Restoring The Star: A Dallas Cowboys Franchise

[Cory Levy]

"Dallas 2020: Depends on Dak?"



"The Cowboys Opened Training Camp For The 2020 Season Last Friday"

Another year and another football season is upon us. As always, the Dallas Cowboys find themselves as one of the most talked about teams in the league during these early stages of the long football calendar. The storylines revolving around the team are quite numerous but the main one has to center around the development of Dak Prescott. The fourth round product of Mississippi State seemed like a revolution in his rookie season, taking over for the oft injured in the last few years of his career Tony Romo and hasn't looked back since. However, many will claim that rookie season was Prescott's peak; that he's plateaued since then. Despite many statistics to back up his worth, the questions still remain on just how talented Dak truly is and how far he can take the Cowboys as QB1 of America's Team. With the Jones family making the ultimate decision to firmly entrench Prescott as the face of the franchise by paying him $30 million dollars per year with his shiny new contract this Offseason, the pressure on Prescott is more dense and weighty than ever. Of course, Prescott has never doubted himself, saying in an opening day statement that "[the new contract] doesn't mean much now - doesn't change having to come to the field or the film room ever day and putting in the work that needs to be done. I love the responsibility that comes with being the QB in Dallas, wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world."

Other major storylines coming into the 2020 season include:

New Face, New Fire: It was unsurprising that Jason Garrett was shown the door once and for all after an 8-8 campaign a year ago. However it was surprising that Kris Richard was ultimately given the reigns as the next Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys, especially given how un-spectacular his defensive unit played in spurts last year. However, the fire Richard has for pushing his team to the next level is evident in spades only three days into Training Camp. It's not an unusual sequence to witness Richard racing players up and down the sidelines or fighting with Defensive Backs to make a catch in the middle of the field.

The Fall of the Great Wall of Dallas?: Once seen as undoubtedly the best Offensive Line in football, Dallas' O-Line appeared to be a shell of its former self at points in 2019. Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, La'el Collins and Travis Frederick all missed multiple games last year. Dallas made a point to re-stock the O-Line in the NFL Draft in the form of rookies Darrin Paulo and John Simpson. If the O-Line wilts yet again, could we be on the precipice of some new fixtures attempting to protect Dak and open lanes for Zeke?

Putting The D in Big D?: In 2018 Dallas' defense looked poised to take the next step to becoming an elite unit. Lead by the Hot Boyz on the Defensive Line, the remarkable play of young LB duo Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch and a sturdy secondary, the sky was the limit for the Dallas defense. Turns out the sky was only a mirage in 2019 as the defense was gashed repeatedly in the rushing game, the Linebackers looked young and lost and the secondary showed cracks that turned into full blown ruptures at times. Will Richard be able to put the defense back on track or will Dallas' defense once again pale in comparison to the Offensive side of the ball?

Kicking The Tires: Brett Maher's time in Dallas was as hot and cold as a malfunctioning faucet. A tremendous leg, Maher made multiple 60+ yard Field Goals while in Dallas. However, once closer to the uprights Maher struggled, costing Dallas a few victories by missing 'makeable' Field Goals. Holding an open kick try out during the Offseason, Dallas is hopeful it will have find an answer at Kicker in the form of 25 year old rookie Cole Tracey from LSU. Tracey went Undrafted in 2019 and was not signed into the NFL before being signed to the re-ignited XFL league. Tracey impressed Dallas enough to win the opportunity. Coming out of college many pro scouts questioned Tracey's ability to kick any substantially long Field Goals as his kicking arc is undeniably low; he also struggles with Kick Off duties. That said once in range Tracey is unquestionably a more accurate kicker than Maher was.

