Despite the prevailing doom and gloom, there are many, many things that could go better for the Cowboys against Cincinnati than they did here in Week 1. For starters, maybe “Mr. August,” KaVontae Turpin, will return the opponent’s first kickoff past the 14-yard line.
That would be a good place to start.
We could sit here and list all the ways the defense could rise up, even against the defending AFC Champions, to render victory more likely for the home team — Joe Burrow was sacked seven times last week and committed five turnovers — but the point is that the Cowboys can’t just wait for Dak Prescott to return to the pocket. Even if the suddenly optimistic view that he could be back in four weeks to face the Los Angeles Rams proves to be true, Dallas can’t simply pile up defeats and expect to remain relevant a month into the schedule.
It is Michael Gallup’s return, not Prescott’s, that is the key for saving Dallas’ season.
That may seem an odd proclamation, to suggest that a former No. 3 wide receiver — now elevated to No. 2 status by the departure of Amari Cooper — could be the central figure in a revival of hope around here. It certainly does not fit management’s handling of this franchise, one that operates with more of a dime-a-dozen approach to pass catchers while paying Prescott CEO money (his cap hit next season is over $49 million).
But I would contend that Cooper Rush with two veteran go-to receivers is bound to be more efficient than Prescott is or was Sunday night with one.
The Cowboys rank 30th in total offense and 32nd in scoring after one week. Their offense never breached the Tampa Bay 30-yard line Sunday night. Remember this was all with Prescott at quarterback. He didn’t suffer the fractured hand injury until the middle of the fourth quarter, making his exit up the tunnel amidst boos and trash heaved in his direction.
It was quite the debut.
The notion of CeeDee Lamb piling up numbers to please the fantasy gods in the absence of the team’s most efficient receiver the last four years did not come to pass. It’s one game and we can’t say with any certainty Lamb will continue to be invisible. He almost surely won’t. But give Rush, Lamb and Gallup — which likely won’t happen until the Giants game Sept. 26 — and then this offense can at least start to function.
Gallup at least stretches defenses. He has a 20-yard catch in seven of his last 11 games. If that does not sound like much, consider that Lamb has a 20-yarder in five of his last 11.
I have heard from numerous corners that the Cowboys must feature Ezekiel Elliott and the running game in Dak’s absence. Behind what offensive line, I would ask. Tyron Smith is out. Connor McGovern is out. La’el Collins is coming out of the visitors’ tunnel this week. Connor Williams is in Miami.
Don’t be fooled by Zeke’s 5.2 yards per average Sunday night. He only got 10 carries. Tampa Bay was content to sit back in its zones and let him get his yards in the midfield area. We never saw the Bucs play red zone defense or anything approaching it. Dallas only crossed the 50 twice while Prescott was playing. So we never saw Todd Bowles’ defense in desperate need of stopping the run.
In today’s league, the teams that run the ball efficiently and at a high rate almost all feature a running quarterback. That’s not Rush and that’s not Prescott when he returns, either. Without that component or an elite line, the Cowboys aren’t scaring anyone with a full order of ground and pound.
Everyone is anxious to see what Rush’s first game — a 325-yard passing victory in Minnesota last season — portends for 2022. On that occasion, Gallup did not suit up while Cooper and Lamb each enjoyed their most recent 100-yard afternoon. Perhaps that bodes well for Lamb this week. But I still think it takes something close to a fully healthy Gallup — the guy who caught passes for more than 800 yards and five touchdowns in 2020, mostly with Andy Dalton at quarterback — for Dallas to possess enough weapons on offense to play what head coach Mike McCarthy has talked about all summer.
Complementary football.
It did not surface in Game 1. While you’d like to see the defense do a better job stopping or slowing Leonard Fournette, the Cowboys mostly held Tampa Bay to field goals and kept the Bucs under 20 points. That has to be good enough most of the time. But the offense cannot wait for No. 4 to return to the huddle. Greater attention to detail — never this team’s strong suit — will have to be displayed as the club waits not so patiently for more help at wide receiver.
The Cowboys might have to steal a win somewhere to keep this thing afloat. A fan base waits for a former No. 3 wide receiver to make his presence felt and give Rush a fighting chance.
