The Dallas Cowboys passing game has been the main topic of discussion surrounding America's Team headed into the 2020 season with a strong wide receiver group and Quarterback Dak Prescott under center. But despite the offseason hype, the Cowboys didn't get over the 20-point mark as they lost to the Los Angeles Rams but there were big moments for the passing offense, including a deep bomb to Michael Gallup that would've changed the outcome of the game had it not been called back due to offensive pass interference.
You could certainly call it a disappointing performance by the offense. Dalton Schultz dropped the ball twice, Amari Cooper let go of a key first down catch, and overall in the second half, the offense went quiet with a failed fourth-and-three conversion attempt in the red zone standing out as the highlight.
But Dak Prescott and the Cowboys have a great opportunity to bounce back from adversity on week 2 when they face the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are coming off a big loss against the Seattle Seahawks in which Russell Wilson had the same amount of incompletions as he did touchdowns. The final stat line for Wilson was 31 pass completions out of 35 attempts (89%) for 322 yards and four touchdowns.
He was the second-best graded quarterback by Pro Football Focus at 91.2. But perhaps no stat is more telling than the one Sheil Kapadia shared on The Athletic NFL:
“The Falcons' defense didn't force a single tight-window throw in their loss to the Seahawks. Russell Wilson attempted 35 passes, and not one had a defender within 1 yard of the wide receiver.”
Yikes. That's not great for the Falcons. But it is great for the Cowboys, who could be playing without their two starting tackles on Sunday. La'el Collins remains on Injured Reserve while Tyron Smith is questionable on the injury report. It'll be interesting to see how the Cowboys adapt if that's the case. Will they go with a quick pass attack like the Rams did on week 1? Or will they try to attack downfield?
Either way, the Falcons' secondary will have a very rough time matching up against Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb. Falcons cornerbacks Isaiah Oliver, Darqueze Dennard, and rookie A.J. Terrell all graded poorly on PFF (50.8 or less).
If the Cowboys are able to hold up their own on the offensive line against a Falcons defensive line that sacked Wilson three times last week, Dak Prescott and his wide receivers should be able to light up Atlanta's secondary for the first big performance of this team's much-discussed offense.