2020 Dallas Cowboys Opening Day Roster
#	OFFENSE	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
4	Dak Prescott	QB	27	6'2"	238	Mississippi State
5	Clayton Thorson	QB	24	6'4"	226	Northwestern
7	Nick Fiztgerald	QB	23	6'5"	229	Mississippi State
10	D'Eriq King*	QB	22	5'11"	195	Houston
21	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	25	6'0"	225	Ohio State
20	Tony Pollard	RB	23	6'0"	205	Memphis
40	D'Onta Foreman	RB	24	6'1"	233	Texas
30	Greg McCrae*	RB	21	5'10"	175	UCF
33	Stephen Carr*	RB	21	6'0"	210	USC
49	Jamize Olawale	FB	31	6'1"	240	North Texas
32	Khalid Hill	FB	25	6'2"	263	Michigan
19	Amari Cooper	WR	26	6'1"	210	Alabama
13	Michael Gallup	WR	24	6'1"	198	Colorado State
11	Jalen Reagor	WR	21	5'11"	195	TCU
15	Cedrick Wilson	WR	24	6'2"	197	Boise State
85	Noah Brown	WR	24	6'2"	222	Ohio State
81	Jon'Vea Johnson	WR	24	5'11"	192	Toledo
14	Lance Lenoir	WR	25	6'0"	210	W. Illinois
88	Isaiah Wright*	WR	22	6'2"	220	Temple
80	Ventell Bryant	WR	24	6'3"	205	Temple
17	Jeff Thomas*	WR	21	5'10"	170	Miami
82	Jason Witten	TE	38	6'6"	263	Tennessee
89	Blake Jarwin	TE	26	6'5"	260	Oklahoma State
86	Dalton Schultz	TE	24	6'5"	244	Stanford
46	Jared Rice*	TE	23	6'5"	230	Fresno State
45	Armani Levias*	TE	22	6'4:	257	Marshall
77	Tyron Smith	OT	29	6'5"	320	USC
71	La'el Collins	OT	27	6'4"	315	LSU
75	Darrin Paulo*	OT	23	6'5"	318	Utah
69	Brandon Knight	OT	23	6'4"	314	Indiana
76	Marcus Norman*	OT	22	6'6"	305	USF
52	Connor Williams	OG	23	6'6"	312	Texas
70	Zack Martin	OG	29	6'4"	310	Notre Dame
65	John Simpson*	OG	22	6'4"	320	Clemson
66	Connor McGovern	OG	22	6'5"	308	Penn State
78	Cody Wichmann	OG	28	6'5"	325	Fresno State
72	Travis Frederick	C	29	6'4"	318	Wisconsin
61	Adam Redmond	C	27	6'6"	300	Harvard
58	Johnny Wilson*	C	23	6'3"	304	Oklahoma State
#	DEFENSE	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
90	DeMarcus Lawrence	DE	28	6'3"	265	Boise State
92	Dorance Armstrong	DE	23	6'4"	259	Kansas
98	Joe Gaziano*	DE	23	6'4"	277	Northwestern
56	Joe Jackson	DE	23	6'5"	265	Miami
79	Jalen Jelks	DE	24	6'6"	245	Oregon
94	Delontae Scott*	DE	23	6'5"	260	SMU
73	Drew Jordan*	DE	22	6'2"	260	Duke
99	Antuwan Woods	DT	27	6'1"	318	USC
97	Trysten Hill	DT	22	6'2"	315	UCF
95	Christian Covington	DT	26	6'2"	310	Rice
93	Lorenzo Neal*	DT	22	6'3"	315	Purdue
96	Broderick Washington Jr.*	DT	23	6'3"	305	Texas Tech
55	Leighton Vander Esch	OLB	24	6'4"	256	Boise State
53	Kamu Grugier-Hill	OLB	26	6'2"	230	Eastern Illinois
59	Jordyn Brooks*	OLB	22	6'1"	245	Texas Tech
51	Justin Strnad	OLB	23	6'3"	235	Wake Forest
54	Jaylon Smith	MLB	25	6'2"	240	Notre Dame
57	Luke Gifford	MLB	25	6'3"	242	Nebraska
50	Zack McCloud*	MLB	22	6'2"	235	Miami
44	Kyle Pugh*	MLB	22	6'0"	230	Northern Illinois
24	Chidobe Awuzie	CB	25	6'0"	202	Colorado
34	Bryce Hall*	CB	22	6'1"	200	Virginia
27	Jourdan Lewis	CB	25	5'10"	195	Michigan
29	Amani Oruwariye	CB	24	6'2"	205	Penn State
39	Chris Westry	CB	23	6'4"	199	Kentucky
31	Shyheim Carter*	CB	22	6'0"	191	Alabama
25	Xavier Woods	S	25	5'11"	205	L.A. Tech
41	Obi Melifonwu	S	26	6'4"	224	Connecticut
23	Darian Thompson	S	26	6'2"	211	Boise State
37	Donovan Wilson	S	25	6'0"	207	Texas A&M
22	Akeem Davis-Gaither*	S	23	6'2"	210	Appalachian State
42	Jeremy Chinn*	S	23	6'3"	212	Southern Illinois
#	SPECIAL TEAMS	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
3	Cole Tracey*	K	25	5'10"	184	LSU
1	Jonathan Brown	K	27	5'10"	194	Louisville
6	Chris Jones	P	31	6'0"	205	Carson-Newman

* Denotes Rookie Player

[Cory Levy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Knickerbocker91

If you have the draft class I think you have, Paulo is an absolute steal. I took him in my test run franchise

I won't spoil it for other people using the same draft classes but there's a reason I took him! Actually forgot to write it up somewhere but I traded up a few spots to make sure I got him too.

[Cory Levy]

"Cowboys Lose Most Battles This Preseason, Survive The War"



"Nick Fitzgerald Will Enter The 2020 Season As QB2"

Only notching one win in the Preason of the 2020 season won't have many Cowboys fans excited for the team to take the field in Week 1. However, not suffering any major injuries and getting most starters tuned for the regular season should have them gleeful for the start of the Regular Season. The Cowboys only Preseason win came in the last as the back up Cowboys won the race against the Arizona Cardinals' backups in a shootout, 45-27. The fact that the Cowboys looked stagnant in their 'dress rehearsal' game against the Jets (Dallas headed into half time down 10-0 before most starters were pulled). Some of the major storylines to evolve throughout the Preseason included the following:

Mississippi State QB Room: In a three man race sprint to decide the backup to Dak Prescott, fellow Mississippi State alum Nick Fitzgerald seems to have won the medal against Clayton Thorson and rookie D'Eriq King, though none of the parties looked stellar in any light. Fitzgerald finished with a 52% completion rating, 2 Touchdowns and 2 Interceptions while Thorson finished with a 49% completion rating, 0 Touchdowns and 3 Interceptions. D'Eriq King presented a lot of flash as an undrafted rookie with supreme athleticism but the game seemed to dwarf him and his athleticism was stymied versus NFL caliber talent.

Jason Witten, All-Pro... Backup?: It's no shock the Cowboys treat their third Preseason game as a practice run for the regular season. If that's the case and reports out of practice are true, it appears as if All-Pro veteran TE Jason Witten is no longer the starting TE for the Dallas Cowboys. Instead it will be the versatile, athletic youngster Blake Jarwin who will be expected to re-ignite the TE flame - though Witten will obviously play a role in two TE sets.

