For so much of the 2022 season, the stars have seemed to be aligning for the Cowboys as they look to finally justify the hype that surrounds Dallas before every NFL campaign.
The Cowboys survived an early season quarterback injury to Dak Prescott to start 4-1 with Cooper Rush under center, and have since consistently shown signs of being a team that has the ingredients to go all the way to the Super Bowl.
Prescott, following an unconvincing performance on his return from injury in Week 7 against the Detroit Lions, has rediscovered the level of performance that has helped him ascend to the fringes of the NFL's elite at the quarterback position. The loss of Amari Cooper in a trade with the Cleveland Browns has had a minimal negative impact on the offense, with CeeDee Lamb thriving as the undisputed number one receiver and Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard forming an explosive running back tandem.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys' defense has frequently shown its ability to derail opposing offense through dominance on the defensive line and success in generating takeaways, in which Dallas lead the NFL with 26.
Yet their strength on that side of the ball is now worthy of being called into question following a four-game stretch in which the Cowboys went 3-1 but saw their proficiency on defense drop off significantly.
Indeed, since Week 12, the Cowboys have allowed an average of 359.8 net yards per game. Only 10 teams have given up more in that span. Between Weeks 1 and 11, the Cowboys were the ninth-best defense in the NFL by the same measure.
The Cowboys were able to survive their defensive decline across Weeks 12 to 14, beating the New York Giants by a possession and blowing out the Indianapolis Colts with a fourth-quarter avalanche, before they narrowly avoided a humiliating loss to the Houston Texans in a game in which they gave up 23 points to the NFL's second-worst offense by yards per play.
But their Week 15 meeting with the Jacksonville Jaguars arguably served as a harbinger of what could come for the Cowboys in the postseason if Dan Quinn's defense cannot get back on track.
Though their loss to the Jaguars was settled by a Prescott pick-six as Rayshawn Jenkins returned an overtime interception that clanked off the hands of Noah Brown, it was one borne of the Cowboys' inability to kill the Jaguars off having led 27-10 in the third quarter.
Dallas gave up two 75-yard touchdown drives, sandwiched by a 39-yard drive, to surrender that advantage in just under nine minutes of game time. The Cowboys' defense conceded eight explosive runs of at least 10 yards and 11 such passes, and were unable to preserve the lead Prescott restored with just over three minutes remaining with his second touchdown pass to Brown.
Of course, the Cowboys' defense did get the ball back to Prescott with a forced fumble from Trevor Lawrence immediately after that score, and criticism of the Dallas offense for calling a shot play to Brown on third down on the subsequent drive that fell incomplete and gave Lawrence another shot with a minute left is merited.
But the offense is rarely going to be perfect on every drive, and the frustrating thing for the Cowboys as that this was a defeat suffered amid one of Prescott's finest performances of the season.
Prescott delivered an accurate, well-thrown ball on 27 of his 30 pass attempts. His well-thrown rate of 90 per cent was the fourth best among quarterbacks with at least 10 attempts going into Monday and the best for signal-callers with an average of at least eight air yards per attempt. Prescott averaged 8.33, with his impressive combination of aggressiveness and accuracy exemplified by his perfectly placed 20-yard touchdown throw to Peyton Hendershot on a wheel route to put the Cowboys up 14-0 in the second quarter.
In terms of turnovers, the defense did offer support to Prescott by producing three, and the Cowboys' quarterback was not blameless in their loss of the original 17-point lead, throwing a third-quarter interception to Jenkins that set Jacksonville up for a touchdown to trim the advantage to 27-24.
But the reality is the offense scored enough points to beat Jacksonville and, instead of complementing that effort with a display that frustrated the Jags and an improving Jacksonville attack, the Dallas defense instead delivered volatility that should worry a team that will almost certainly have to go on the road as a Wild Card in the NFC playoffs.
Brown's unreliability in the clutch could be seen as an error that justifies owner Jerry Jones' continued apparent lobbying for the Cowboys to sign Odell Beckham Jr. for their playoff push.
