Afrigather Say what you’ll concerning the 2024 Dallas Cowboys, however they look like superb at this tanking factor. Many groups all through time have been accused of tanking to get a greater draft choose for a brand new regime. Technically, it’s towards the foundations, so the trick is to lose as many video games as you possibly can however not look such as you’re attempting to lose video games.
In that sense, the 2024 Cowboys are on an absolute heater.
Capping off the Week 11 slate with a Monday evening prime time sport towards the slumping Texans, the Cowboys performed a primary half that very a lot seemed like they had been on the brink of play spoiler. They tried a pretend punt on their opening drive of the sport – an odd however nobly aggressive transfer – after which picked off C.J. Stroud whereas defending a brief subject.
After the protection gave up a second speeding landing to Joe Mixon, Cooper Rush hit KaVontae Turpin on a slant that busted huge open for a 64-yard landing. Every group proceeded to commerce subject objectives, and by the point we hit the two-minute warning the Texans solely led 17-10. When Brandon Aubrey lined up for a 40-yard subject aim, the Cowboys had a really actual probability to trim the lead earlier than getting the ball out of the halftime break.
However Aubrey, who’s been so cash all 12 months lengthy, hooked it simply sufficient to doink off the goalposts. A pointy transfer from the kicker of a group that positively isn’t dropping on objective. In fact, Aubrey’s plant foot slipped.
All tongue-in-cheek jokes apart, the Cowboys stayed alive on this one for for much longer than that they had any proper. Rush performed higher than he did every week in the past, however his limitations stay the identical. The backup quarterback accomplished 63.6% of his whopping 55 cross makes an attempt for 354 yards, averaging 6.4 yards per try. That’s greater than triple what he averaged final week.
CeeDee Lamb, who performed regardless of being listed as questionable heading into Monday evening, had a productive sport. He caught eight of his 12 targets for 93 yards, together with one spectacular sideline catch in tight protection. Jake Ferguson left the sport early with a concussion, which meant a rise in snaps for each Luke Schoonmaker and rookie Brevyn Spann-Ford. Each performed properly, with Schoonmaker catching six passes for 56 yards – together with just a few actually robust ones by contact – and Spann-Ford had 42 yards on 4 catches.
Nonetheless, although, this offense continued to have points. Rush threw a horrible choose on a play the place Lamb was simply knocked off his route by a passing defender. Rico Dowdle managed simply 28 speeding yards on 10 carries regardless of dealing with a Texans protection that is struggled towards the run all 12 months.
And the offensive line fell aside within the second half, fairly actually. Zack Martin left the sport with an harm only a play after getting badly overwhelmed for a sack. Tyler Guyton left the sport too, with Asim Richards changing him at left sort out every week after beginning instead of an injured Guyton. And Terence Steele did a rousing routine with Texans edge rusher Danielle Hunter the place Steele pretended to be a pair of saloon doorways and Hunter was the gruff cowboy who effortlessly walked proper by them. Rush was sacked a complete of 5 occasions on the evening, together with a strip sack that was a defensive landing.
The Cowboys protection, although, performed admirably on this one, notably within the second half. Stroud seemed uncomfortable all sport lengthy, and Mike Zimmer bought the ball out of his palms early just a few occasions with some artistic third-down stress appears to be like. Houston didn’t rating a second-half offensive landing till there have been three minutes left within the sport, a testomony to what this unit is able to.
That was with two beginning cornerbacks lacking, too. DaRon Bland nonetheless hasn’t performed all 12 months, however Jourdan Lewis was out for this one too. Of their locations had been Israel Mukuamu and Josh Butler, the latter of whom was signed from the apply squad and named the starter simply hours earlier than kickoff. All issues thought of, this was sport from the protection.
It wasn’t sufficient, although. The Cowboys opted to take Brandon Aubrey’s 64-yard subject aim off the board on account of a Texans penalty on the kick, after which later the drive resulted in a failed fourth and brief try, leaving the Texans’ lead at 20-10. The following time the Cowboys offense took the sector, they fumbled it twice and Houston scored a landing. Issues unraveled from there.
Not a lot on this sport was terribly shocking, aside from possibly how onerous the Texans tried to lose this one. The Cowboys stored issues shut by three quarters, however then they fell aside. Which is precisely how a group that solely has draft positioning to consider ought to need to play, not that anybody is accusing these Cowboys of deliberately dropping video games. If this season has taught us something, it’s that these Cowboys don’t need to attempt to lose video games.