Future Of The Line: It's hard to judge players during the Preseason due to the sometimes lacking opposition. However, the young backups on Dallas' Offensive Line showed a ton of potential throughout the four exhibition games. Darrin Paulo started all four games for veteran Tyron Smith and more than held his own against starting DEs in every game. John Simpson looked like a wrecking ball at times at Guard. Even less flashy players Connor McGovern, G, and Brandon Knight, T, put together a bunch of solid game tape. There is definitely potential simmering within the group of back ups in the Great Wall of Dallas.

Rotation At DE?: Though Dallas would love to have a second War Daddy at DE opposite DeMarcus Lawrence, it seems as if they'll have to settle for throwing more than one body at the position. Though not totally confirmed, the plan seems to be for rookie Joe Gaziano to play in base defensive sets against planned rushing plays while Dorance Armstrong will come in during more obvious passing downs. Armstrong has shown flashes before while the team is very high on Gaziano so it may be interesting to see if one player can excel enough to steal snaps from the other as the season wears on.

2020 Dallas Cowboys Week 1 Roster
#	OFFENSE	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
4	Dak Prescott (C)	QB	27	6'2"	238	Mississippi State
7	Nick Fitzgerald	QB	23	6'4"	229	Mississippi State
21	Ezekiel Elliott (C)	RB	25	6'0"	225	Ohio State
20	Tony Pollard	RB	23	6'0"	205	Memphis
40	D'Onta Foreman	RB	24	6'1"	233	Texas
49	Jamize Olawale	FB	31	6'1"	240	North Texas
19	Amari Cooper	WR	26	6'1"	210	Alabama
13	Michael Gallup	WR	24	6'1"	198	Colorado State
11	Jalen Reagor*	WR	21	5'11"	195	TCU
15	Cedrick Wilson	WR	24	6'2"	197	Boise State
85	Noah Brown	WR	24	6'2"	222	Ohio State
81	Jon'Vea Johnson	WR	24	5'11"	192	Toledo
82	Jason Witten	TE	38	6'6"	263	Tennessee
89	Blake Jarwin	TE	26	6'5"	260	Oklahoma State
86	Dalton Schultz	TE	24	6'5"	244	Stanford
77	Tyron Smith	OT	29	6'5"	320	USC
71	La'el Collins	OT	27	6'4"	315	LSU
75	Darrin Paulo*	OT	23	6'5"	318	Utah
69	Brandon Knight	OT	23	6'4"	314	Indiana
70	Zack Martin (C)	OG	29	6'4"	310	Notre Dame
52	Connor Williams	OG	23	6'6"	312	Texas
65	John Simpson*	OG	22	6'4"	320	Clemson
66	Connor McGovern	OG	22	6'5"	308	Penn State
72	Travis Frederick	C	29	6'4"	318	Wisconsin
61	Adam Redmond	C	27	6'6"	300	Harvard
#	DEFENSE	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
90	DeMarcus Lawrence (C)	DE	28	6'3"	265	Boise State
92	Dorance Armstrong	DE	23	6'4"	259	Kansas
98	Joe Gaziano*	DE	23	6'4"	277	Northwestern
56	Joe Jackson	DE	23	6'5"	265	Miami
79	Jalen Jelks	DE	24	6'6"	245	Oregon
99	Antuwan Woods	DT	27	6'1"	318	USC
97	Trysten Hill	DT	22	6'2"	315	UCF
95	Christian Covington	DT	26	6'2"	310	Rice
93	Lorenzo Neal*	DT	22	6'3"	315	Purdue
55	Leighton Vander Esch	OLB	24	6'4"	256	Boise State
53	Kamu Grugier-Hill	OLB	26	6'2"	230	Eastern Illinois
59	Jordyn Brooks*	OLB	22	6'1"	245	Texas Tech
58	Kyle Queiro	OLB	25	6'2"	230	Northwestern
54	Jaylon Smith (C)	MLB	25	6'2"	240	Notre Dame
57	Luke Gifford	MLB	25	6'3"	242	Nebraska
44	Ty Summers	MLB	24	6'1"	241	TCU
24	Chidobe Awuzie	CB	25	6'0"	202	Colorado
34	Bryce Hall	CB	22	6'1"	200	Virginia
27	Jourdan Lewis	CB	25	5'10"	195	Michigan
29	Amani Oruwariye	CB	24	6'2"	205	Penn State
39	Chris Westry	CB	23	6'4"	199	Kentucky
25	Xavier Woods	S	25	5'11"	205	L.A. Tech
41	Obi Melifonwu	S	26	6'4"	224	Connecticut
23	Darrin Thompson	S	26	6'2"	211	Boise State
37	Donovan Wilson	S	25	6'0"	207	Texas A&M
#	SPECIAL TEAMS	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
3	Cole Tracey*	K	25	5'10"	184	LSU
1	Jonathan Brown	K	27	5'10"	194	Louisville
6	Chris Jones (C)	P	31	6'0"	205	Carson-Newman

* Denotes Rookie
(C) Denotes Team Captain

Dallas Cowboys 2020 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Sep 6	at Cleveland Browns
Sep 13	at Washington Redskins
Sep 20	vs Philadelphia Eagles
Sep 27	at San Francisco 49ers
Oct 4	vs Arizona Cardinals
Oct 11	at Cincinnati Bengals
Oct 19	at Atlanta Falcons
Oct 25	at Los Angles Rams
Nov 1	at New York Giants
Nov 15	vs Pittsburgh Steelers
Nov 19	vs Baltimore Ravens
Nov 26	vs Washington Redskins
Dec 6	at Philadelphia Eagles
Dec 13	vs Seattle Seahawks
Dec 17	vs Chicago Bears
Dec 27	vs New York Giants

