Why Cowboys will dominate September football
Let's welcome September the proper way: After months and months of training camp talk and preseason overreactions, let's talk some Dallas Cowboys' regular season football! In fact, let us start with a bang, and allow me to share why I strongly believe the Cowboys will dominate the three games they have scheduled for September. Sure, […]
Let's welcome September the proper way: After months and months of training camp talk and preseason overreactions, let's talk some Dallas Cowboys' regular season football!
In fact, let us start with a bang, and allow me to share why I strongly believe the Cowboys will dominate the three games they have scheduled for September. Sure, great teams are defined in the cold of December and legacies are built in January. But in an NFL where playoff seeding is a great driving force behind Super Bowl runs, every game matters just the same.
So why will they dominate September en route to a 3-0 record to start the year? Heck, how dare I be so confident when they're facing the rising New York Giants that added star tight end Darren Waller? And hasn't New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers, their Week 2 opponent, caused Cowboys fans enough pain before to know better?
Well, my answer is simple. The three offensive lines the Cowboys are facing to start the 2023 regular season are lousy. Let's take a quick look at where Pro Football Focus' Sam Monson ranks each of these units before breaking them down one by one:
- Week 1: NY Giants – 29th
- Week 2: NY Jets – 23rd
- Week 3: AZ Cardinals – 31st
Both teams from the Big Apple are expected by many to deal some damage in 2023 and it's easy to understand why. They're well-built projects on the rise. But it's a league of matchups and you don't want to play the Cowboys' defensive front with those units up front. Last year, Dan Quinn's defense boasted the highest pressure rate in the entire league.
Micah Parsons is a match-up nightmare and it requires no exaggeration to say he's one of the best defensive players in the entire league. And, in contrast to last year, they're starting the year with two quality nose tackles to help against the run. Johnathan Hankins arrived in October just before the trade deadline and rookie Mazi Smith was taken in the first round of this year's NFL Draft.
But just for fun, let's dive into each of the opponents the Cowboys will be facing in September and their respective offensive lines.
- NY Giants (29th OL): Left tackle Andrew Thomas is the real deal. Watching him go up against Parsons will be the heavyweight main event of the day. Last year, they engaged in an all-out war on Thanksgiving that was beautiful to see. Other than that, the Giants are betting on Evan Neal to make a huge jump in Year 2 and hoping second-round rookie center John Michael Schmitz Jr. gets acclimated to the NFL quickly. Although I personally like JMS, I know Dan Quinn is excited about getting to mess with a rookie center in his debut.
- NY Jets (23rd OL): Right tackle Mehki Becton hasn't played in two years and the Jets have yet to see him put all the pieces together. Left tackle Duane Brown is 40 years old. It's a shaky OL and while Rodgers has a quick trigger, his protection might crumble against the Cowboys' pass rush.
- AZ Cardinals (31st OL): Paris Johnson, the first-round rookie, will be starting at right tackle, which could make for a decent duo with D.J. Humphries on the left side. But the interior line is in trouble and with Joshua Dobbs quarterbacking in Kyler Murray's absence, it could get ugly.
There are countless variables that go into a football game. But I'm betting the Cowboys are excited about the slate of offensive lines they get to start the season against. Games are won in the trenches and they'll start the year with a huge advantage.
Featured image via Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
