What is the ceiling for the 2-1 Dallas Cowboys?
Mike Florio and Peter King discuss just how far the Cowboys can go this year with Micah Parsons lighting up the field and Dak Prescott "playing better than ever."
Video Transcript
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MIKE FLORIO: Time now for PFT on Yahoo! Sports. Peter King and Mike Florio all the biggest news happening in the National Football League. On Monday night, we saw the Dallas Cowboys moved to 2 and 1 with a 41-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Cowboys two game winning streak. They played the Bucks well the first night of the season. And they're looking so much better than last year. What's the ceiling for this Cowboys team, Peter?
PETER KING: You know, Mike, I think this is going to be a weird way to look at this, but I think their ceiling is I think Micah Parsons holds the ceiling basically in his hands. Because the way I look at this team right now, I look at a team that needs that big defensive playmaker to come up with big defensive plays every week. They have not had a Micah Parsons type player. DeMarcus Lawrence's a nice pass rusher when he is healthy. He hasn't been very healthy recently.
But Micah Parsons is a difference maker who is illustrating right now that he really was picked too low at number 12 in this draft. And I think the way Dan Quinn now is going to use him all over the front seven of that formation, I think is the smart way to go. Look, Mike, you know, we know, we knew this at the beginning of the year, the Cowboys are going to score 30 points a game. They just are. Now the question is, can they hold people to 21, 23, 24, 26 a game? That is the big question. And that's why Micah Parsons is their most important player right now.
MIKE FLORIO: And you flip it over to that offense Dak Prescott playing better than ever. They have rediscovered balance the past two weeks kind of hard to run the ball against the Buccaneers. But 58 passes was not going to be sustainable, much more running balancing against the passing in the two victories. And now they are building some momentum. They got a tough game against the Panthers coming up on a short week and the Panthers had a few extra days to get ready for it. But I feel like they're starting to build some momentum.
Dak is playing better than ever. He's showing no signs of the broken ankle from last year. The one year anniversary approaching very soon. He actually played the Giants week five the same team that they were playing last year week five when it happened, but they're getting it done.
And balance is so elusive in the NFL. Peter, there are just a few teams now that stand out as having real balance to me. The Bucks, not as much as we thought. The Rams, the Browns, but the Cowboys are getting there. And their defense didn't need to be much better than last year because it was so bad. It looks like it's going to be significantly better than that abysmal unit that we saw in 2020.
PETER KING: Mike, two things, number one, the Bucks will be fine. The Bucks and Rams are going to be there, I think in mid and late January both. And, look, I look at the Cowboys. And you talk about the balance on offense, I just don't think it's Tony Pollard either. Giving some help to Ezekiel Elliott, they're going to need both those guys. It's a 17week grind. But how about Dalton Schultz? I mean, it's clear now that Dallas thinks, and we'll see, but thinks it has found the heir to Jason Witten. I doubt he's going to catch 1,300 balls, but I mean, clearly he's somebody who Dak Prescott trusts.
MIKE FLORIO: I'm not ready to say I think the Cowboys win the division. I'm willing to abandon the Washington Football Team based upon what I've seen so far, even though just a few weeks ago, Washington was my pick. The question becomes, OK, you get the home game in the wild card round either 4, or 5, or 3-6. I don't see them being any higher than the three seed. Then the question is go on the road, can you beat the two seed, the one seed in the NFC? I think that's the limit for them to go on the road in the divisional round and not get it done, but maybe-- but maybe have a respectable performance like they did the first game of my season.
PETER KING: Mike, that four, five game, if Dallas is the host, was made for the first Monday night wild card game in NFL history. I'm calling it right now.
MIKE FLORIO: Oh, you're absolutely right, and the ratings will be gigantic when that happens or if that happens. But I'd say at this point, it's more likely when because the Cowboys with seven spots in the NFC, they're getting in. And their game, the way they're playing, it's going to get them back in prime time Monday night for that playoff game.
All right, that's it for now. We appreciate some of your time. Check us out all season long for more PFT on Yahoo! Sports videos.