[Cory Levy]

"Chiefs Retain No. 1 Spot In 2020 Power Rankings, Cowboys Lowest In Years"

It should come as no shock that the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs take home the No. 1 in Week 1 of the NFL Power Rankings. The Chiefs return all their explosive offensive weaponry and stingy defense under tenured Head Coach Andy Reid. Runner up in the Super Bowl earns the Chicago Bears the No. 4 spot while the New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks round out the Top 5. Aaron Rodgers, some would say, is (unfairly) the sole reason the Green Bay Packers begin the season at No. 6 while more rounded whole teams such as the Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Chargers are below them. Teams like the Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans fill spots in the teen numbers and look good on paper but have a lot to prove during the regular season. The Dallas Cowboys come into the season at what has to be their lowest ranking in recent memory at 25 (third in their division on the list and behind teams such as the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals). Simply put the Cowboys have a lot of question marks on their roster and many in the media have criticized Jerry Jones for promoting Kris Richard when his defense failed to rise to the occasion in 2019; it also became publicly known this week that Jerry had negotiations with Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley that abruptly blew up when Jerry refused to give up his title as GM to someone else. Unsurprisingly the Dolphins land in the last spot in the rankings, despite a talent full of youth and potential; they haven't shown any of it yet.

2020 NFL Week 1 Power Rankings
RK (LW)	Team	Record	Next Game
1 (N/A)	Kansas City Chiefs	0-0	vs IND
2 (N/A)	New Orleans Saints	0-0	vs CAR
3 (N/A)	New England Patriots	0-0	vs BUF
4 (N/A)	Chicago Bears	0-0	@ TEN
5 (N/A)	Seattle Seahawks	0-0	@ SF
6 (N/A)	Green Bay Packers	0-0	@ DET
7 (N/A)	Houston Texans	0-0	vs CIN
8 (N/A)	Philadelphia Eagles	0-0	vs NYG
9 (N/A)	San Francisco 49ers	0-0	vs SEA
10 (N/A)	Los Angeles Chargers	0-0	@ MIA
11 (N/A)	Baltimore Ravens	0-0	@ JAC
12 (N/A)	Indianapolis Colts	0-0	@ KC
13 (N/A)	Cleveland Browns	0-0	vs DAL
14 (N/A)	Carolina Panthers	0-0	@ NO
15 (N/A)	Buffalo Bills	0-0	@ NE
16 (N/A)	Los Angeles Rams	0-0	vs WAS
17 (N/A)	Pittsburgh Steelers	0-0	@ NYJ
18 (N/A)	Minnesota Vikings	0-0	vs ARI
19 (N/A)	Detroit Lions	0-0	vs GB
20 (N/A)	Tennessee Titans	0-0	vs CHI
21 (N/A)	Arizona Cardinals	0-0	@ MIN
22 (N/A)	Atlanta Falcons	0-0	vs TB
23 (N/A)	New York Giants	0-0	@ PHI
24 (N/A)	New York Jets	0-0	vs PIT
25 (N/A)	Dallas Cowboys	0-0	@ CLE
26 (N/A)	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	0-0	@ ATL
27 (N/A)	Washington Redskins	0-0	@ LAR
28 (N/A)	Oakland Raiders	0-0	vs DEN
29 (N/A)	Jacksonville Jaguars	0-0	vs BAL
30 (N/A)	Denver Broncos	0-0	@ OAK
31 (N/A)	Cincinnati Bengals	0-0	@ HOU
32 (N/A)	Miami Dolphins	0-0	vs. LAC

[Cory Levy]

"Cowboys Clutch In Cleveland"



"LB Jaylon Smith Snatches The Game Sealing INT

Dallas Cowboys at Cleveland Browns
Sep 6, 2020	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Dallas Cowboys (0-0)	6	7	6	8	27
Cleveland Browns (0-0)	0	7	0	13	20

There were questions about Dak Prescott. There were questions about the Defense. There were questions about new Head Coach Kris Richard. The Dallas Cowboys may not have shown all the answers but they did open the 2020 season with a tremendous win against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium to move to 1-0 on the young season.

It was a tough fought match up in Cleveland that had all the excitement, pomp and circumstance Week 1 in the National Football League usually has on display. The Browns received the Opening Kickoff and would gain some steam to start the game, with Baker Mayfield guiding his team into Dallas territory, overcoming an early 3rd & Long with a 14 yard gain to Odell Beckham Jr. However, rookie DE Joe Gaziano halted the Browns momentum with a sack on First Down that disrupted the opposition and led to the Browns punting their first possession away. Dallas took their opening possession on their own 12 yard line and slowly but surely worked down the field, eating up most of the rest of the first quarter. QB Dak Prescott found WRs Amari Cooper, Jalen Reagor and TE Blake Jarwin for gains of at least 10 yards during the drive while RB Ezekiel Elliott ran tough and rough over the Browns' stiff run defense, eventually capping the drive off with a two yard plunge into the Endzone to give Dallas the early 6-0 lead (rookie Kicker Cole Tracey missed the Extra Point).

In Quarter 2, a 30 yard scamper by Browns RB Nick Chubb set Cleveland up in prime position in the redzone, which Mayfield took full advantage of by finding WR Henry Ruggs III open in the Endzone on a designed pick play to take the 1 point lead, 7-6. Dallas responded right back on its second possession of the game, marching down the field as Prescott had two scrambles and completions of 19 and 17 Yards, even overcoming a huge 13 yard sack by Sheldon Rankins for an eventual 13 Yard TD to Jarwin to re-take the lead 13-7. Throughout the rest of the second quarter, Dallas and Cleveland would trade the ball back and forth with both defenses standing up and disallowing either side to gain offensive traction going into Half Time. Browns DE Myles Garrett was a force the entire game but showed up big in Q2 with two sacks on one drive alone.

