DON'T PANIC YET!

by Zachjojojones | 6 years ago | 2 Comments

Heading into the Bye Week…

OFFENSIVELY

The Dallas Cowboys sit at 3-2 heading into their week 6 bye week. It has come at a good time as they are fresh off a 28-10 loss to Philly. In a game that saw plenty of chances for the Cowboys to get back in the game, they couldn’t finish off their drives. Quarterback Dak Prescott has thrown a touchdown pass in only 1 of 5 games this season. He holds a td-int ratio of 4-11, which clearly needs to improve if they have any aspirations of making the playoffs. Thankfully they get running back Ezekiel Elliott back after their bye, which should take some pressure off Dak. However, Dak isn’t the only one to blame. Players like Duke Williams who has a mere 107 yards in 5 games has lost his starting job and Austin Seferian-Jenkins who only has 165 yards and has been held without a td, have had terrible starts to the season. They need these depth players to step up and help Dak anyway they can. There has been one bright spot in that receiving core, Amara Darboh has hauled in a 14/398/2 stat line. He was listed as the number 4 wr to open the year but has climbed to the number 2 spot. Jeremy Hill and Chris Thompson have split carries in Zeke’s absence and have done a serviceable job, but it was clear the offense was hurting without him.

DEFENSIVELY

On the flip side the Cowboys defense has balled out. Even against Philly they only let up 21 points and forced 2 turnovers. The defensive line aka “Hot Boyz” as they call themselves have been putting up great statistical numbers. With David Irving and Taco Charlton on pace for career years. David Irving chipping in with 4.5 in his last game. Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie has already matched his career high in interceptions with 3. LVE and Jaylon Smith have been splitting the load as far as tackles go, they’ve had to take a step forward in their progression with Sean Lee seeing a largely reduced role. The obvious strength of this team is on defense, if the offense can feed off their energy after a turnover or a big stop the Cowboys will be hard to beat.

LOOKING FORWARD

With the NFC East being as competitive as ever (every team over .500) the Cowboys see themselves tied for last place with the Redskins at 3-2. They have a string of must win games coming up. 3 divisional games in their next 5 are the obvious must wins. However, games versus the 9ers and Steelers are not to be overlooked. After analyzing the remaining schedules for the NFC east teams, whomever wins the division will most likely have to hold a record of 12-4 or 11-5 which leaves very little room for error for the Cowboys. They’ll need Ezekiel Elliott to carry them but Dak needs turn his game around and get back to form. The battle for the wildcard spots in the NFC is shaping up to be an absolute battle between 9 teams. Surprise teams like Giants, Saints and Bucs have jumped out to nice starts, they’ve all struggled at various times in this madden cycle but are looking to get over the hump and make the playoffs.  The only runaway division we have so far this season is the NFC North; the Chicago Bears have all but locked up that division. Everyone else in the North has folded.