In a world of predictions, you’re always going to end up with two outcomes. Right or wrong.
While some people may be afraid to admit when they’re wrong, I wanted to show everyone that I don’t mind sharing my misses– because if you read my piece on three hot takes for the Cowboys Week One matchup, you realize I went for 1-3.
Although I got two hot takes wrong, I was actually happy to see my “Noah Brown will lead all WRs in yards” take materialize because a vast majority of people were betting wideout CeeDee Lamb was going to break out in the season-opener.
And to be fully transparent, my take wasn’t a knock on Lamb’s talent level, but I wasn’t drinking the kool-aid and expecting him to be a true WR1 off-the-bat.
Despite that, I’m back with three hot takes for Week Two, and I hope I can nail these this week.
As the season progresses, I will provide hot takes for every matchup and compile a record to see how I finish. Also, if anyone wants to add theirs every week in the comments, that’s cool too.
So, to ease your curiosity, check them out below.
QB Cooper Rush slings it for 200-plus yards and tosses one TD.
If you’re like me, you don’t vibe with the sound of Rush leading the Cowboys. While it would be difficult for a new QB to get up to game speed for the offense (and it’s way too late for the team to add anyone this week), it should be interesting if Rush gets all of the action.
To clarify, this isn’t me hoping he struggles and QB Will Grier gets thrust into action–but who knows how long of a “leash” Rush will have with the staff.
But, if we jump to last season and see Rush’s lone start of his career, you realize that he wasn’t too bad, and he led them down the field at the end to snag a win. Granted, he had more weapons in the receiving group to get the ball to–it still wouldn’t be surprising to see him have a high-yardage day because of the game script against the Bengals.
After holding the Pittsburgh Steelers to just seventy-five rushing yards, the Cowboys will likely lean more towards the pass. Although you could point out that they had success running on a Bucs defense known for stopping the run, we all saw them abandon the run game out of nowhere, so it wouldn’t be surprising if it happens again.
And given the high-powered Bengals offense should be on cylinders, and they are arguably better than the Bucs offense personnel-wise right now, if the Cowboys get behind quickly–Rush is going to sling it a lot, and he’s bound to get one touchdown at least.
RB Ezekiel Elliott has two goal-line TDs, and fantasy managers are happy Sunday.
Before everyone freaks out, I know I envisioned the team to lean more towards passing, so how can RB Ezekiel Elliott have two touchdowns?
Just hear me out.
While I expect Rush to air out a lot, when the team gets their chances near the goal-line, I’m riding with Elliott to get the call. Although fans can complain about him getting the rock as one of the first options, Elliott has shown his power and vision to get those tough yards when needed throughout his career.
Do I want to see him run three straight times before they settle on an FG? No.
But it won’t surprise me to see him sneak in a couple of close touchdowns in this game, as there is no way the team doesn’t sniff the endzone this game. If Moore is a “mastermind offensive coordinator” as people claim he is, the offense is scoring points this week despite their personnel weaknesses.
Even if it happens in garbage time, the team will be motivated to grab more than three points this week.
S Israel Mukuamu shines in his pro-debut.
With starting safety Jayron Kearse out for two to four weeks, the team will now rely on safeties Israel Mukuamu and Markquese Bell and expect them to split snaps until Kearse returns. And while I’m excited about both of their potential, both bring two different identities to the defense.
Mukuamu is more of a ball-hawk, and Bell is known as an enforcer in the run game.
But, out of the two, I’m riding with Mukuamu shining the brightest when the lights turn on, and he will cause problems for Burrow and the Bengals offense.
Beyond Mukuamu, the defense will keep the team in the game to a certain point, but it will be on the offense to score some points. You saw it last week when drive-after-drive, the defense made a stop, but they had to get back on the field quickly because the offense kept stalling.
Expect the sophomore defender to show why he needs more playing time in the future on Sunday.
