For a team relying heavily on young players, the Cowboys need more from star veterans
The Cowboys made it a point to rely on young players this season, but they also need the veterans they do have to step up their play.
It is clear that the Cowboys’ plan this season was to put a lot of responsibility on the young players and rookies on the team to make up for the players lost in the offseason. There are flaws and holes to this strategy on its own as it is a lot to expect young players to play consistently up to par. However, in order for this strategy to even have a chance at success, the Cowboys need better performances from their star players and veterans.
Sunday’s beat down from the Detroit Lions was a terrible day at the office for most of the team (outside of maybe Brandon Aubrey and KaVontae Turpin). And while not ideal, that may have been expected out of the young guys and backups when facing an opponent as well-rounded as the Lions. However, a few veterans had some of the worst games of their careers on Sunday, erasing any chance the Cowboys had.
The QB and WR1 have had much better performances than what they had against the Lions, to say the least. And while there are multiple variables that contribute to the success (or lack thereof) of this offense, the responsibility is going to fall on the shoulders of those two players. Dak Prescott was pressured all night long, and while he is usually one of the best passers in the NFL when pressured, he was quite the opposite on Sunday; finishing the game 17/33 for 178 yards, two INTs and zero TDs.
One of the larger concerns coming out of the game is the connection between Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. Lamb missed all of training camp and while it may have been the cause for some of the miscommunications early on in the season, this was Week 6. Those excuses have now expired.
Continuing on the offensive side of the ball, guard Zack Martin had quite possibly his worst game in his career on Sunday. The future Hall of Famer struggled all day long allowing three pressures and a sack, his second this season after only allowing two sacks in all of 2023 and none in 2022. According to PFF, it was the lowest grading of his career at 28.3 and a pass blocking grade of 0.0. While Martin was dealing with some back issues earlier in the week, it was still a very uncharacteristic game for him.
Lions DT Alim McNeill had four pressures in 8 one-on-one pass rushes against Cowboys RG Zack Martin, per NFL Pro.
— Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt) October 14, 2024
That was the first time Martin has allowed 3+ pressures to an individual pass rusher in a game since 2021. He was clearly frustrated after allowing this sack. pic.twitter.com/MORK8RF4bh
The other side of the ball was decimated with injuries, requiring backups on all three levels of the defense. In desperate times like these, the remaining starters need to be reliable. Trevon Diggs was supposed to be that reliable player on Sunday and unfortunately, it turned out to be one of his worst games of his career. Tackling has been a bit of a recurring issue with Diggs while he usually makes up for it in pass coverage. Against the Lions, however, both tackling and coverage were glaring issues for him.
Diggs was targeted four times allowing all four completions for 80 total yards and allowed a touchdown for the first time all season. Jameson Williams had his way with Diggs accounting for 57 of those yards allowed, 37 on the touchdown. According to PFF, his passer rating when targeted was 158.3. It was a performance that did not meet the standards for the former All-Pro and NFL interception leader.
The Cowboys are now heading into a bye week. The rest will be needed in order to get some players back from injury, and the time will be needed to try to fix all of the issues that surround this team. Unfortunately, the team they will be facing next is the biggest boogeyman that has haunted the Cowboys for years. In order for the Cowboys to have a shot at finally defeating the 49ers, the stars and veterans on this team have to step up to the plate, play to their standards, and help make these young players better.
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