After Half Time, the Cowboys looked to exert their will on the Browns as they received the second half Kick Off and they appeared to do so as they sliced and diced through the Browns' defense with RBs Tony Pollard and D'Onta Foreman giving Zeke an extended rest. However, the promising drive fizzled in the Red Zone after two sacks (one again by Garrett) led to a short Tracey field goal to move Dallas up three points, 16-7. Dallas would show off a little of it's own sack party starting in Q3 as DE DeMarcus Lawrence got into the action, taking down Mayfield on their first drive of the second half. The Dallas defense would stall the Browns and get the ball back for their Offense, which once again would stumble in the Red Zone when Prescott was sacked again by blitzing LB Genard Avery, closing out Q3 with another short Field Goal to net Dallas another three, 19-7.

Though Dallas appeared firmly in control, the Browns started Quarter 4 with the ball and used that to their advantage, as Mayfield found Ruggs III and Njoku for five receptions combined, leading his team down the field at the behest of the home crowd. Cleveland showed they still had life with a 2 Yard Rushing Touchdown from back up RB Reggie Gilliam to move within one score of Dallas, 19-14. This time it was Cleveland's defense that showed up, holding Dallas to just one first down on their next drive, though Dallas P Chris Jones perfectly dropped the ball onto the Browns' own 5 yard line. It would prove to be of little challenge to the Browns as Beckham Jr. would explode against rookie CB Bryce Hall for an insane 95 yard Touchdown streak from Mayfield that tore the (non-existent) roof off FirstEnergy Stadium. The two-point conversion failed but the Browns still held a 20-19 lead and all the momentum in the game.

With just over 6 minutes left in the game, it was up to Prescott, Zeke and Co. to respond and regain the lead. Respond they did with a tremendous drive that has to have the Jones Family happy they paid Prescott in the Offseason. Dak led the team on its final drive with calmness and an assured nature, finding WR Michael Gallup twice for 12 Yard receptions and Reagor once for a big 15 Yard conversion on 3rd and 5 on the CLE 33. Once inside the Red Zone it was all Zeke, Pollard and a brutish Offensive Line performance. With just under a minute and a half left in the game, Zeke crashed into the End Zone from 1 Yard out and Prescott zipped a laser to Cooper to maximize an 8 point score and lead 27-20. A last gasp was all the Browns had and it was suffocated when Mayfield forced a Slant Route to Beckham Jr. that was Intercepted by LB Jaylon Smith. Most of the Cowboys bench emptied onto the field (to the point where an excessive celebration penalty was enforced) and mobbed Smith as he swiped his way to the End Zone after the play was over.

Team Stats Comparison
	DAL	CLE
Total Offense	356	336
Rushing Yards	150	96
Passing Yards	206	240
First Downs	22	14
Punt Return Yards	13	14
Kick Return Yards	85	98
Total Yards	454	452
Turnovers	0 (+1)	1 (-1)
3rd Down Conversion	8-14	4-8
4th Down Conversion	1-2	0-0
2-Point Conversion	1-1	0-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	5	2
Penalties	4-20	2-23
Posession Time	30:52	21:05

Dallas Cowboys PASSING C/A YDS TD INT D. Prescott 24/31 261 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD E. Elliott 23 95 4.1 2 T. Pollard 5 26 5.2 0 D. Prescott 3 14 4.6 0 D. Foreman 2 15 7.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD M. Gallup 6 76 12.6 0 A. Cooper 6 67 11.1 0 B. Jarwin 5 57 11.4 1 J, Reagor 3 42 14.0 0 E. Elliott 2 14 7.0 0 T. Pollard 1 2 2.0 0 J. Witten 1 3 3.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD J. Smith 8 0 1 0 O. Melifonwu 7 0 0 0 K. Grugier-Hill 6 0 0 0 L. Vander Esch 6 0 0 0 X. Woods 5 0 0 0 D. Lawrence 4 2 0 0 B. Hall 4 0 0 0 C. Awuzie 4 0 0 0 A. Oruwariye 2 0 0 0 L. Neal 2 0 0 0 J. Brooks 2 0 0 0 T. Hill 2 0 0 0 J. Gaziano 1 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG C. Tracey 2/2 1/2 7 42 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 C. Jones 2 105 52.5 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J. Reagor 3 85 28.3 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J. Reagor 1 13 13.0 0

Cleveland Browns PASSING C/A YDS TD INT B. Mayfield 22/26 261 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD N, Chubb 11 59 5.3 0 J. Dobbins 6 35 5.8 0 R. Gilliam 1 2 2.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD O. Beckham Jr. 4 120 30.0 1 D. Njoku 6 47 7.8 0 H. Ruggs III 4 26 6.5 1 J. Dobbins 3 27 9.0 0 A. Callaway 2 20 10.0 0 J. Landry 2 14 7.0 0 N. Chubb 1 7 7.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD J. Schobert 14 0 0 0 M. Garrett 10 3 0 0 D. Ward 9 0 0 0 G. Avery 7 1 0 0 D. Randall 7 0 0 0 B. Martinez 6 0 0 0 G. Williams 5 0 0 0 A. Phillips 4 0 0 0 S. Richardson 4 1 0 0 C. Kirksey 3 0 0 0 L. Ogunjobi 2 0 0 0 C. Claypool 2 0 0 0 T. Carrie 2 1 0 0 M. Jefferson 2 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG C. Rothe 0/0 2/2 2 N/A PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 J. Gillan 4 164 41.0 2 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD A. Callaway 4 98 24.5 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J. Landry 1 18 18.0 0

