FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Jerry Jones might have overreacted a bit by suggesting his Dallas Cowboys should have a run-first offense.
Maybe the owner and general manager was still a little giddy less than 12 hours after a 38-21 victory over Philadelphia and forgot that the top three players on his salary cap list — all the big names on the passing side — were responsible for three of the four touchdowns.
Jones' point was clear, though. Javonte Williams had
the first game of at least 150 yards rushing since Dallas was a run-first team with Ezekiel Elliott in 2018. The Cowboys had more than 200 yards on the ground for just the second time since Brian Schottenheimer took over as head coach and play-caller last year.
Dallas (3-4), which plays Arizona at home Sunday, was coming off the lowest-scoring total in back-to-back games for quarterback Dak Prescott since 2019, and the sputtering running game was a big reason why.
Schottenheimer was being questioned about his commitment to the run as the Cowboys appeared to have no answers for the blitzing defenses in losses to Tampa Bay, which was winless at the time, and Green Bay.
Williams had a 15-yard run early, a 34-yarder late and averaged 6.2 yards per carry while finishing with a career-high 155 yards. Fittingly, he scored the final touchdown when the game was out of reach. Dallas had 204 yards rushing.
“That lets us have the opportunity to get Dak under center a lot more,” Jones said on his radio show Tuesday morning. “That presents a different defensive challenge for the opponent if he can get under center a lot.”
As for those salary cap leaders — and the 27% of the cap they're consuming this year — Prescott had an efficient game with three touchdowns among just 15 completions. CeeDee Lamb had two, and George Pickens had the prettiest one when he secured the ball while deftly planting his second foot just inside the boundary in the end zone.
Pickens' opportunities are still more limited than those for Lamb, who had twice as many targets with 12 against the Eagles. The only 100-yard game for Pickens this season came when Lamb left early with an injury in the loss to the Buccaneers.
“They’re going to put two guys (on) his side, and they understand and respect his big-play ability and the way that he ignites our offense,” Prescott said. “I’m sure he wants more out there, but made a great touchdown play. I just tried to give him a chance, and he went and made one of the best catches and toe-taps I’ve seen in a long time.”
Schottenheimer's offense generated a season-high 416 yards, and he was unusually terse in his postgame meeting with reporters after a week that included plenty of criticism and some of the first rumblings about his job security. His short answers were noticeable enough for someone to ask Prescott about them.
“It’s not like he’s naive,” Prescott said. “It’s not like he hadn’t heard some noise about him and whether it’s the call in the games or whatever doubt that’s been out there, but we’ve got his back. He’s a guy that takes a lot of pride in his job, a lot of pride in his team. Everybody handles everything different, so I don’t blame him to an extent.”
Dallas is still last in the NFL by allowing opponents a 52.9% conversion rate on third down. The most glaring example of the season might have come on the first drive of the third quarter. Philadelphia's offense is in shambles because of injuries, and yet the Eagles went 84 yards on 17 plays and used more than nine minutes on a touchdown drive for a 21-20 lead. They were 4 of 5 on third down and converted a fourth-and-1.
In the first half, five of the seven penalties by the Cowboys were on the defense, and four of those gave Philadelphia first downs.
If LB DeMarvion Overshown can stay healthy, the beleaguered defense has a chance to get better. His energy was already making a difference before a diving interception that essentially put the game away in the fourth quarter.
Rookie LB Jaishawn Barham played a season-low 21 snaps. The return of Overshown played a role in that, but so did the decision to start Shemar James and give him a substantial role in communicating calls to the defense. James tied for the team high with 58 defensive snaps.
Overshown and CB Cobie Durant appeared to make it through the game without issues in their returns from hamstring injuries. Overshown was out for five games, while Durant had missed four.
2 — The number of two-touchdown games for Lamb this season. He didn't have any last year. The 2023 All-Pro is tied with Green Bay's Christian Watson for second in the league with six TDs receiving, two behind Seattle's Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Schottenheimer's longest winning streak in his first season was three games. The Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts, the next two opponents, are both 2-5.
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