Must-win games in Week 7 don’t feel real, but for the 2-4 Dallas Cowboys going into Lincoln Financial Field to face the 2-4 Philadelphia Eagles, it most certainly was. The team was playing poorly in all areas; they were behind a 4-2-1 New York Giants team Dallas had already lost to.
Dallas beat Philadelphia, 38-21, in a game closer than the score suggests. The defense hasn’t improved to the point anyone had hoped by the halfway point of the year. They have allowed 11 drives of 75 yards or more and 9 drives of 10 or more plays, both league-leading marks. The coaching was called out all week, and the quarterback's play had the media asking if he was playing hurt.
The team had to make changes, and to Brian Schottenheimer's credit, they did. One example
was at tight end, where through six games, Jake Ferguson played 275 offensive snaps to Brevyn Spann-Ford’s 149. Against Philadelphia they were separated by only two snaps, 36 for Spann-Ford to 38 for Ferguson. That's the type of change needed and the top storyline coming out of Week 7.
Coaching staff made adjustments to who gets to play
The Spann-Ford and Ferguson adjustment wasn’t the only change. Schottenheimer also benched George Pickens for run plays. Ryan Flournoy had more overall snaps than Pickens, 53 to 41. Jonathan Mingo even played more run snaps than Pickens.
Christian Parker took the head coach's lead and made adjustments on defense too. He didn’t just add Cobie Durant and DeMarvion Overshown in their return from injuries; Shemar James also played a high 58 defensive snaps. He replaced rookie Jaishawn Barham, who was limited to 21 snaps.
The offensive line leads the way
The Cowboys should play with a style that emphasizes their offensive line. Quinnen Williams called the 2025 12th overall pick, Tyler Booker, the best lineman in the NFL after the Week 7 game. Tyler Smith is a former All-Pro, and Tyler Guyton is now playing up to his first-round status. According to Brad Sham, the offensive line spoke up about being allowed to lead the way, and they performed incredibly well against the league's best defensive tackle duo.
They allowed no QB hits, let alone a sack, and the Eagles had no tackles for a loss. Javonte Williams had 11 carries for 51 yards against a neutral box and 11 carries for 98 yards against a light box. When Schottenheimer mentioned Williams rushing for over 150 yards in the post-game locker room speech, Rashan Gary can be heard yelling, “Okay O-line.” Even Dak Prescott wore a “Linemen lead the way” shirt at the post-game press conference. The OL must continue to lead the way if Dallas wants to win.
Jerry Jones puts the emphasis on the offense overcoming the mediocre defense
In his interview with 105.3 The Fan this week, owner/GM Jerry Jones was asked about the defensive issues, and his response was that the offense will have to overcome them with its play. He hardly brought up getting better on defense, aside from a direct question about the pass rush. He put the challenge on the coaching staff, mentioning that the talent was there on defense to improve. Jones added that the team is built around the offense, with a head coach who is the play-caller on that side of the ball, a highly paid quarterback and receiving duo, an offensive line with three first-round picks, and a newly paid ball carrier in the backfield.
The key for Jones was to keep the game close so the team could run the ball and the offense could do what it had to do to finish games with a win. Asking an offense to do that game in and game out is a mistake; opponents will have great game plans or matchups like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers did, but for now, with the defense giving up 20 or more points in 14 straight games, it’s all Dallas has got.
You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or on YouTube at Across the Cowboys podcast
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Jones putting onus on this group headlines Week 8 Cowboys storylines