"QB Dak Prescott Finds WR Amari Cooper Early In The Game"


"Rookie DE Joe Gaziano Notches The First Sack For Dallas In 2020"


"Blake Jarwin Was One Of Prescott's Favorite Targets Sunday Afternoon"


Post Game Snippets:

"Played their hearts out, absolutely. Proud of the guys; the way they fought and didn't fold in the end there."
- HC Kris Richard on team's performance on final drive

"Off to a Hot Boys Start, man, that's what matters. Get the W and on to the next week. Ain't gonna simmer in it too long."
- DE DeMarcus Lawrence on getting first win in week 1

"That was a welcome to the NFL moment, for sure. OBJ is a freak but we already knew that."
- Rookie CB Bryce Hall on giving up 95 yard touchdown to Odell Beckham Jr.


Up Next:

@ Washington Redskins (0-1)

[johnstone1987]

I like the photos what do you use?

[Cory Levy]

Quote: Originally Posted by johnstone1987

I like the photos what do you use?

Straight up just the Capture Gallery on PS4! Then ported to a USB stick and uploaded to Imageshack. That's about all I can manage but I need the immersion and they come out well! It's also fun to pick just 4 photos from each game.

"Zeke & Destroy"



"RB Ezekiel Elliott Amassed 164 Yards From Scrimmage On 28 Total Touches"

Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins
Sep 13, 2020	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Dallas Cowboys (1-0)	3	7	7	6	23
Washington Redskins (0-1)	0	7	0	6	13

In a sloppy game in Washington, Dallas Cowboys star RB Ezekiel Elliott proved to be the steady and deadly neutralizer for the squad as they defeated the division rival Washington Redskins by ten points at FedEx Field.

Washington won the toss and elected to receive the opening Kick Off. The 'Skins moved into Dallas territory before a wildly reckless deep ball by QB Case Keenum overshot his intended receiver and landed right into the arms of Dallas S Xavier Woods. Dallas looked unprepared from the get go as Elliott appeared to have fumbled the ball right back to Washington only for the play to luckily be overturned. Dallas was undaunted by starting on their own five yard line and methodically galloped down the field with a mix of Elliott on the ground and QB Dak Prescott spreading the ball to his receivers once again. However, Dallas' first possession stalled in the Red Zone as Dak overthrew Rookie WR Jalen Reagor which led to a Cole Tracey field goal and a 3-0 lead. Washington would receive the ball a second time in Quarter one and get to Dallas' 38 yard line before being forced to Punt on the edge of Field Goal range.

Early in Quarter Two Elliott showed his catching prowess on an impressive 19 yard catch and run that saw him juke LB De'Vondre Campbell out of his shoes on a Texas angle. One play later Dak faked a hand off to Zeke and launched a tremendous 34 Yard dart to WR Michael Gallup in the midst of not one, not two but three defenders for Gallup to make a magnificent spinning circus catch to move Dallas up 10 points, 10-0. The Cowboys and Redskins would trade possessions until Washington finally broke through offensively and Keenum found rookie WR Jerry Jeudy in the End Zone for his first career Receiving Touchdown. Washington wasn't going to fold to their division rivals and moved within 3 points of Dallas, 10-7. Though the Cowboys got deep into Washington territory right before the Half, Prescott was flushed from the pocket and forced to scramble into the open field and was brought down three yards shy of a Touchdown with no timeouts left just before the Half came to a close.

Dallas received the second half Kick Off and looked ready and able to move the ball on the Redskins after a 12 Yard Rush from Zeke and a 22 Yard Reception to WR Amari Cooper. Their momentum evaporated instantly when the previously juked-out LB Campbell managed to slip underneath a Cooper crossing pattern and Intercept Prescott. The Redskins could do little with the ball though as they would punt it back to the Cowboys a few plays later. Another frustrating drive that moved nowhere for Prescott and Co. and the Redskins were still down only 3 with the ball late in the third. That's when rookie CB Bryce Hall made his mark on the game with a beautiful diving interception that will surely rival Gallup's catch from earlier in the game for Catch of the Year. This time all it took was three plays for Dallas to punch it into the End Zone with a 13 Yard Rush from Elliott to move up a Tocuhdown again, 17-7.

The Fourth Quarter would see Dallas place a strangle hold on their rivals with two suffocating drives that would eat up most of the clock and lead to two chip shot Field Goals for Tracey to move Dallas up even more, 23-7. With little time remaining in the game, Washington did manage to move the ball quickly on Dallas' prevent defense and score a late Touchdown to WR Terry McLaurin but both the Two Point Conversion and the On Side Kick failed for the Redskins and the game ended in a ten point loss, 23-13.

