Looking to pick up first win
The Dallas Cowboys have had a very unfortunate week since falling to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their season opener. Despite having a lot to feel good about after their first game, the injury bug has bitten the Cowboys in a major way.
In just a matter of days, a number of major players for Dallas have gone down with injuries. It started with receiver Michael Gallup who was injured during their season opener against Tampa Bay. Gallup, who had four catches for 36 yards, was put on the injured reserved list for a calf injury. He will not be eligible to return until Week 5 against the New York Giants.
The very next day it was announced that right tackle La’el Collins had been suspended five games for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. After missing Zack Martin in Week 1, fans were hopeful the team would have their entire starting offensive line for the first time in a long time. With Collins out for over a quarter of the season, it appears they will have to continue to get creative.
Those weren’t the only pieces of bad news this week however, as the defensive side of the ball took a hit as well. Early this week pass rusher Randy Gregory tested positive for COVID-19. While there still is a possibility he could produce two negative tests and be cleared to play for Sunday’s game, at the moment it looks like Dallas might have to play without him.
Just when fans thought surely that would be it, Wednesday’s practice rolled around. During Wednesday’s practice it was announced star defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence had been injured.
Lawrence suffered a broken foot during the practice, which will see him miss anywhere from six to eight games.
The Cowboys have plenty of issues on the defensive side of the ball even with their healthy, but now they will be without their two best pass rushers. While Gregory is expected to be back for next week’s game, Dallas could very well have a hard time with this weeks opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers.
In Week 1 the Chargers took on Dallas’ division mate, the Washington Football Team. While it was a tough game, the Chargers were able to pull it out on the road by a final score of 20-16.
Dallas enters the game as 3.5 point underdogs. While that could be chalked up to being the road team, seven of the 15 games this week feature a road team as favored to win.
The key to winning this game for Dallas could come down to setting the pace early. Last week running back Ezekiel Elliot finished the game with just 11 carries for 33 yards. That was more of a result of how the game was going, if the Cowboys can control the tempo from the beginning, they may can get him more involved and setup a more balanced attack.
The Cowboy are also going to have to find a way to keep their defense off the field as much as possible. Dallas already has one of the weakest secondaries in the league, and now without their two best pass rushers, that will surely only make things worse.
Justin Herbert, quarterback of the Chargers, will most certainly be looking to take advantage of the weak Cowboys defense. Last year, as a rookie, Herbert threw for over 4,300 yards in 15 games, throwing 31 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions.
While Dallas does have a very manageable schedule ahead of them, getting a win this week could be bigger than it seems. The Cowboys will be looking to avoid their first 0-2 start since 2010, a year in which they went just 6-10. After missing the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, they will certainly be looking to avoid falling behind early.
This weeks match between the Cowboys and Chargers is set to kickoff at 3:25 p.m. and will air on CBS. Coverage of the game will be published in Wednesday’s edition of the News-Telegram.
After this week, Dallas will get the chance to return home, for three consecutive games. In that span they will face the Philadelphia Eagles, Carolina Panthers and New York Giants. Last year those three teams had a combined record of 15-32-1.