Week 4 has already begun, with the Cowboys’ win at the Meadowlands over the Giants. It was a much-needed win for the Cowboys and an ill-advised loss for the Giants.
There are a few takeaways from the game.
Malik Nabers is going to be a bonafide star in this league. Daniel Jones is just not a good enough quarterback. With that said, Jones did find him 12 times for 115 yards. Nabers already has 35 catches for the season for 386 YDs and three TDs. He’s already on track to be a top-five WR on next year’s draft boards. Just imagine if Nabers had Patrick Mahomes getting him the ball.
Despite the win, the Cowboys still have something wrong with them. The most obvious areas to focus on are the running game, offense, and defense. It’s just not good enough to keep defenses in the box. It allows opposing defenses to peel off their safeties and put more pressure on their receivers.
On Thursday, they only had 80 yards on the ground, led by Rico Dowdle’s 46 yards on 11 carries. For the year, they are only averaging 75 yards per game while giving up 145 yards per game. Also, they are giving up more points (26.5) than they are scoring (24).
Thank God for the kicker. Brandon Aubrey did miss a FG on Thursday, but he made two of three, with one being 60 YDs. He is a bonafide weapon. He’s already made 12 FGs, and his miss on Thursday was his first this year. He’s 6/7 with FGs over 50 YDs and has two at least 60 YDs, with a long of 65 YDs. He may be the biggest reason the Cowboys can stay in the playoff hunt this year. So often, games are decided by a field goal, and it helps to have a guy who can kick the ball anywhere on the field.
Let’s take a look ahead to some key matchups this weekend!
Bengals at Panthers: This game is intriguing on both sidelines. The Bengals desperately need a win, sitting at 0-3. And the Panthers are coming off a signature win after benching Bryce Young…something’s gotta give.
Vikings at Packers: This could be an NFC Championship preview. This has huge ramifications regarding the division and NFC seeding. Can the Vikings start the year 4-0 behind Sam Darnold?
Bills at Ravens: Even though the Ravens won their game last week against the Cowboys, they are sitting at 1-2, and it doesn’t get any easier for them this week. The Bills are at the top of many power rankings and are clicking on all cylinders. It’s tough to see the Ravens start the year 1-3, but what a brutal schedule they’ve had. They’ve played KC and Dallas on the road in their four games and are now home against the Bills.
Seahawks at Lions: This, like the Vikings/Packers tilt, could be an early NFC Championship preview. Although this game doesn’t have divisional implications, it will be interesting to see if the Lions can bounce back from their last home game. I can’t see them losing two in a row at home, and I can’t see the Seahawks being a 4-0 team…all signs lead to a Lions win here.
Commanders at Cardinals: This is the Kliff Kingsbury revenge game, as the Commanders head to Arizona. Kingsbury is the Commanders’ OC, and he’s coming off a brilliant game plan against the Bengals.
Patriots at 49ers: This game is only intriguing in that it may very well be the last for Jacoby Brissett as the Patriots starter. The team is 1-2 and 10pt underdogs heading to San Fransisco. The team has been awful on offense, but Brissett was a decent game manager in the first two games. He won at Cincinnati and took the 3-0 Seahawks to OT. The last game against the Jets began the Drake Maye chatter. And that chatter grew louder after seeing what Jayden Daniels did last week. A bad game will surely see Maye getting his first start in week five at home against the Dolphins.