Team Stats Comparison
	DAL	WAS
Total Offense	471	295
Rushing Yards	178	59
Passing Yards	293	236
First Downs	25	15
Punt Return Yards	0	1
Kick Return Yards	50	103
Total Yards	521	399
Turnovers	2	2
3rd Down Conversion	8-12	6-12
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4	2
Penalties	4-38	2-18
Posession Time	30:15	21:42

Dallas Cowboys PASSING C/A YDS TD INT D. Prescott 24/30 303 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD E. Elliott 22 121 5.5 1 T. Pollard 6 12 2.0 0 D. Prescott 6 42 7.0 0 D. Foreman 1 3 3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD A. Cooper 6 105 17.5 0 M. Gallup 5 89 17.8 1 E. Elliott 6 43 7.1 0 J, Johnson 1 29 29.0 0 J. Reagor 2 16 8.0 0 C. Wilson 1 11 11.0 0 B, Jarwin 1 7 7.0 0 J. Olawale 1 4 4.0 0 J. Witten 1 -1 -1.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD D. Lawrence 9 3 0 0 X. Woods 8 0 1 0 J. Lewis 8 0 0 0 J. Smith 5 0 0 0 L. Vander Esch 5 1 0 0 C. Awuzie 4 0 0 0 O. Melifonwu 4 0 0 0 K. Grugier-Hill 3 0 0 0 A. Oruwariye 3 0 0 0 B. Hall 2 0 1 0 D. Wilson 2 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG C. Tracey 3/3 2/2 11 33 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 C. Jones 1 52 52.0 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J. Reagor 1 26 26.0 0 T. Pollard 1 25 25.0 0 C. Wilson 1 -1 -1.0 0

Washington Redskins PASSING C/A YDS TD INT C. Keenum 23/35 267 2 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD D. Guice 9 23 2.5 0 B. Love 6 36 6.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD T. McLaurin 6 132 22.0 1 P. Richardson Jr. 5 50 10.0 0 J. Jeudy 4 28 7.0 1 J. Reed 5 25 5.0 0 B. Love 2 24 12.0 0 T. Quinn 1 8 8.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD M. Nicholson 11 0 0 0 J. Norman 10 0 0 0 D. Campbell 9 1 1 0 L. Collins 9 0 0 0 J. Verrett 8 0 0 0 R. Foster 7 0 0 0 F. Moreau 7 0 0 0 M. Ioannidis 5 0 0 0 C. Holcomb 4 0 0 0 J. Allen 2 1 0 0 R. Kerrigan 2 0 0 0 M. Sweat 2 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG R. Blankenship 0/0 1/1 1 N/A PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 T. Way 4 138 34.5 3 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD B. Love 4 103 25.7 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD B. Love 1 1 1.0 0

"WR Michael Gallup With The Amazing Circus Catch"


"Rookie CB Bryce Hall With His First Career Interception Right In Front Of Head Coach Kris Richard"


"The Dallas Defense Held Washington In Check Sunday Afternoon"


Post Game Snippets:

"Lots of things to correct, lot of places to get better. You take the win, you appreciate the win and you learn from the win."
- HC Kris Richard on team's sloppiness in a win

"It's doing what I do best: eat. Keep feeding, I'll keep eating; it's pretty simple!"
- HB Ezekiel Elliott on his performance

"Just didn't see the LB drop quick enough - I knew it was a bad throw as soon as it was in the air. They played damn tough and they always do so it's not surprising to see them come up big like that."
- QB Dak Prescott on his first interception of the season


Injury Report:

WR Jalen Reagor - Left Game w/ Thigh Bruise - Day to Day


Up Next:

9/20 vs Philadelphia Eagles (0-2)
QB Carson Wentz | DT Fletcher Cox | TE Zach Ertz

[Cory Levy]

"A Dish Best Served Defensively"



"Dallas' Defense Held The Eagles To Just Over 200 Offensive Yards"

Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
Sep 20, 2020	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Philadelphia Eagles (0-2)	0	10	6	0	16
Dallas Cowboys (2-0)	3	10	7	3	23

NFC East games can come with some wacky, unpredictable and outright confusing results, especially when the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys match up with one another. Such was the case on Sunday - by all means statistically the Cowboys blew the Eagles out of Texas but due to three costly turnovers committed by QB Dak Prescott matched with a monster game by DE Brandon Graham (five sacks), the game was a close combat down to the final drives. Dallas is lucky to have survived their first home game with a W but exit the game with lots of questions to answer for the rest of the season, especially with regards to G Connor Williams and the decision making of their QB1.

As trends would have it, Dallas' opposition would receive the Opening Kickoff. Dallas and Philadelphia would trade Punts for the beginning of the game as both Offenses would fail to find traction. It wasn't until Dallas' second possession late in the 1st that the Cowboys would finally break through the scoring doldrums with a very short Field Goal from K Cole Tracey to move up 3-0 after Prescott was sacked by Josh Sweat on 3rd Down; a theme for the game as Prescott was sacked a mighty 7 times by the fierce Eagles' pass rush. The first quarter would prove to be a foreshadow just how tough a match-up their NFC East rival would be this season despite being win-less.

Dallas' first possession of Quarter 2 would yield more positive results as a healthy dose of RB Ezekiel Elliott would help march Dallas down the field. Dallas would get all the way to the Philly 2 Yard line but fail on third down as Zeke could only squeeze out one yard. Faced with the decision up only a single Field Goal, Head Coach Kris Richard quietly nodded to Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore to keep the offense on the field. The call was marvelously simple: a one yard plunge right into the gut of the Eagles' defense by Dak put Dallas up 10-0. The very next drive QB Carson Wentz would answer, spreading the ball to his plethora of options before Rookie CB Bryce Hall would gamble and lose on an Interception, allowing WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside to freely walk into the End Zone and match Dallas to 10-7. With over 5 minutes in the Quarter, both Offenses would get their turn before Half but neither could come away with anything substantial outside of trading Field Goals for Dallas to have a small three point lead at the Half 13-10.

