The sky was falling for the Dallas Cowboys through the first three weeks of the 2024 season following consecutive home losses in which they were run over by the New Orleans Saints (44-19) and the Baltimore Ravens (28-25).
Dallas stemmed the tide, at least for a week in Week 4, by continuing their long-running domination of the New York Giants in a 20-15 victory on “Thursday Night Football.” That evened out their 2024 record to 2-2, keeping their postseason hopes alive for another week. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is now victorious over his NFC East rival for his 13th consecutive start, which is tied for the second-longest winning streak by a quarterback versus a single opponent since at least 1950 with San Francisco 49ers Hall of Famer Steve Young (13 wins in a row against the Rams) and the GOAT Tom Brady (13 wins in a row against the Bills). Only Miami Dolphins Hall of Famer Bob Griese has a longer streak of wins against a single squad with 17 wins in a row against the Bills.
Prescott let it rip Thursday night, throwing accurate lasers from start to finish. He concluded his night with an efficient 221 yards on 22 of 21 passing, including a 15-yard touchdown pass on a screen to running back Rico Dowdle and a 55-yard catch-and-run score to All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys took an early 14-6 lead early in the second quarter following the Lamb score before padding their lead with field goals of 60 yards and 40 yards from 2023 First-Team All-Pro Brandon Aubrey. However, Aubrey did miss the first 50-yard-or-deeper field goal of his career, missing from 51 yards with 32 seconds left to play. He is now 16 of 17 from 50-plus yards, and his streak of 16 in a row to begin his NFL career is the longest such streak in league history.
Lamb lived up to his claim of that he would rebound a week after taking full accountability for his poor play and sideline outburst in the Week 3 loss against the Ravens. He totaled 98 yards on seven catches, including his 55-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter in which he bobbed and weaved through the Giants’ secondary like he was driving through Tri State area traffic.
Defensively, Week 4 was a put up or shut up moment for the Cowboys defense. A week ago, Dallas surrendered the most rushing yards in a game this season (274) in its home loss against the Ravens, a game that was never as close as the final score indicated. Four-time Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said Dallas needed to “get out of playing little league football.” Three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons said “we don’t need any Supermans at all. We just need 11 guys playing together. Right now, it’s just not in unison.” Veteran cornerback Jourdan Lewis said the Cowboys defense needs to “be credible, f—ing accountable every single play.”
Dallas entered Week 4 ranking dead last in the league in rushing yards per game allowed (185.7) and yards per carry allowed (5.4).
They answered the call on Thursday night, allowing a meager 26 rushing yards on 24 carries. That figure marked the Cowboys’ fewest yards per carry allowed (1.08) in a game when facing 20 or more carries in franchise history, per CBS Sports Research. Dallas second-year defensive tackle Mazi Smith, the team’s 2023 first-round pick, looked like a player worthy of his draft spot, clogging rush lanes all game long. Cowboys backup corner Amani Oruwariye hauled in a game-sealing interception with 15 seconds left to play just four yards in front of the end zone. That’s a critical play made on a night in which Dallas was without 2023 interceptions leader DaRon Bland (stress fracture in foot) and fifth-round rookie Caelen Carson (shoulder), who had been starting in Bland’s place.
Bigger problems ahead
The Cowboys are walking wounded after Week 4. They lost both of their Pro Bowl edge rushers in Micah Parsons (ankle) and DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) in the second half Thursday night. Lawrence was seen getting his foot worked on and taped on the sidelines, but he did not return to action after departing in the third quarter. Lawrence told The Athletic that he is in pain but going to be fine. Parsons told Prescott, via The Athletic, “I’ll be good” in regards to his ankle. The Prime Video postgame show said Parsons had an X-Ray done, and the results were negative. He’ll get an MRI when the team returns to Texas, per NFL Media.
Dallas’ run defense put forth a historic performance in Week 4, but it’s a lot easier to do that when a team doesn’t fear the opposing quarterback. It’s clear the Cowboys aren’t scared of Daniel Jones since New York hasn’t scored a touchdown in each of his last four home starts. The Giants’ rushing offense, on the other hand, still struggled Thursday night, rushing for 80 yards on 23 carries, for a yards-per-carry average of 3.5 yards.
The Cowboys’ 75.3 rushing-yards-per-game average ranks as the third worst in the NFL this season, and their 3.5 yards per carry overall stand as the fourth worst in the league thus far in 2024. Lamb, a wide receiver, has their longest rush of the season: 12 yards. Running back Rico Dowdle has a 10-yard rush with Ezekiel Elliott’s 9-yard rush ranking as the third-longest Cowboys rush this season.
Their next two games prior to their Week 7 bye will provide much tougher challenges than what they faced Thursday against the Giants. Dallas will hit the road in 10 days to face the currently 3-0 Pittsburgh Steelers on the road in prime time for “Sunday Night Football” in Week 5, and they will then return home to host the currently 2-1 Detroit Lions, the 2023 NFC runner-up, in Week 6. Detroit will be thirsty for revenge after losing controversially in Dallas at the tail end of the 2023 regular season. Can the Cowboys showcase consistent improvement on the ground on both sides of the ball beyond Thursday night? We’ll have a much better picture of what the 2024 Cowboys are starting 10 days from now.
