Well, everyone, the first loss of this short season came at the hands of the lowly Arizona Cardinals.
Many of this team's warts remained dormant until Sunday when they appeared with a vengeance. Writers much better than I will write about the negatives all week.
Chuma Edoga, for starters, has no business being an offensive tackle. Dak Prescott's interception reminds fans of last season. The Cardinals' offensive scheme had the Dallas defense on their toes the entire game.
Nevertheless, I'm unprepared to sweep both New York victories under the rug because of one ill-prepared contest.
If you look hard enough, fans can locate positives, albeit not many.
Tony Pollard broke the 100 yard mark for the first time this season
We can't say that Tony Pollard didn't hold up his end of the bargain.
Pollard carried the ball 23 times for 122 yards, posting a 5.3 yard per clip. For me, it wasn't just the yardage. The fact that the burst and athleticism that escapes some players after a major injury is a win in itself.
He wasn't much in the way of receptions or red zone touchdowns, but I have to contribute some of that to the play-caller.
Tony Pollard had an exceptional day against the Cardinals:
– 23 rushing attempts for 122 yards
– 5.3 yards per rushing attempt
– 68 rushing yards after contact
– 8 first downs picked up#Cowboys— Cowboys Hive (@cowboys_hive) September 25, 2023
I know that sounds like a cop-out, but there were two separate instances where the Cowboys were in the red zone but didn't give Tony a touch.
In one of those situations, they decided to fake it to the running back and hand it to CeeDee, which didn't go far.
The second situation included Dak forcing the ball to Lamb when four receivers and four defenders were nearby.
I believe Pollard and Rico Dowdle (4 attempts for 21 yards) ran effectively enough to get more touches in the red zone. Dowdle has done enough to continue being the backup running back.
Giving Deuce Vaughn a touch or two wouldn't be the worst idea.
It was also refreshing to see Hunter Luepke in the lineup and getting some touches. We need more of that. The overall running game, off-set I-formation, and the twelve personnel Dallas ran out of give me hope.
A healthy Michael Gallup proved he can be effective when used right
This looked like the first time since the ACL injury that Michael Gallup played like the ole Michael.
On Sunday, he hauled in 6 catches on 7 targets for 92 yards with a 15.3 per reception clip. He certainly made up for the last two games where he totaled 2 catches for 13 yards.
He appeared to be nimble and much stronger at the point of attack.
For the record, that endzone attempt to Gallup was a pass interference but it's spilled milk at this point.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said he received "no explanation" Sunday as to why officiating crew picked up the flag on a defensive pass interference penalty on a Michael Gallup end-zone target. "I still don't have an explanation."
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) September 25, 2023
At one point, Michael ran a 10-yard slant that was a thing of beauty. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there were not many times in the past that Dallas receivers ran slant.
As a matter of fact, he ran it a second time and it was equally effective.
The only thing that was missing was running a ‘sluggo', which is a slant and go when Arizona was playing so aggressive.
The Dallas Cowboys are going to need a healthy core of wide receivers against the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles or the Buffalo Bills for that matter.
When Gallup was healthy, his ability to get deep was tailor made for this offense as well as his run after catch.
Even though this game didn't go the Cowboys' way, it's good to see number 13 being inserted into the offense and more importantly looking like his old self.
DaRon Bland had a shaky Start but he showed promise on the outside
In the latter part of the week leading up to the Arizona Cardinals matchup, the attention was on the injury to Trevon Diggs, and rightfully so.
Most had confidence that DaRon Bland could be that dude on the outside, but the start of the game was relatively rocky for him.
Dallas' defensive scheme should have accounted for Arizona's speed.
Marquise Brown, Rondale Moore, and Michael Wilson presented problems. Wilson is the slowest of those receivers, with a 4.58 in the forty.
The other two, Brown – 4.32 and Moore – 4.29 are burners.
Bland held his own outside with limited coverage, rotating to help him.
He did give up two receptions for 26 yards. The most damning was the penalty for pass interference.
Once you get past that part, he played reasonably well for a guy getting the bulk of his work on the outside for the first time this year.
Forget this year; he lined up 507 snaps in the slot versus 126 out wide in his career.
Cowboys DC Dan Quinn said DE DeMarcus Lawrence, S Malik Hooker and CB DaRon Bland stood out as positives Sunday amid an uncharacteristic, unrecognizable day for defense. Overall, believes a number of defenders would say it wasn't their best individual performance. pic.twitter.com/5ugFUOFuxR
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) September 25, 2023
Pro Football Focus issued a grade of 78.5 for tackling grade, which I will take every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
He's a young player with inside/outside ability, which will only make this defense stronger.
Dallas Cowboys fans: Sunday was not the best showing for this team, but there are reasons to be optimistic for the rest of the season.