Coming out of Half Time with the ball and a small three point lead, Dallas looked to knock out their division rivals but it was the Eagles who launched the first hay-maker in the second half when veteran S Malcolm Jenkins perfectly read Prescott's eyes and picked him off on only the second play of the Quarter 3. Dallas' D was ready to heed the call immediately, giving no ground to the Eagles and forcing Philly to cash in for only a 50 yard Field Goal, unfortunately still tying the game 13-13. With the game tied the pressure seemed to get the most of Dak Prescott, who appeared to be trying to win the game on one play, scrambling on a long 3rd and 19 and stretching for the first down only to be smacked hard by LB Nigel Bradham and CB Rasul Douglas, giving Philadelphia not only the football with a fumble but all the momentum as well. The home Arlington crowd went silent. Though Dallas' defense again did all they could, the Eagles were already in Field Goal range and K Dustin Hopkins would give the Eagles their first lead of the game from 36 Yards Out, 13-16.

With Dallas seemingly dead in the water and their QB sweating from two turnovers, they did the only sensible thing: they turned and handed the ball off to their RB, who just so happened to be Backup Tony Pollard, spelling Zeke at that time in the third quarter. Pollard responded by racing right through the heart of the Eagles' defense and dashing to the End Zone in a single play with a huge 75 yard gash that caused AT&T Stadium to erupt in cheers. The pendulum of momentum had swung back to Dallas as they led 20-16. From there through the Fourth Quarter all Dallas had to do was play keep away from the Eagles and play smart. Though they partly failed to do that when Prescott threw a poor second Interception to CB Sidney Jones IV in Q4 in an attempted throat crushing play, Dallas' defense prevented Wentz and the Eagles from coming back deep in the game in a tremendous effort from Richard's squad. Tracey would notch another Field Goal just to be safe to move the final score to 23-16.

Dallas is now 3-0 in 2020 and with their latest win coming against their vaunted division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, they are in a good place heading forward. That said the Cowboys were in the same spot last year in 2019 and as we know that campaign ended with their Head Coach being fired. The Cowboys have lots of work to do and it starts with Dak Prescott playing smarter yet alone better. On the bright side, the Dallas' Defense looks poised to finally break out as one of the best in the league.

Team Stats Comparison
	PHI	DAL
Total Offense	219	453
Rushing Yards	31	244
Passing Yards	188	209
First Downs	9	21
Punt Return Yards	0	39
Kick Return Yards	66	29
Total Yards	285	521
Turnovers	1	3
3rd Down Conversion	2-11	5-12
4th Down Conversion	0-0	1-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	1	3
Penalties	1-5	5-40
Posession Time	20:03	31:57

Philadelphia Eagles PASSING C/A YDS TD INT C. Wentz 24/33 226 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD M. Sanders 10 31 3.1 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD M. Sanders 10 57 5.7 0 J. Arcega-Whiteside 4 53 13.2 1 A. Jeffrey 4 45 11.2 0 D. Jackson 4 39 9.7 0 Z. Ertz 2 32 16.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD B. Graham 10 5 0 0 S. Jones IV 8 0 1 0 N. Bradham 8 0 0 0 I. Simmons 8 0 0 0 M. Jenkins 7 0 1 0 Z. Brown 6 0 0 0 A. Maddox 6 0 0 0 J. Sweat 4 1.5 0 0 R. Ford 4 0 0 0 J. Hawkins 4 0 0 0 C. LeBlanc 3 0 0 0 M. Jackson 3 0 0 0 F. Cox 2 0 0 0 D. Barnett 1 0.5 0 0 7 Players With 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG D. Hopkins 3/3 1/1 10 50 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 S. Martin 6 303 50.5 3 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD C. LeBlanc 3 66 22.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD C. LeBlanc 0 0 0 0

Dallas Cowboys PASSING C/A YDS TD INT D. Prescott 20/28 255 0 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD E. Elliott 24 119 4.9 0 T. Pollard 3 83 27.6 1 D. Prescott 6 42 7.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD B. Jarwin 5 57 11.4 0 A. Cooper 4 54 13.5 0 M. Gallup 3 37 12.3 0 J. Reagor 2 36 18.0 0 J. Witten 2 33 16.5 0 T. Pollard 2 19 9.5 0 E. Elliott 2 19 9.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD B. Hall 11 0 0 0 J. Smith 8 0 0 0 L. Vander Esch 6 0 0 0 O. Melifonwu 5 0 0 0 C. Covington 4 1 0 0 X. Woods 4 0 0 0 K. Grugier-Hill 3 0 0 0 D. Lawrence 3 3 0 0 D. Armstrong 2 0 0 0 J. Graziano 1 1 0 0 9 Players With 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG C. Tracey 3/3 2/2 11 45 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 C. Jones 2 121 60.5 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J. Reagor 1 29 29.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J. Reagor 5 39 7.8 0

"RB Tony Pollard Made His Mark With A Huge 75 Yard Touchdown Run"


"DE DeMarcus Lawrence Has Started 2020 On A Tear, Terrorizing Opposing QBs"


"TE Blake Jarwin Led The Team In Receptions & Yards On Sunday"


Post Game Snippets:

"One of his greatest assets is forgetting the last play, regardless of whether it's good or bad. He'll spend the week in the film room and on the practice field making himself better; there's no worries there."
- HC Kris Richard on Dak Prescott's three turnover game

"Great way to start the season, undoubtedly. There is nothing better than winning, especially when it's against a Division Rival as Philadelphia is."
- GM Jerry Jones on his team's 3-0 start

"They're all a monster to handle on that [Defensive] line. We just have to execute better and help each other out better than we did today."
- C Travis Frederick on Eagles' 7 sack performance


Injury Report:

N/A


Up Next:

9/27 @ San Francisco 49ers (2-1)
QB Jimmy Garoppolo | TE Geroge Kittle | CB Richard Sherman | DT DeForest Buckner