The Dallas Cowboys defeated the New York Giants 20-15 on Thursday Night Football in Week 4 of the 2024 NFL season, bringing the team to 2-2 overall and tied for second place in the NFC East division.
The Cowboys’ defense played the biggest role in the Week 4 win. They prevented New York from scoring a single touchdown, instead forcing five field goals to help secure the win.
Although one game does not determine the outcome of the 2024 season, the Cowboys’ matchup against the Giants provides more insight into why fans should be optimistic and concerned about the rest of the year.
Cowboys Must Score By Passing The Ball
The Cowboys’ lackluster running back unit has been unable to significantly boost the offense through the first four weeks, resulting in the team leaning on the passing game even more than initially expected.
Dallas has only rushed for over 100 yards in a game once this season, in the season opener against the Cleveland Browns, when the Cowboys ran for 102 yards.
Outside of the season opener, the Cowboys’ season-high in rushing yards as a team came in Week 4, when they had only 80 yards on the ground despite leading for nearly the entire game.
These statistics are also low due to the pace or score of the game, as the Cowboys seem unable to gain significant yardage on any carries they have had throughout the season.
Dallas is picking up just 3.5 yards per carry and has a season-long rush of only 12 yards through the first four games, which would each rank within the bottom three of the entire league.
While the Cowboys’ rushing attack has struggled to begin the season, there is hope for improvement as Head Coach Mike McCarthy seemingly decided to give Rico Dowdle the status of being the top running back.
Dowdle’s rush share, which determines the percentage of running back rushing attempts a player gets in any given game, has increased from 32.0% and 33.3% in the first two weeks to 61.5% and 61.1% in Weeks 3 and 4, according to JJ Zachariason.
Moving forward, Dowdle’s emergence as the lead back could help the team recover from a slow start in the running game and turn it into a solid portion of the offense.
While the Cowboys’ rushing attack has been unable to find its footing so far, quarterback Dak Prescott has helped the team become one of the league’s most effective and efficient passing offenses.
Prescott is currently second in the league with 1,072 passing yards for the season while also leading the league in aggressiveness. NFL’s Next Gen Stats state that 27.5% of his throws have had a defender within one yard of the receiver.
Dallas will likely need Prescott to continue his impressive start to the season for the foreseeable future while the team evaluates ways to improve its run game.
Injuries Could Prove Fatal For Cowboys
One unfortunate guarantee for any NFL team is that players will get injured, but the most critical factors in these injuries are the players, timing, and amount of time that will be missed.
Dallas has suffered multiple injuries this season, the most notable being a Torn ACL suffered by defensive tackle Sam Williams and a stress fracture suffered by cornerback Da’Ron Bland.
The Cowboys will likely be without DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons for the future. Both suffered injuries in Week 4 and were seen in walking boots on Monday, per ESPN’s Todd Archer.
Lawrence is expected to miss between four and eight weeks after being diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, though he will not have to undergo surgery since the bones were not displaced, added Archer.
The 11-year veteran is now a prime candidate to be placed on the injured reserve list, which would result in him being sidelined for at least four weeks while also opening a roster spot for the team during his recovery.
Meanwhile, Parsons is dealing with a high ankle sprain that will be evaluated within the next 7-10 days. He is also expected to miss the Cowboys’ game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 5, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The Cowboys have struggled to generate consistent pressure and sacks to start this season. They will now be without two of their top defensive players for the coming weeks, meaning multiple others on the defensive line will be asked to step into larger, more impactful roles.
Dallas has two games remaining before a Week 7 bye, which will help them recover from the various injuries. However, the team will have to finish at least 1-1 in those two games to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Losing each of these games will result in Dallas being 2-4 to start the year. A difficult schedule in the second half of the season would leave the team with almost no room for error if they hope to make the playoffs.
These injuries will likely affect the Cowboys’ game plan for Week 5 and could significantly impact whether Dallas is able to win against the Steelers on Sunday night at 7:20 p.m.
