Is It Time to Be Concerned About the Cowboys’ Defense? – Shane Taylor, Inside the Star

Despite the dramatic win against the Seattle Seahawks, did the Cowboys create more questions about the team’s makeup than provide answers.

Next four games

The next four games for the Cowboys are against teams with winning records. The Bills are .500, but they have an offense on the same level as the others. The defense looks lost in coverage when they don’t get pressure, and one thing they need help with is when teams run motion.

Seattle’s playoff hopes hung on this game, so they played more aggressively, but they did whatever they wanted to on offense. The Cowboys are going to see the best of the best when it comes to the postseason.

If they give up 35 points a game to teams that will play in January, that is a reason to be concerned. Right now, Dak Prescott is playing the best football of his career, and probably better than anyone in football since the loss to the 49ers.

Time will tell

As noted, we will find out what this team is made of over these next four games, two at home and two on the road. They had a good start by beating Seattle on Thursday, but if they can go 3-1 over these next four games against the Eagles, Bills, Dolphins, and Lions, folks will start thinking they have a real chance to win it all.

I have yet to give up on the defense, but to say they are elite still will not work. They are struggling with teams that have winning records and those that can push the ball down the field. They still have a penalty problem that will cost them in the big games.

Jake Ferguson’s adding extremely important elements to Cowboys’ identity – Reid Hanson, Cowboys Wire

The second-year tight end is providing the Cowboys with another weapon to make the offense even more potent.

For the better part of the 2023 season, Jake Ferguson has been the No. 2 option in Dallas. He trails only CeeDee Lamb in targets and receptions and with five games yet to play, he’s already nearly tripled his output from 2022.

Even though he’s been a key cog in the Cowboys machine throughout the year, it took a big day on the Thursday Night Football stage to truly elevate him into the hearts and minds of the nation. Tony Gonzalez, a former NFL tight end and current TNF analyst, gushed over his six reception, 77-yard and one-touchdown performance, prompting many to call this Ferguson’s “coming out party.”

Those close to the team know better. The former fourth-rounder from Wisconsin has been that guy in Dallas all season long. And it didn’t take a couple flashy plays in primetime football to make it official.

As a blocker, Ferguson has quietly established himself in the NFL’s top tier. Of those with at least 300 snaps, Ferguson ranks sixth in run blocking and fifth in pass protection. With the same snap minimum, Pro Football Focus grades him seventh overall this season, making him the second-youngest TE in their top-10.

But while the pure blocking and receiving numbers are great, it’s the intangibles that seem to set him apart.“He’s a baller,” Dak Prescott said. “His mentality is why he is the guy that he is. He expects to do what he did in tonight’s game and he’s no different than me.”

It wasn’t just what Ferguson did on Thursday, but how and to whom he did it. Jawing with All-Pro Jamal Adams early, Ferguson essentially went after the biggest bully in the yard. It was a beef only made beefier when Ferguson pulled in the go-ahead touchdown in the face of Adams in the endzone.