FRISCO, Texas – The 2024 season may not go any other way as we reach Moment 9 for the Dallas Cowboys (3-4), losers of two straight games, and the Atlanta Falcons (5-3), winners. of 3 in its end 4 and in the first park in the NFC South.
Comments from players on both teams make that juxtaposition incredibly clear. There are sunshine and rainbows in Atlanta.
“Just the confidence in what the guys have now and the vibe in the building,” Falcons operator Bijan Robinson said again. reported CBS Sports this date. “Obviously there have been some changes with… the coach [Raheem] Morris being there, with [offensive coordinator] Zach [Robinson] being there. We had the quarterback change (to Kirk Cousins) and a lot of new pieces were added to the team. It’s been very good for us, but I think we came in knowing that every game is a championship game. … I know that, individually, the confidence level has increased a lot from year one to year two. “I’m really excited to share that with my teammates.”
And now in Dallas…
“I have to be better. It’s that simple,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. mentioned when asked about having eight interceptions in seven games. “Take it as it is, look at those plays independently, look at the other ones that probably could have been or could have turned out a different way than they did. But you’re never going to ruin my confidence. Some of it for them, most of it is decision making, so I go back to…risk versus reward. That’s something I just watch the film this week, I think that’s something I’m worried about, get off the picket, make other plays happen when you’re weighing. that risk. You know, when I have the ball in my hands, it’s not just about that play, it’s about the team, the. game, the momentum of the game and I just have to be better.”
Can the visiting Cowboys overcome injuries, years of training and ineffective starts to preserve a disappointing road victory? Or will the host Falcons and their highly advanced offense propel them to another dub? Let’s take a better look at this matchup and hope for a winner.
Cowboys vs. Falcons where to watch
Day: Sunday October 27 | Introduce: 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
Channel: FOX | Wave: fubo (points to detachment)
Notice: CBS Sports App
Odd: Falcons -3, O/U 52.0 (using Caesars Sportsbook)
When the Cowboys have the ball
Dallas’ offense in 2024 has been much different than its offense looked in 2023. The Cowboys led the entire NFL in scoring offense (29.9 points per game) with Prescott leading the league in touchdown passes (36) and the wide receiver 2023 First-Team All-Pro CeeDee Lamb, known for NFL catches (135) en route to a third consecutive 12-5 season. The start of 2024 hasn’t been as explosive, with the Cowboys averaging 21.4 points per sport (2nd in the league) amid a 3-4 stumble to start the season.
The drop is understandable because the offensive circumstances are considerably different. Dallas is starting two freshmen at arguably the top two positions of a very powerful first-round offensive series with Tyler Guyton, who predominantly had a good fight at Oklahoma, and third-round heartthrob Cooper Beebe, who He didn’t make any movement. in the heart in a sport in Kansas Climate.
The growing pains in the pre-snap conversation, and the team opting to lead its operational game with veteran undrafted independent agent Rico Dowdle and past-prime versions of Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook, have resulted in the Cowboys having the worst racing game. in the league, averaging 74.1 rushing yards depending on the sport. Lack of a reasonably threatening running game and previous inexperience are the main reasons Prescott has struggled so far. He has recorded just 10 touchdown passes and eight interceptions, his most interceptions in seven career games. Prescott ranks 10th in the NFL in completion percentage (63.7%, 22nd in the NFL), touchdown-to-interception ratio (10-8, 24th) and passer rating (84.5, 24th) this season .
His chemistry with Lamb has taken a step forward after an awkward start to the season in which there have been a few instances where he and his governing target were not on the same page with Lamb running in one direction and Prescott’s center in other. . The early problems can certainly be attributed to Lamb’s resistance in the offseason before receiving his new offer in late August at the next training camp. Dallas’ dynamic duo regained their chemistry in the 8th against the San Francisco 49ers in a 30-24 loss that came much closer to Prescott Lamb’s next crash for two fourth-quarter touchdowns. He completed 146 receiving yards and two touchdowns with 13 receptions on 17 targets.
“Yes, I found CeeDee,” Prescott mentioned, reflecting again on Lamb’s escape into the Bay Department. “He did a good job getting open, running all his routes hard no matter where he was, whether he was the one or whether he was on the back end of a concept. I loved his intentionality in the game. He said something like that to me during the game, midway through the game, like ‘Yeah, we’re back.’ And that was before, I think, his two touchdown drives, so just the fact that he’s playing with that confidence, communicating it, gives me a lot of confidence.” .
“We found our rhythm, we got our stride back and I was definitely getting open and getting the ball, so I feel like it goes hand in hand and I hope to continue doing that,” Lamb mentioned.
Prescott must navigate arguably the most star-studded secondaries in the entire league as Dallas heads to Atlanta to face the 5-3 Falcons, the leaders of the NFC South’s flow category. They have Professional Bowl defenseman Jessie Bates III, the center of pro football, the 10th highest-rated barricade defenseman (73.8 protection grade), and two-time Professional Bowl defenseman Justin Simmons, whose 31 career interceptions are the most amount in the NFL since each he and Prescott entered the NFL in 2016.
