The Dallas Cowboys lose Felix Jones
The Cowboys have lost RB Felix Jones for a couple of weeks due to a knee injury suffered in last night’s game against the Panthers. This is a huge loss for the Cowboys as Jones has carried the football 21 times for 212 yards (10.1 ypc) with 1 TD run. He also has caught 1 pass for 20 yards this season. With Marion Barber also hurting this compounds the Cowboys’ problem at running back. At least the Cowboys have quality depth as Tashard Choice is good enough to carry the load. He has carried the ball 22 times for 100 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD carry. He has also caught 7 passes for 45 yards (6.4 avg) so far this year for the Cowboys. The Cowboys will miss Jones who is averaging over 10 yards per carry which is unheard of.
Dallas Cowboys 21, Carolina Panthers 7
The Dallas Cowboys (2-1) didn’t look great tonight, but they made enough plays to beat the Carolina Panthers (0-3) in Dallas Monday night. After having a huge week one game with 353 yards and 3 touchdowns, Tony Romo collapsed last week and had 3 interceptions and only 127 yards. Tonight, Romo was careful and found a medium between the two first games, as he went 22/33 for 253 yards but had no touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Cowboys running game came to play today, even without Marion Barber who missed the game with an injured thigh. Felix Jones started off great tonight and finished with 94 yards on 8 (11.8 avg) carries before leaving with a knee injury. This is another big blow to the Cowboys running attack, but third stringer Tashard Choice did a great job carrying the load. Choice finished with 82 yards on 18 carries (4.6 avg) and had the Cowboys only offensive touchdown.
The Cowboys defense played great, as they forced Panthers’ quarterback into two interceptions, a fumble, and sacked him three times. Terence Newman sealed the victory for the Cowboys when he jumped a Steve Smith slant route (which Smith stopped on the route), picked it, and ran it in for an easy touchdown. The Cowboys converted on a two-point conversion soon-after and the game was over by that point. The Cowboys are on the road next week against the Denver Broncos (3-0).
Marion Barber ‘doubtful’ for Dallas Cowboys tonight
Running back Marion Barber has been trying very hard all week to get back into the Cowboys line-up, but his status is doubtful for tonight Monday Night Football match-up against the Carolina Panthers. Barber has a left thigh injury, which occurred on his last carry of the Cowboys 33-31 loss to the New York Giants last week. Barber probably could go if they need him, but the Cowboys have two good and healthy backs in Felix Jones and Tashard Choice to go in place of Barber. I think Barber will get some carries tonight, and they will see how he feels from there, but expect Jones to take most of the carries tonight.
Dallas Cowboys vs Carolina Panthers preview
The Dallas Cowboys are hosting the Carolina Panthers this week and are hoping to rebound after a tough late loss to the New York Giants. The Cowboys would have won that game easily if not for the four turnovers they coughed up. The Cowboys really need to start limiting their turnovers, as they have a great offense that can really put some points on the board. They need to stay sharp through all four quarters and their offense can be almost unstoppable at times.
The Panthers have had big turnover problems themselves, as their quarterback Jake Delhomme has thrown five interceptions already this season. The Panthers won the NFC South division last year and are looking to jump-start their season after a disappointing start. They have a strong running attack, and they are going to need to be effective on the ground if they want a chance at winning this game.
If the Cowboys can limit their turnovers they will win this game easily. The Panthers have not looked at all like the team that won it’s division last year, and the Cowboys can definitely take advantage of the Panthers’ turnover problems. I don’t think this game will be very close and the Cowboys are going to win easily.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: Panthers 20, Cowboys 41
It’s hard to blame the DBs for the Dallas Cowboys’ slow start on defense
The Cowboys are giving up 303.0 yards passing per game but it’s not all the fault of the DBs. The Cowboys are not getting any pressure on the opposing QBs as they have 0 sacks this year. With a OLB like DeMarcus Ware this is a stunning development. The front seven of the Cowboys are getting pushed around in the running game this season also as the opposing team in averaging 135.5 yards rushing per game. The Cowboys better start getting better play from the front seven on defense or this is going to be a very disappointing season.
The Dallas Cowboys need the WRs to get involved in the shorter passing game
Patrick Crayton and Roy Williams are doing a good job of stretching defenses but they also need to start catching the ball over the middle on the shorter patters. Patrick Crayton has caught 5 passes for 134 yards (26.8 avg) with 1 TD grab already this season and he has carried the ball 2 times for 25 yards (12.5 ypc). Roy Williams has caught 4 passes for 104 yards (26.0 avg) with a TD grab this season. I know I’m nitpicking a little bit with the WRs who are both on pace to have good seasons but the Cowboys expect excellence every year.
The Dallas Cowboys need Tony Romo to step up
Tony Romo is usually a fast starter and the Cowboys should be concerned with his play so far this season. After all, the running game is averaging 184.5 yards rushing per game which should help loosen up the coverage on his WRs. Romo has completed 29 of 56 passes (51.8%) for 480 yards with 4 TD passes and 3 INTs (82.4 QB Rating). The Cowboys should try to show more short passes as it seems like Romo is only throwing bombs to his WRs and the short stuff is all going to TE Jason Witten. With the NFC East being so tough the Cowboys can’t afford to have Romo digging them a hole they can’t get out of.
The Dallas Cowboys sign RB Chauncey Washington
The Cowboys have signed 24-year old RB Chauncey Washington to the practice squad. Washington played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Jags last season and he carried the ball 4 times for 9 yards (2.3 ypc). He also caught 1 pass for 9 yards last season. The Cowboys signed Washington to give them even more depth at running back in case Marion Barber has to miss some time due to injury.
New York Giants 33, Dallas Cowboys 31
The Cowboys looked like they were going to win last night but the defense and Tony Romo failed them in this game. The Giants kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Cowboys. Tony Romo had a night to forget as he completed 13 of 29 passes for 127 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 interceptions. Marion Barber had a huge game for the Cowboys before leaving with a injury as he carried the ball 18 times for 124 yards (6.9 ypc) with a TD run. Felix Jones was also electric in this game with 7 carries for 96 yards (13.7 ypc) with a TD run. Jason Witten led the way in the passing game for the Cowboys with 5 catches for 33 yards (6.6 avg) with a TD. The Cowboys finished up with 378 total yards on offense (251 rushing, 127 passing) despite only having the ball for only 25:11 of the game.
Safety Ken Hamlin led a poor effort by the defense last night with 8 tackles. The Giants finished up with 427 total yards on offense (97 rushing, 330 passing). The Cowboys are now 1-1 on the season after the rough loss last night.
Dallas Cowboys to host New York Giants in new stadium
The Dallas Cowboys will be taking on the New York Giants in their brand new $1.15 billion stadium. The Cowboys offense looked great in their week one victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their defense, however, looked terrible. They gave up 450 yards to the Buccaneers and the Giants are a better offensive team than the Bucs, as Eli Manning looked solid. He spread the ball to seven different receivers and threw for 256 yards with one touchdown and one interception, so the Cowboys defense better have a good performance or they are in trouble.
Tony Romo and the offense will fair much better than the Washington Redskins offense did against the Giants. The Giants defense forced two turnovers and had three sacks but the Redskins don’t have a high powered offense like the Cowboys.
This game will probably be a shoot-out, but due to Dallas’ terrible defense I think the Giants are going to win a close one.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: Giants 38, Cowboys 34