Can the Dallas Cowboys end their Super Bowl drought? The clear win in Week 1 has lit a familiar flame, but will it be a familiar result? Watch the Cowboys host the New York Jets live on Sky Sports NFL from 9.25pm on Sunday
Written by David Corey
Last updated: 09/15/23 9:14 AM
Dallas Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons causes havoc against the New York Giants in Week 1
No team feels more upbeat at the start of the season than the Dallas Cowboys.
No fan base is ready to have their team crowned Super Bowl champions sooner than Dallas fans, despite the title drought continuing into its 28th year. Heck, the Cowboys haven’t even reached an NFC Championship game during that span — having settled previously, making 16 appearances over the previous 30 seasons, en route to five Super Bowl victories.
There have been plenty of false starts since then, including posting straight 12-5 seasons over the past two years, leading to easy defeats to the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs.
But is there reason to believe that 2023 could be different? I mean, there are season-opening wins, and then there’s kind of the 40-0 drubbing that their division rivals, the New York Giants, received – in their own building – last Sunday night. Talk about making a statement.
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Highlights of the Cowboys’ 40-0 win over the Giants
This was a Giants team fresh off their playoff run to the divisional round last year, and had real optimism for better prospects this season. Within 15 minutes of football, those fires of ambition had been forcefully snuffed out – and not by torrential rain at MetLife Stadium.
Using a dominant defense, Dallas embarrassed the Giants, blocking a field goal and returning an interception to the house for a 16-0 lead after just one quarter.
Cowboys D quarterback Daniel Jones caught just 15 of 28 passes, for 104 yards, sacked him seven times and had two interceptions.
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Osa Odighizuwa and Dorance Armstrong each had two of those sacks and Trevon Diggs had a key pass breakup and a forced fumble — one of five the Giants lost.
Dallas’ swarming defense was so dominant that Dak Prescott only had to provide 143 yards on 13-of-24 passing in the demolition, although Tony Pollard did handle two TDs as the Cowboys recorded their biggest shutout win in franchise history.
The explosion sparked that familiar thing in Dallas: unwavering faith.
“I saw this before anyone,” Cowboys forward Micah Parsons said after the win.
“I said I couldn’t wait to get to New York. I knew it was coming.
“When execution meets preparation, there’s no one who can beat it. We really felt it. We’ve been to war before. We knew the standard.”
Parsons later added: “I think we made the statement I was trying to make. We’re the best defense in the NFL.”
It’s hard to argue.
Dallas’ defense is the first since the 1970s to lead the NFL in takeaways in back-to-back seasons, with their 33 from last season eclipsed by one point in 2021. They were also in the top five in points allowed per game a year ago Their number only exceeded one point. 20.1 on average.
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Defensive back Noah Igbinoghene opens the Cowboys 2023 NFL season with a 58-yard touchdown run after blocking a Giants field goal
Where the Cowboys faltered, last season in particular, was on offense, finishing only in the middle of the pack in yards per game (354.9), and with Prescott finishing tied for first with Davis Mills of the Houston Texans, who had three wins. For the most interceptions in the league, racking up a career-high 15 to accompany a career-low mark of 7.3 yards per attempt.
Although he wasn’t required to do much against the Giants, there is renewed optimism that Prescott and the Cowboys can rediscover their 2021 form on offense that has them leading the league in yards (407 YPG) and scoring (31.2 PPG).
CeeDee Lamb, the undisputed No. 1 receiver, is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, including a career-high of 1,359 yards a year ago, while he was complimented by speedster Brandin Cooks – who was acquired via trade From Texas – and the underappreciated Michael Gallup. Hopefully he will be free from the ravages of the injury he has suffered over the past two years.
There’s also Pollard, who is considered the best running back after Ezekiel Elliott’s late exit, and seemed eager to take up such a mantle with his New York outfit.
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Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets highlights from Week 1 of the NFL season
These offensive weapons will be put to a stern test of their credentials on Sunday, against an Aaron Rodgers-less New York Jets team that itself boasts an excellent defense — one suited to challenge Parsons’ claim to be the best in the NFL and fresh from interceptions. Josh Allen tripled in their stunning season-opening win over the Buffalo Bills.
“It’s a great start,” Parsons added after the Giants’ win.
“I haven’t seen anything like this since we’ve been here, but that’s consistency. We just have to keep at it.”
“It’s one game,” said coach Mike McCarthy, who is aware of the need to keep expectations in check in Dallas.
“We know where we want to go. I feel like we’re quite capable and have an understanding of how to get there. But it’s a long journey.”
Well, without wanting to contradict the coach’s sentiments, the Cowboys’ previous two season-opening appearances have one thing in common: When Dallas beat the Baltimore Colts 38-0 in 1978 and the Giants 35-0 in 1995, they reached the Super Bowl on both occasions.
Try telling Cowboys fans not to get carried away now.
Watch the Kansas City Chiefs at Jacksonville Jaguars live on Sky Sports NFL from 6pm on Sunday, followed by the New York Jets on the road against the Dallas Cowboys from 9.25pm; The Miami Dolphins then face the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football.