Yet the Cowboys are not a wide receiver, especially one whose status in his recovery from a torn ACL remains unknown, away from winning their conference. They are instead seemingly short the kind of defense that can propel them to glory against opponents like the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers who can stymie their offense and whom they will surely need to overcome to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
With a postseason berth secured, there's plenty of reason for hope in Dallas, but there could be trouble ahead if the Cowboys cannot halt a worrying defensive downturn.
Patriots select QB Maye with third overall pick
The New England Patriots hope they now have their franchise quarterback after selecting North Carolina’s Drake Maye with the third overall pick in Thursday's NFL draft.
Maye was the third straight quarterback selected after the Chicago Bears took Caleb Williams at No. 1 and the Washington Commanders chose Jayden Daniels second.
Since Tom Brady departed New England following the 2019 season, the Patriots used Cam Newton as their primary quarterback the following season before drafting Mac Jones 15th overall in 2021.
Jones had a strong rookie season with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions but tailed off to 24 TDs and 23 picks combined the past two seasons and was traded to Jacksonville in March.
Maye likely won’t be the Patriots’ starting quarterback at the start of the 2024 season after veteran signal caller Jacoby Brissett was signed to a one-year contract in March. Brissett has appeared in 79 NFL games with 48 starts and figures to serve as a mentor to Maye.
There is also the belief that Maye simply won’t be NFL ready in a few months and would be best served to sit a season, like what Patrick Mahomes did for the Chiefs in 2017.
Maye was the ACC Player of the Year in 2022 in his first season as a full-time starter at North Carolina, also being named the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. He broke Mitchell Trubisky’s school record and set an FBS freshman record with 4,321 passing yards and tied Sam Howell’s mark for passing touchdowns with 38 and threw just seven interceptions. He also displayed his mobility with nearly 700 yards rushing and seven scores.
This past season wasn’t as productive for Maye, who before the season lost offensive coordinator Phil Longo and receivers Josh Downs and Antoine Green to the NFL. Maye was still named to the Second Team All-ACC team as he passed for 3,608 yards with 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 12 games.
Maye has all the physical tools to succeed in the NFL, namely excellent arm talent and good mobility for someone of his size (6-foot-4, 223 pounds). He made a host of impressive touch throws in college and understands where to deliver a ball for a receiver to make a play on it.
There are some issues with Maye’s footwork and his tendency to trust his arm strength almost too much and force some throws. His weaknesses, though, seem like the kind that can be improved upon rather quickly and sitting for a full season - or at least most of one - would help greatly in this area.
Maye has drawn comparisons to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers.
He isn’t quite the natural athlete that Allen is and probably doesn’t have Hebert’s arm strength, but it’s not far-fetched to think Maye could put up similar numbers to those two at the next level given the right coaching and situation.
Commanders take QB Jayden Daniels second in NFL draft
The Washington Commanders are confident that they have found their franchise quarterback.
With the second overall pick, the Commanders selected LSU’s Jayden Daniels, one of the most electric dual-threat quarterback prospects in recent memory.
The reigning Heisman Trophy winner led LSU to a 10-3 season last year and threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns with only four interceptions. He added 1,134 yards on the ground and 10 rushing touchdowns.
On Wednesday, Daniels downplayed reports that he was unhappy with the Commanders conducting a group interview with other top quarterback prospects.
“I'm blessed to go wherever I'm called,” Daniels told reporters. “Whoever calls my phone, whoever gives the card to the commissioner that says my name, I'm blessed to go and they're going to get my all.”
Daniels later clarified that he was “one hundred per cent” heading to Washington.
Despite gaudy production in his senior year, scouts were split on Daniels’ professional prospects, with some wondering if he possesses the pocket passing skills required for the NFL.
At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Daniels is larger than most dual-threat prospects, and his ability to avoid turnovers his senior year was very promising.
But Daniels’ Heisman season is an outlier among his five seasons in college – three at Arizona State and the final two at LSU.
