottenheimer has openly talked about having an open competition across every position during the season, so if nothing else, Clowney’s presence might spark something in someone else.
The three-time Pro Bowl pass rusher has been something of a hired gun late in his career, playing with five different teams over the last six seasons. Clowney has still remained productive, recording 15 sacks since 2023. Even with the ink still drying on his new contract, Clowney said he expects to play on Sunday against the Chicago Bears.
If that’s the case, there might not be enough game-day roster spots to go around among the defensive ends, meaning someone will have to be inactive. Could it be Dante Fowler, a fellow veteran whom the team might have expected more from to this point? Or could it be Donovan Ezeiruaku, who might need a week to collect himself as he navigates his way through his rookie season? Whoever it might be, the arrival of Clowney might be exactly what the doctor ordered to cure this pass-rush issue.
