Dallas Cowboys fans got a clear look at the future and the cracks in the armor all in one game. The rookie safety Caleb Downs played every single defensive snap for Dallas in their Week 2 win over Washington. That is a huge vote of confidence from the coaching staff, but the price paid for that win was steep. The team secured a 37-20 victory, yet the injury list grew longer than the stat sheet for the offense.
The Injury Bug Hits Hard
The secondary took a massive hit that could derail the season before it really gets going. Safety P.J. Locke left the game early with a foot injury and was seen in a walking boot after the contest. Cornerback Cobie Durant also went down with a hamstring strain and did not return. According to Yahoo Sports, head coach Brian Schottenheimer confirmed that Locke has a torn plantar fascia while Durant is dealing with a hamstring issue. Both players could be sidelined for multiple weeks, which leaves the defense in a terrible spot.
This is bad news for a unit that was already struggling. Following their defeat by the Giants, the Cowboys started the match with a 32nd rank in EPA per play. They climbed to 17th after this win, but the depth is gone. Markquese Bell stepped up with 80% of the defensive snaps, but he was a special teams player just last week. The team simply does not have the luxury of rotating players like they planned.
Rookie Reliance and the Road Ahead
The coaching staff has no choice but to lean on their young talent right now. With Malik Hooker out and Locke down, the defense had to shift gears instantly. Per Yahoo Sports, rookie Caleb Downs played every defensive snap while Jaishawn Barham handled the green-dot play-caller duties for nearly two-thirds of the unit. This is a baptism by fire for a first-year player. The team cannot afford for Downs to make mistakes, but the pressure is on.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer did not sugarcoat the reality after the game. He told the media, “But there’s always things to clean up. We certainly have not arrived. We got a lot of work to do.” That quote sums up the entire situation perfectly. The offense looked better, with Dak Prescott throwing for 279 yards and four touchdowns, but the defense is still a work in progress. Across two contests, the squad failed to secure 22 tackles, with 12 of those occurring solely versus Washington.
The next test is brutal. Dallas travels to Rio de Janeiro to face the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson. This is the league’s first-ever game in Brazil, and it will be a nightmare scenario for a depleted secondary. Mobile quarterbacks have already been an Achilles heel, with Jayden Daniels rushing for 69 yards in the first half before his own injury. If the Cowboys cannot stop the run or contain the QB scramble, the road to Rio will feel very long.
