Brett's Cowboys Corner

What a way to start the NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys will get ready to kickoff a new season in just three hours against the team they may spend the entire season chasing. As the Eagles raise their second Super Bowl banner, the Cowboys will try to show the world that they still run close with the Eagles.

The Cowboys will have a new coaching staff, including a first-time head coach in Brian Schottenheimer. Looking to start a new era for the Cowboys, and urging to shake the stigma of last season off.

Dak Prescott will return after his 2024 was cut short due to a season-ending hamstring injury. While the Eagles are better looking on paper, Dak has historically played well against Philadelphia. Winning four of his last five matchups.

Week one matchups are always tough; teams rarely play anyone in the preseason anymore. All 32 teams are clearly shaking the rust off, but some teams happen to do it much quicker. Any game can go any way, as small errors are always present and can shift the tide of the game.

DALLAS	PHILADELPHIA
George Pickens: First game in Dallas, can set the bar for the level of the Cowboy offense.	Saquon Barkley: The feature of the Eagle offense, can dominate the game early and put this too bed by halftime.
Marist Liufau: Made plays all over at camp, will have a chance to be a key in stopping the run.	Cooper DeJean: Had an incredible rookie season, will have the toughest matchup early against Ceedee Lamb
DaRon Bland: Big payday, will likely follow DeVonta Smith in the slot and outside.	Jihaad Campbell: The rookie starting at MLB, will be targeted in the run game and short throws over the middle to Ferguson.

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The Keys to Victory-

1 – Schottenheimer vs. Fangio.

This will be the most important matchup of the night. The new head coach, Brian Schottenheimer going against a veteran defensive specialist in Vic Fangio. Fangio often lines his defense up in a cover 4, with two deep safeties and two corners deep, creating a shell. It is hard to find a gap to push the ball downfield.

The Eagles allowed opposing offenses to generate an explosive play (10+ yard run, 15+ yard pass) on just 10.7% of plays last season, the lowest rate in the NFL. They were particularly strong in the air, allowing a league-low 65 explosive pass plays on 621 dropbacks.

During the preseason, Coach Schottenheimer talked about letting his emotions get the best of him while the offense struggled against the Rams in a scrimmage; he ended up calling a ‘bomb’ play and scored a 50-yard TD pass. This Eagles defense is looking to bait those deep plays. Emotions will need to be controlled in a game like this. Showing any signs is blood in the water for this well-coached defense.

The one competitive advantage that Dallas has going for them, Philly has no clue what plays you could possibly run. This can be a powerful tool to show something that Philly is not accustomed to from the Cowboys. But it can also be very dangerous, if Dallas gets too ‘cute’ and tries to be world beaters against the world champs.

2 – Limit Saquon Barkley.

Well that title was easy to write. But it may be the most difficult task to accomplish. Saquon Barkley recorded a league-high 46 explosive runs (10+ yards) last season. He greatly benefited from a strong Eagles offensive line, recording a league-high 829 rushing yards before contact, 214 more than the next closest player (J. Gibbs).

A big day for Barkley can quickly make this game feel like the 2024 Saints or Ravens game. Those two backs were able to dominate early and make the game feel complete at halftime. The Cowboys allowed the 6th-highest explosive run rate (13.1%) and the 5th-most yards before contact per carry (1.9) last season.

Dallas will have Kenny Clark, whom they just traded for, to be their run-stopping DT. But there will need to be a lot of help from the linebackers: Murray, Liufau, and Sanborn. These guys will need to make an impact in the second level. Stopping Saquon is impossible, but at the very least, he needs to be limited to not take over this game.

3 – Scheme Pressure, Contain Hurts.

One of the first points of defense that the Joneses had for the Micah Parsons trade, was their belief in being able to scheme pressure. Of course having Parsons on your team, he naturally generates pressure. But the front office believes in Matt Eberflus and his system to naturally generate pressure.

Jalen Hurts recorded an average time to throw of 3.21 seconds on 3rd down last season, (3rd-longest in the NFL), instead opting to scramble to bide time for his receivers (27.3% scramble rate, 2nd-highest).

You can’t give Philly that much time in the pocket. With Dante Fowler, Sam Williams, Donovan Ezeiruaku and Marshawn Kneeland rotating on the edge, fresh legs are always in the game chasing Jalen Hurts.

Hurts found more success on scramble runs, doing so on a league-high 13.3% of dropbacks en route to 169 scramble rush yards (2nd-most). The Cowboys allowed opposing quarterbacks to average 9.8 rushing yards per scramble last season, 3rd-most in the NFL. It is more than just getting to the QB, but keeping him surrounded.

4 – Let Playmakers Shine.

Finally, the Cowboys offense will just need to key into who they are. Remember the talent you have on offense. A lot of weight will be on Dak Prescott to lead this team, but getting the ball to reliable targets like Jake Ferguson. Remembering you have playmakers like Ceedee Lamb and Kavontae Turpin. And of course the new deep ball threat in George Pickens.

George Pickens ran deep (20+ air yards) on 23.8% of his routes last season, the 7th-highest deep route rate in the NFL (min. 300 routes). Pickens was targeted on 30 of those such routes, hauling in 15 receptions for 515 yards and a touchdown, the most deep receptions in the NFL last season.

Pickens now teams up with CeeDee Lamb, who ran deep on just 12.4% of his routes last season. Lamb instead thrived on targets under 10 air yards, catching 72 of his 103 targets for 546 yards, the 3rd-most targets among wide receivers last season. Lamb also gained 375 of those 546 yards after the catch, 11th-most.

CeeDee Lamb forced 27 missed tackles across his 115 touches last season, tied for the most among wide receivers (G. Wilson), allowing him to gain 234 additional yards off missed tackles, 44 more than the next closest receiver (D. Samuel).

I think the Cowboys have a chance to catch the Eagles off guard with a win. Regardless…keep the game close and don’t get blown out like last years Cowboys. Need that to stay in the past. In the end, this game doesn’t decide your 2025 season, but a win would be cool.