3 major takeaways as Cowboys pass the quarter pole of the 2023 season
The Dallas Cowboys are continuing to answer questions, eliminating excuses and narratives. Prior to the midpoint of the 2023 season, many said the defense is excellent but the offense can’t win games if they had to. Now, the offense might be their best unit. Could they execute in close games, or do they just win in blowouts? The Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks were both close victories. They asked what would happen when they played teams with a winning record. The Philadelphia Eagles had the best record and were beaten.
So what’s next?
With every week that has passed, Dallas has continued to win and win big in the majority of their games. There isn’t any doubt the 10-2 Philadelphia Eagles were a good team, sporting the best record in the league going into the contest. The Cowboys beat them like they beat most every other team at AT&T Stadium.
The offense is one of the best in the league. The defense held Philadelphia to six points and forced three turnovers. They have the best kicker in football for times when the offense stalls, making all of his kicks no matter how long distance. The team is on fire, and acknowledging the reasons why are the big takeaways as the season enters its final four games.
Dak Prescott is the MVP of the league
Dak Prescott has been building an MVP resume that’s caught a lot of eyeballs since the bye week. He has the stats, leading the league in touchdown passes. He tied a Cowboys record throwing for 22 scores in the last seven games. Prescott is top three in the league in both passing yards and completion percentage.
He has the requisite analytics with his play on third downs and his QBR and passer rating being in the top three in the league. The only questions he hadn’t answered is the competition faced and his play under adversity.
The Seahawks were an above .500 team, playing with desperation after multiple loses in a row and Prescott had to play nearly perfectly to win that game. Dallas was losing in the fourth quarter and Prescott brought them back for the victory. Seattle is under .500 now though, so the goalposts moved. How would he play against the team with the best record in the league?
He set the tone against Philadelphia early with a touchdown drive, getting CeeDee Lamb a score for the fifth straight game, something last done by Dez Bryant.
Prescott led Dallas to four scoring drives on four first-half possessions, three being touchdowns.
Even when adversity hit with a strip-sack fumble returned for a score, Prescott responded like an MVP. He took the offense on a nine-play scoring drive that ate up nearly six minutes, including a perfect, under pressure, third-down dot to TE Jake Ferguson that went for 32 yards.
Prescott has the stats, the analytics and the record, and now has the opponent-quality resume. The excuses are all gone, he is the leader in the MVP clubhouse.
Stephon Gilmore played like a champion in the biggest game
Cowboys Nation has been asking the front office of their team to “go all in” by making big moves to take the team over the top for what seems to be forever. This offseason, trades for Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore felt like those types of moves, and Gilmore looked to be that kind of championship player tonight in the biggest game of the season thus far.
Last week Quinn allowed Gilmore to follow DK Metcalf after he started fast up against DaRon Bland. They took that strategy into the game versus Philadelphia by putting Gilmore on A.J. Brown. Brown had a solid game with nine receptions for 94 yards, but he wasn’t allowed to make any game changing plays that he routinely made this year. Gilmore led the team in tackles, more than doubling the second highest person in solo tackles. He did so without allowing many yards after catch at all, which is key to this Eagles offense. His big plays in the second half were the game changers though.
The Cowboys’ defense has been poor coming out after halftime and Philadelphia was driving the ball well. Three run plays, all for six yards or more, but then Gilmore made the momentum killing play. He stripped Brown and got the offense the ball back.
Later he made tackles on third and fourth down to cause the Eagles to turn the ball over, effectively ending the game. He is a former defensive player of the year, a champion, and he played like one when they needed him the most to keep the NFC East title alive.
Mike McCarthy deserves coach of the year consideration
Dan Quinn, John Fassel, Prescott, Micah Parsons, and even defensive backs coach Al Harris had gotten plenty of love from fans and media going into this matchup with Philadelphia, but it’s time to give McCarthy some love. He took over playcalling from Kellen Moore, an offensive coordinator who routinely put-up high-powered offenses with Prescott under center. He knew he could do it better and has done so. Now it is time to put McCarthy in the coach of the year discussion.
The offense was not looking great going into the bye week. They were not running efficiently, they weren’t using motion, and Lamb wasn’t getting the football enough, let alone Cooks. Now the QB is an MVP candidate, Lamb has become a certified top tier receiver, the team uses motion at a much higher rate, and the run game is starting to get going.
The final offensive piece, the run game, is getting stronger. The offense has been about the passing attack overall. They became only the fourth team to score at least 17 points in the first half of seven straight games. Only the 2007 New England Patriots have done that since 1961.
The coach of the year isn’t just about the offense because he calls the plays. He has to be involved in all aspects of the team, even if it is hiring and allowing his coordinators to do their thing. The defense allowed zero touchdowns against a high-powered Eagles offense. The special teams is rocking and their rookie kicker won another ST player of the week award.
McCarthy has his third straight double-digit winning season, all aspects of his team are playing well, and his offense is clearly improved from the days of Moore. McCarthy has to be a top candidate for coach of the year and it is time to get his name in that conversation.
You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or YouTube on the Across the Cowboys Podcast.
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