In his first 43 NCAA games, Daniels had a 143.8 passer rating. That number skyrocketed to 208.0 last season.
Due to his extended college career, Daniels will celebrate his 24th birthday during his rookie season in the NFL, making him significantly older than fellow top quarterback prospects Caleb Williams and Drake Maye.
Daniels joins a Commanders squad that went 4-13 last season with Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett at quarterback.
Dan Quinn replaces Ron Rivera as Washington’s head coach, and former Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury will take over as the Commanders’ offensive coordinator.
Record-setting first round of NFL draft goes offence heavy
Offence and then offence, some more offence followed by offence.
That was the story of a record-setting first round of the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit on Thursday night.
For the first time in history, the first 14 picks were offensive players, including six quarterbacks and three wide receivers. The first defensive player didn’t come off the board until the Indianapolis Colts selected edge rusher Laiatu Latu from UCLA with the 15th pick.
The latest a first round had previously gone before a defensive player was taken was No. 8 overall. That’s where the Carolina Panthers took cornerback Jaycee Horn in 2021.
Not only were the 14 straight offensive players to start the draft a record, but it was also the first time 14 consecutive offensive players were taken at any point in the draft.
As expected, the first three picks were quarterbacks.
USC’s Caleb Williams – the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner - went first overall to the Chicago Bears, 2023 Heisman winner Jayden Daniels from LSU was picked next by the Washington Commanders and the New England Patriots took Drake Maye out of North Carolina.
This was the fourth time in the common draft era starting in 1967 that quarterbacks went with the top three picks.
The QBs continued to fly off the board soon after, with the Atlanta Falcons pulling the first surprise of the draft by selecting Michael Penix Jr. of Washington with the 8th overall pick.
The Falcons took Penix less than two months after signing veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed.
J.J. McCarthy was the next QB taken, as the Minnesota Vikings moved up one spot to 10th in a trade with the New York Jets. McCarthy went 27-1 as a starter at Michigan and won last season’s national championship.
The Denver Broncos grabbed Oregon signal-caller Bo Nix with the 12th pick as they look to settle a position that has been in flux since Peyton Manning. The Broncos have had 13 starting quarterbacks since Manning retired as a Super Bowl champion after the 2015 season.
Six quarterbacks selected in the first 12 picks tied the 1983 draft for the most taken in any first round. Three of those became Hall of Fame quarterbacks – John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly. Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason and Ken O’Brien also went in the first round in 1983.
The Arizona Cardinals stopped the run of quarterbacks by going for Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. at No. 4. The Los Angeles Chargers opened the Jim Harbaugh era by taking Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt and the New York Giants picked up explosive LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers with the sixth pick.
After the Tennessee Titans took Alabama offensive tackle J.C. Latham with the seventh pick, the Bears took Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze at No. 9 with their second selection in the top 10.
The Vikings made the biggest move up in terms of spots, going from No. 23 to 17 in a swap with the Jacksonville Jaguars to select Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner.
The Jaguars selected LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. with the 23rd pick as they try to fill the void left by Calvin Ridley signing with division rival Tennessee in free agency.
It was only fitting that the final two picks of the first round were wide receivers. Ricky Pearsall of Florida went 31st to the San Francisco 49ers and South Carolina’s Xavier Legette was the last selection to the Carolina Panthers.
The 23 offensive players picked was easily the most in history, surpassing the previous record of 19 (1968, 2004 and 2009).
The Philadelphia Eagles made the biggest move of the night outside the draft, agreeing to a three-year contract extension with star wide receiver A.J. Brown.
The contract includes $84 million in guaranteed money and will make Brown the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL at $32 million a season. He could earn as much as $96 million over the length of the extension.
Brown had 106 catches for 1,456 yards receiving last season after he had 88 catches for 1,496 yards in 2022, in his first season with the Eagles.
Brown spent his first three seasons with the Tennessee Titans after he was drafted 51st overall in the 2019 draft. He surpassed 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first two seasons in the NFL and had 869 in 13 games in his third season.
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