The Dallas Cowboys head into their Monday Night Football game with his New York Giants rival is feeling good, after what some called an upset victory last week against the Cincinnati Bengals. But of course, since it’s Dallas and Jerry Jones, there’s always some kind of controversy surrounding the American T.crew.
Let’s talk about the good news about the Cowboys first.
Micah Parsons
What more can be said? He was great in the first 18 games of his career. In fact, Parsons has been so good that he’s already drawing comparisons with Giants Hall from Famer Lawrence Taylor. That’s a high bar for any player, especially at linebacker. You will hear several references to LT regarding Parsons play tonight Gambling. If I was a bettor, I would predict at least one Parsons-Taylor benchmark per quarter.
Parsons is the best thing happening in Big D right now, and if the Cowboys winning this game will be thanks to his performance and that of the defense. With Daniel Jones at quarterback, there will be plenty of opportunities to make plays for Parsons and this Cowboys defense. All they have to do is execute.
Can Dallas run on offense?
That was the question before Dak Prescott suffered a thumb injury in Week 1 against Tampa Bay. Prescott’s injury came late in the game and his team had only scored three points. Last week, Cooper Rush started and played well, but some analysts overstated his performance. He was good, but there’s very little tape on him other than the Bengals game, which the Cowboys won.
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Rush’s second start against the Giants should look a lot different this week. It’s a 2-0 battle. The Giants are currently 2-0, and so is Rush in his NFL career. Something has to give unless they tie, which is a scenario that could play out between these teams.
In the Week 2 win over Cincy, Rush completed 61 percent of his passes, connecting with CeeDee Lamb seven times, leading all receivers. Dallas ran the ball 24 times for 96 yards, with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard combining for four yards per carry. Dallas should be able to run, as the Giants are giving up over 119 ypg on the ground. The Giants’ pass defense has been a little more resilient, giving up less than 198 yards through the air. They’ll make Lamb a focal point and force Rush to go elsewhere in the passing game.
This game is going to come down to Rush making plays on offense. The world knows what Daniel Jones brings to the Giants’ side of this equation. Their offense runs through Saquon Barkley and should continue to do so. The Cowboys feature a two-headed monster in the backfield, but Rush will need to make a play or two at crucial points during this game. The fact that there isn’t a lot of film on Rush should be an advantage for Dallas. Now it’s up to Mike McCarthy and Kellen Moore to use that to their advantage.
Jerry Jones loves Dallas drama
Señor Jones certainly hopes his coaching staff can take full advantage of Rush’s abilities. Jones came out recently saying he’s in favor of a quarterback controversy. The man paid Prescott $75 million last season and will pay him an average of $40 million over the next few years. Yet, he’s pulling for a battle in the QB room, similar to when Prescott replaced Tony Romo in 2016. Jones has never believed in Prescott and even said he overpaid him at a press conference after the announcement of Dak’s new contract. Prescott was seated directly next to Jones when he said those words.
If Rush keeps playing well and the Cowboys keep winning, Jones could get his wish. Knowing how Jones works, he will likely get that wish by influencing his head coach, as he has done so many times in the past. There’s a reason coaches like Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells didn’t last more than a few years in Dallas under Jerry.
McCarthy has ever since and assured the world that there is no controversy over their QB1 no matter how hard Rush plays. Sounds good, but if Jones is determined for something, he’ll usually get it. That is unless second in command Stephen Jones steps in to stop the pops from making a huge mistake. Stephen has done that a lot over the past decade and especially in 2014 when Jerry “allegedlywanted to draft Johnny Manziel. Dallas ended up with offensive lineman Zack Martin who is still in the league as a five-time All-Pro.
You gotta love the Cowboys and the drama they bring every week, not just in the fall. This franchise is a hot and lucrative mess all year round. There’s a reason Jones’ franchise gets so many prime-time games every season. Surely it’s not because they win a ton of games.