Cowboys Nation is now officially just a fortnight away from the Dallas Cowboys taking to the practice field in Oxnard, California for the 2024 edition of training camp. Many questions surround this year’s version of the team after three consecutive seasons with 12 regular season wins, plus an early playoff exit.
An unacceptable loss to the Green Bay Packers at home in the Wildcard Round of the playoffs prompted an exodus of players in free agency.
It’s not a full rebuild, but a string of one-year deals for both coaches and players is a passive-aggressive way for Jerry Jones to let everyone know the clock is ticking in the Mike McCarthy era.
While we don’t know which 53 players will suit up for Week 1 in Cleveland, and it’s impossible to predict how the season will play out, we do know the schedule and the opponents the Cowboys will face.
Today kicks off a series of articles analyzing and ranking the top three players/units of every position group on the Cowboys’ schedule for 2024.
For example, if we were ranking opposing pass rushers today it would be difficult to rank Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett, Pittsburgh Steelers T.J. Watt, and San Francisco 49ers Nick Bosa, but they are definitely the top three.
The first installment of this series will focus on the quarterbacks, and boy, are there some good ones on the Cowboys schedule this year.
Rankings will be from three to one, or “worst to best,” whichever way you prefer to look at it. All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.
3. San Francisco 49ers — Brock Purdy
The Cowboys will take on the hated San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in a week-8 matchup on Sunday Night Football.
Dallas will try to avenge last season’s SNF debacle when the 49ers sent them home with a 42-10 loss. San Francisco QB Brock Purdy shredded the Dallas defense for four touchdown passes on 71% completions.
The Cowboys offense couldn’t get anything going and the defense appeared to have stayed on the plane.
Purdy may have been drafted as Mr. Irrelevant (the final pick in the NFL Draft) but he is a perfect fit for Kyle Shanahan’s system.
In 21 regular season games started, Purdy has thrown for 5,654 yards on 68.7% completions with 44 touchdown passes and a 111.4 passer rating. He guided San Francisco to an NFC Championship Game appearance in his rookie year and followed that with a narrow Super Bowl loss to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs last season.
Brock Purdy’s instincts combined with Shanahan’s play calling make for a tough opponent.
2. Cincinnati Bengals — Joe Burrow
Joe Burrow is currently in the media cycle for his proposition for the NFL to adopt a different style of scheduling featuring two bye weeks for each team with the Pro Bowl being played mid-season.
It’s a schedule similar to what the NBA employs.
Burrow wants the second bye week and Pro Bowl to fall in Week 13. Coincidentally, the Bengals will travel to Dallas in Week 14. The matchup will be a doozy for Monday Night Football.
Burrow and Cowboys QB Dak Prescott are two of the most recognized players in the NFL right now and a primetime matchup will draw huge ratings.
Joe Burrow missed six games last season due to injury, and the injury clearly affected his level of play. Despite having weapons like wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins at his disposal, he posted the lowest numbers of his career in 2023.
I won’t judge him based on one injury-riddled season. Instead, let’s take a look at his 2022 stats for a true indication of the caliber of quarterback he is.
In 2022, Joe Cool led the Bengals to a 12-4 record and a date with Mahomes and the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. Despite the loss, it was the end of a run of great football from Joe Burrow.
The Cowboys’ defense will be wise to look past Burrow’s tribulations of 2023.
1. Baltimore Ravens — Lamar Jackson
Finally, we arrive at the quarterback who holds the top spot as the best quarterback on the Cowboys’ 2024 schedule. Dallas will host the Baltimore Ravens in an early season week-3 matchup in Arlington and have the pleasure of chasing Lamar Jackson all over the field.
Jackson is the reigning NFL MVP, edging Dallas’ Dak Prescott for the award.
Lamar Jackson’s numbers are good, but they are inflated by 821 rushing yards and another five touchdowns. The key to stopping Jackson is the ability to contain the read-option look they deploy so often.
If Jackson and the read option are working well, then he begins to look like an MVP quarterback. If given time, he has proven to be quite capable of chopping up defenses. He might be thought of as “just a runner” but he has seven games with 4+ touchdown passes in his career.
Another disadvantage of this matchup is the timing of the game.
It’s scheduled for early in the season, a time when Mike Zimmer’s new defensive personnel will still be acclimating to his scheme and one another. Hopefully, their communication will be on point by week 3 because they will need it if they hope to contain Lamar Jackson.
Honorable Mentions
- Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
- Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
- C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
- Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons