FRISCO — Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott doesn’t need to see Post Malone to believe he’ll have success on halftime of Thursday’s Thanksgiving game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“I’m sure it will be electric,” he said. “I’d love to get out there and watch a little bit of it, but I’ve seen Post. I know he’s amazing. I know he’s going to put on a hell of a concert.”
For the last two weeks we’ve also seen the Cowboys play resurgent from the first nine games prior to the bye and prior to the trade deadline that landed them a handful of new players on the defensive side of the ball, both from an acquisitions and simply getting players back healthy. The last two performances have sparked the question: have we seen enough to believe in these new-look Cowboys?
That’s one thing on my mind heading into Thursday’s matchup with the Chiefs. Here’s five more final thoughts:
Cowboys
Five downs
Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Landon Dickerson said after the loss to the Cowboys that they were surprised by how often Dallas used a five-down front, meaning how many times they paired their talented defensive line trio of Quinnen Williams, Osa Odighizuwa and Kenny Clark, with two edge rushers. He later clarified saying that they had seen the Cowboys’ use it over the last three weeks, but when they looked at the totality of the Cowboys’ defense they figured the Cowboys wouldn’t use it as often as they did.
Heads up to the Kansas City Chiefs: this defense is a lot different from what it was for the beginning of the season.
The Cowboys’ five-down front won’t be the only thing Dallas runs, but it’s looking like their best operation of attack. The front, ideally, is used to stop running attacks, though it can make teams vulnerable in pass coverage. The Cowboys have seen it work both against the run and the pass. Five defensive linemen means one-on-one matchups for most people — something that Williams and Odighizuwa, in particular, have thrived against. The two have combined for 28 pressures over the last two games.
It’ll be a challenge for the Chiefs, especially considering that Trey Smith — a Pro Bowler last season — is out.
On the attack
So, how will the Chiefs go about attacking a Cowboys’ defense that went from 31st in the NFL in points allowed through the first 10 weeks of the season to 11th the last two weeks? As crazy as it sounds, it might be to avoid running the ball.
Gasp. Not run the ball against a Cowboys defense? What is this, 2006? With Williams and Co. it’s starting to feel that way.
The Chiefs haven’t run the ball exceptionally well of late. They do get Isaiah Pacheco back, which should be a boost. Still, their best path might be letting quarterback Patrick Mahomes do what he does best: use his arm to carve up zone coverage and buy time against the Cowboys’ pass rush when they do run man coverage.
Prescott alluded to Mahomes’ playmaking ability and willingness this week.
“You watch a guy who plays with pure passion, who’ll do anything it takes to win,” he said. “On the sideline, right, he’s not necessarily always running out of bounds, trying to make the extra play, never giving up on a play, has the ability to throw it back across his body. He does it all right. And what I respect most is just his will to win, and like I said, you see it. He’ll do anything and everything it takes.”
We’ll see what it takes against the Cowboys.
Pay day incoming?
The Cowboys are the only team in the NFL with a player in the top five of passing yards, rushing yards and receiving yards. Prescott has been paid, George Pickens will be paid, but what about running back Javonte Williams?
Williams enters this week 104 yards away from his first 1,000-yard season. He’s been fantastic for the Cowboys. He’s averaging five yards per carry. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said that he’s the president of the Javonte Williams fan club — a club that’s surely grown in size throughout this season.
Williams is a free agent after this season. We’ve talked a lot about Pickens’ impending pay day, but what about Williams?
Prescott said he 1,000% believes Williams should be back in the fold after this year.
“How crucial he’s been to this offense, how great of a dude he is, how great of a teammate he is, you know, a quiet guy, but when he speaks it’s definitely heard. Anything he does is felt,” Prescott said of Williams.
“He’s an important piece to what we’re doing right now.”
Play it up
It’s been obvious this season that the Cowboys are different on offense when they stick with the run. The Cowboys haven’t lost this season — they’ve had one tie where they scored 40 points — when Williams has had at least 16 carries. They’re 0-5 when they’ve fallen under that carry threshold.
Factors have led to the lack of carries in those losses, including fast starts by the opposing offenses, but it’s been clear that the Cowboys are at their best when they’re built on the run. That’s because of what it does to their passing offense, too.
Prescott has the second-highest passer rating in the NFL on play action passes (143.4), trailing only Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson. Last week he went nine-of-11 on play action passes for 174 yards and a touchdown.
“I love it,” Prescott said of play action. “The run game gets going, you’re able to get a good action, you get the linebackers at the line of scrimmage. You’ve got that second layer, and if not deeper, being able to attack these defensive backs, and especially with the receivers and the talent that we have outside, it’s a must for us.”
Time to respond
Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb struggled against the Eagles for the second time this season, finishing with two drops and four catches on 11 targets for 75 yards. If you include the season opener, Lamb has had six drops against the Eagles in two games this season.
Lamb said the fix is simple.
“It’s really just lack of focus on my end, honestly, just thinking doing two before one,” he said. “There’s been plenty of that going on and by that, I’m thinking about my next move before catching the ball and things of that nature. It’s not really much on anybody else but myself. And I’ve never been one to point the finger but yeah, it’s all on me and I got to handle that.
“I just gotta lock in on my fundamentals, man.”
The Cowboys have expressed full confidence that Lamb can fix it and bounce back. A big reason why: he’s done it before. After the season opener, he had nine catches for 112 yards. Two years ago, after demonstratively showing his frustration in a loss to the 49ers, Lamb responded with the best four-game stretch of his career.
Prescott said he has high expectations for Lamb against the Chiefs.
“Huge game. Just go back and look at the career, right? Any game that maybe he’s not done to his standard or had a drop there or been a frustrating game, the way he’s responded has been unquestionable,” Prescott said.
“I know early in this year it was the same way from the first time we played them to his next game. I don’t expect this to be any different.”
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