Another week and another road trip for the reeling Dallas Cowboys as they will travel to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to take on the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Nov. 3, at noon looking to get back to .500 on the season.
Despite being now two weeks out of the bye, defensive end Micah Parsons is not expected to return from his high ankle sprain that he suffered against the New York Giants in week four, as the Cowboys continue to try to find wins without some of their best players.
Regardless, they will head into a matchup against an Atlanta team that has won four of its last five and has taken firm control of the NFC South behind newly acquired quarterback Kirk Cousins and his array of offensive weapons.
Here are the things to watch in Sunday’s game as the Cowboys look to get back into the win column.
Return of Dak and CeeDee
Is the connection between quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver CeeDee Lamb here to stay? It took the two a while to get going – just 75.6 yards per game on a 60.9-percent completion rate in the team’s first five contests compared to 117.5 yards per game on a 64.5-percent completion rate in the last two games – but the chemistry seems to be back heading into the second half of the season.
“I found CeeDee,” Prescott said about the loss to the 49ers last week. “He did a good job of getting open, running all of his routes hard no matter where he was…Midway through the game, [he was] like, ‘Yeah, we’re back.’ And that was before his two touchdown drives. So just him even playing with that confidence, communicating that, it gives me a lot of confidence.”
The Atlanta defense is 18th in the NFL in passing yards allowed (215.5 per game), as Lamb will have an opportunity to build on his newfound rhythm with Prescott against an up-and-down secondary.
Safety vest
If the third level of the Cowboys defense is supposed to provide a safety net, that result looked more like swiss cheese last Sunday against the 49ers, as Dallas safeties Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson struggled mightily in defending crossing patterns, specifically against 49ers tight end George Kittle.
In Wilson’s case, the veteran out of Texas A&M gave up four receptions on four targets for 102 yards and a touchdown. The coverage was enough of a liability for defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer to replace him with third-year safety Juanyeh Thomas late in the game.
“Some of them are man-to-man and they ran away from leverage,” Zimmer said about the lack of success against crossing patterns. “We didn’t pass off the progressions well enough.”
With Atlanta tight end Kyle Pitts experiencing the strongest four-game stretch of his career (314 yards and two touchdowns since week five), you can expect the Falcons to try to attack that weakness in the Dallas defense early and often. Will the Cowboys put trust back into Wilson to manage that task? Or will the shortened leash lead way for Thomas to come into the game?
Last look at running game?
If Jerry Jones is looking to make a move before Tuesday’s trade deadline, he is sure keeping it close to the vest, as he stated a couple of weeks back that he doesn’t anticipate Dallas being active in the trade market ahead of Nov. 5.
With that being said, head coach Mike McCarthy stated on Wednesday that the running back by committee approach that Dallas has taken in 2024 “is not the preference” as they try to find some sort of consistency in a rushing attack that is dead last in the NFL by a healthy margin entering week nine.
Dalvin Cook got his run at it in San Francisco and is expected to get another look in Atlanta. But if nothing comes about once again in the run game against the Falcons, could Jones look to bring another body into the mix before Tuesday?
Getting pressure on Cousins
In his first season in Atlanta, veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins has excelled at getting his variety of weapons involved in the offense, as the aforementioned Kyle Pitts along with receivers Darnell Mooney and Drake London have each found their rhythm in the Falcons offense.
However, when Cousins has faced opposing pressure, that rhythm has gone out the window. When facing heat, Cousins 56-for-87 for 707 yards and two touchdowns compared to six interceptions. When operating with a clean pocket, those numbers skyrocket to 129-for-184 passing for 1,399 yards with 12 touchdowns compared to just one interception.
“I think he does a really good job of playing to the mode, the scheme, of the system,” McCarthy said on Wednesday. “I always felt he gets through the progressions quickly, knows where to go with the ball. He’s a really good anticipator. I think he’s probably one of the better guys at throwing on time, getting the ball out, throwing to spots. They have put up some big numbers this year.”
With Parsons expected to miss another game in Atlanta and DeMarcus Lawrence still on the injured reserve list recovering from a foot injury, Dallas will have to continue to turn to depth pass rushers such as Chauncey Golston and Carl Lawson to generate pressure. The bright side is that since the Parsons-Lawrence duo was hurt in week four, the Cowboys have still generated eight sacks in three games.
Time is of the essence
Through seven games, Dak Prescott is on pace to take the second-most sacks of his career, as inconsistent offensive line play has seen Prescott find himself on his back more often than not in the first half of the season. It’s been a key factor in Prescott experiencing the highest turnover worthy play rate, per Pro Football Focus, of his career.
Despite veteran presences such as Matthew Judon and Grady Jarrett on the Atlanta defensive line, the Falcons have generated just six sacks all season – the least in the NFL. A young offensive line in Dallas may finally have an edge in a game against an aging and unathletic Falcons pass rush that has struggled to get home all season.
“Judon is someone we played against last year, so that’s really where our focus is,” McCarthy said after giving respect to the Falcons pass rush. “But regardless, it’s important to get your calls off the call sheet every week. That’s the goal every week, regardless of who you’re playing.”