Lamb could be preparing to face a fellow 2020 first-round draft pick, Falcons cornerback AJ Terrell, even though he didn’t face him in their previous two meetings. Terrell faced Lamb on five of his 60 routes in those two conferences, according to NFL Pro Insights. Lamb had 200 yards and two touchdowns with receptions on 12 of 16 targets in those matchups. Atlanta had him line up at left cornerback correcting 85% or more of his plays in those two games, but in 2024, he has been more flexible in his fifth NFL season with a nearly 50-50 spit at each right corner ( 51.1%) and left corner (48.7%), according to NFL Pro Insights. The 26-year-old’s selection in the sport has produced strong early-season effects: Terrell’s 54.1 rating as a defensive primary defender is ninth-best in the NFL among 60 players with at least 35 passes thrown. your focus.
When the Falcons have the ball
Atlanta’s offense has soared to new heights under new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, who spent five years as a worker on Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams training staff. Running back Bijan Robinson already has six games with a minimum of 100 yards from scrimmage in 2024, which is tied for second in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles’ leading running back, Saquon Barkley (six), with most games of this guy, so far this season. Robinson had five such performances in all of 2023. Big receiver Drake London has already recorded a career-high five receiving touchdowns, and counting in 2024, he will have just six receiving ratings combined in 2022 and 2023. On Sunday, the Tight end Kyle Pitts recorded 91 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns on four receptions in the win against Tampa Bay, marking the first game of his career with a few landing catches. His three receiving touchdowns have already tied his career mark, and his receiving touchdowns of 36 and 49 yards against the Buccaneers in Time 8 make Pitts the first Falcon with some receiving touchdowns of 35 yards or more since He retired professionally four times. Bowl receiver Roddy White did it again in 2012. Pitts could be the first Atlanta tight leader to accomplish the feat.
| PPG | 18.9 (twenty-sixth) | 24.3 (twelfth) |
| General YPG | 334.3 (seventeenth) | 371.6 (seventh) |
| Participation in strength rating (load of impulses leading to TD or FG) | 50.6% (1st) | 43.2% (ninth) |
| YPG Cross | 207.3 (twenty-second) | 250.9 (sixth) |
| Purple zone TD quota | 46.8% (twenty-ninth) | 52% (twenty-second) |
| Bag charge allowed | 7% (twentieth) | 5.2% (seventh) |
| Passer Rating | 80.5 (twenty-seventh) | 97.6 (thirteenth) |
| movement load | 56.4% (seventh) | 65.3% (fifth) |
| Anticipated offensive issues added/games | -0.09 (twenty-sixth) | 0.06 (seventh) |
The Cowboys defense became known as an elite defense because of the energy of their talent to generate takeaways. Throughout Dallas’ 3 consecutive 12-win seasons from 2021 to 2023, they led the NFL in takeaways (93), interceptions (59), and quarterback blitzes (41.4%). The Cowboys’ metrics have taken a dive in 2024 without three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons (out since Moment 4) and 2023 NFL interceptions leader DaRon Green (out since the end from training camp with a power break). in its substructure). Pro Bowl Cornerback Trevon Diggs (calf) formally questionable. Dallas’ five sacks in 2024 are tied for the fifth-fewest in the NFL, a week in which the defense is slightly below average (17th in the league) in quarterback rush rate (34.8 %).
The lack of conclusions can also be attributed to injuries and roster attrition due to Jerry Jones’ offseason, however, the focal point of the new Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s defense is a group less geared toward spray plays.that come with conclusions, which used to be Dan Quinn’s scheme between 2021 and 2023. Dallas played man defense at the third-highest rate in the NFL between 2021 and 2023 (33.8%), but in 2024 that figure dropped to 26.3%, roughly in the middle of the collection: the 15th most in the league.
Through eight games, Robinson ranks fourth in the entire league in yards from scrimmage (784) and fourth in receiving yards (238) among running backs. Dallas is the NFL’s second-worst run defense (154.6 rushing yards per sport allowed), just decimal points ahead of the Carolina Panthers (1-7), and has special difficulty against what Robinson excels at: rushing. below the center. Robinson has posted a 57.6% luck rate on runs under center this season, the highest rate among 36 running backs with at least 30 such carries, according to NFL Pro Insights. The Cowboys have allowed the most touchdowns on runs short of heart (11) and have given up the second-highest rate of luck (49.3%) against runs short of heart in the NFL this season.
Prediction
Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is helping Atlanta Supremacy to victory about Zimmer, his former Minnesota Vikings schoolteacher, with a lot of help from Robinson and his younger, high-flying cast of playmakers because the Cowboys simply can’t set aside chances.
Select: Falcons 31, Cowboys 20
