The Dallas Cowboys hosted the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football for the right to hoist the Governor’s Cup until the next matchup. Houston will keep the cup after a thorough 34-10 beating of the Cowboys that was much closer than the score indicated. At least for a short while.
We should have known how the game was going to go when the Cowboys attempted to open the roof for the game to enjoy the starry Texas night sky, but a piece of the metal roof broke off and crashed down onto the field right in front of some field level luxury suites.
It was a bad omen, but haven’t we had so many bad omens already this season? One more couldn’t hurt. Except it hurt in the way that the Cowboys suffered their fifth 20-point home loss in their last six games by a total combined score of 187-69.
This is a level of ineptitude that I haven’t seen from this team since the 2015 season when QB Tony Romo was injured twice in one season. Except I feel like this team is closer to the teams that went 5-11 in three consecutive seasons under HC Dave Campo.
Those teams were extremely talented on defense, but a PlaySkool brand plastic toy gun had more fire than the offense did back then.
Dallas falls to 3-7 on the season, and their playoff hopes keep swirling further and further down the drain each time they take the field. This might leave you wondering “what comes next for the Cowboys?”
Sweeping Changes
Now that the Cowboys’ chances of winning the NFC East and making the playoffs stand a +40000 odds on ESPN, it’s time to focus on the future. Unfortunately, that means possibly making matters even worse by making changes to the lineup.
Here are the three main changes I would like to see so we can evaluate the future and make a 2025 plan and beyond for this football team:
Trey Lance Must Start
I’ve seen enough of Cooper Rush. He might know the offense better than anyone else besides Dak Prescott, but his magic of previous seasons has run out. The Cowboys don’t have the defense or rushing attack that aided him in previous stints replacing an injured Prescott.
Trey Lance might not have turned the corner as a stand-in-the-pocket quarterback, but his skillset provides the boost in the rushing attack the Cowboys need to open up the passing game and keep the ball out of the opponents’ hands.
This, in turn, also means the defense stays off the field and gets proper rest instead of running back out onto the field before they’ve even caught their breath on the bench.
Lance is in the final year of his deal, and it would benefit the Cowboys to a certain extent for him to step in and play well enough to garner interest on the free agent market. It could mean another compensatory draft pick.
Juanyeh Thomas Needs More Snaps
Not only does S Juanyeh Thomas need more snaps, but I dare say he should be starting over Donovan Wilson.
Wilson is an X-factor when he is allowed to play near the line of scrimmage in run support or even as a pass rusher. In coverage, however, Wilson leaves much to be desired.
Thomas has shown that he is adept at coverage, and the Cowboys need coverage safeties right now, since teams feel they can air it out early and jump out to big leads. He’s another player who is in a contract year, and I feel he is talented enough to retain.
Juanyeh needs a spot on this team moving forward, and it needs to be in a bigger role.
Feed Rico Dowdle
If Rico Dowdle is the lead back like HC Mike McCarthy told us this past week, then he should be treated as such moving forward. We need to know if Dowdle can handle the load as the lead running back for 2025 and beyond.
He has struggled with injuries since he came into the league, and this season is his first real opportunity as a healthy player. Dowdle has played well, but too often he has lost snaps to a fading Ezekiel Elliott and a diminutive Deuce Vaughn.
I’d like to see Dowdle get the start, and not cede snaps to a backup until he is too tired to be on the field. He should not be coming out of the game unless he taps his helmet that he needs a break.
There is not another running back on this roster as talented as he is, and every time he is off the field, the offense is worse for it.