Week one is always filled with uncertainty, and one of those got off to a good start on Sunday.
Fifth-round rookie Caelen Carson probably played as well as anyone could have hoped after we all thought that side of the field was in trouble when DaRon Bland got hurt.
I was not expecting much from his first start in the NFL, but it probably does not get much better than that. He has his struggles at times, but only one or two of those come to mind. Rather than his good plays, I would have to watch again to count them all.
Pump The Brakes
I will not overreact to week one, but we are now one week close to having DaRon Bland back on the field.
Carson is going to be the one holding it down on his side of the field until he returns.
Bland will be out 6–8 weeks with a stress fracture in his foot. He has already had surgery to repair it.
Bland, who led the league in interceptions last year with nine, including an NFL-record five returned for touchdowns, suffered the injury towards the end of training camp in Oxnard.
Tests revealed the stress fracture, which will likely shelf the Pro Bowl corner for two months.
Nonetheless, we are now done with the first week of the season, and Carson was awesome in his first game, replacing Bland.
“Honestly, I didn’t know how the first game was going to go,” Carson said after the win, “but I knew one thing: I wasn’t going to come in here scared.”
The Browns attacked him early and often, like I thought they would. He did not shy away from it and balled out.
I mean he held Amari Cooper to just 16 yards. He broke up probably a handful of them heading his way. Carson also dropped two interceptions.
Is it Sustainable?
Here is the question going forward. Can a rookie like Carson sustain this going forward, at least until the Cowboys can ease DaRon Bland back into the mix?
He is going to struggle for a game or two, everyone does, even the best of them do from time to time.
Carson’s play caught the eye of noted NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger. He played five seasons in Dallas, from 1982 to 1987.
Baldinger has one of the most popular weekly segments on social media in which he breaks down the top performances from the weekend slate.
Check out the video below to see what he had to say about Carson’s play.
Carson’s near-pick-six in the first quarter is what caught him eye to start.
Carson jumped a comeback route intended for Cooper, but was a half-second to late. He then applauded Carson’s break on a slant to Cooper and later when Carson blanketed Cooper on a shot to the end zone.
Pro Football Focus only credited Carson with a 61.8 coverage grade because he gave up the touchdown to Jerry Jeudy. That is going to happen every now and again.
The Cowboys always do this somehow. They draft maybe the best out of any team in football, and when Bland went down I was worried, but wanted to wait and few games.
Carson looked good in week one which is one week closer to the return of Bland.
Dallas has the next two games at home against the Saints and Ravens before heading on the road against the Giants and the Steelers.
So Carson should be able to feel good over the next few games as many of them don’t have a dominant no. 2 wide receiver. When Bland does return it’ll only make this backend even better.