While things begin at 0-0 for every squad, there are still numbers that tell a story leading into a new era of Cowboys Football. Mike McCarthy enters his first game as the head coach and will do so in the inaugural SoFi Stadium matchup, which will take place without fans. Here are a dozen interesting facts to know ahead of Sunday Night's matchup at 7:20 CT on NBC.
Here are a dozen interesting facts to know ahead of Sunday Night's matchup at 7:20 CT on NBC.
Dallas has the best opening day winning percentage in NFL History
Both the Cowboys and Broncos hold a 39-20-1 (.661) record during season openers. The 39 wins are good enough for sixth all-time in league history and the most for an organization that was founded after 1959. Sunday will mark the second time that the Rams have been tabbed as the opening matchup of a new campaign.
Amari Cooper has not had success against the Rams.
This will only be the third regular season matchup with Cooper facing the Rams which is a battle that has not gone well for the Dallas wide out so far. In his first two games against Los Angeles, Cooper has just two receptions for 28 yards. However, in his one postseason appearance against the Rams, he reeled in 6 passes for 65 yards and a score during the 2018 NFC Divisional round.
Demarcus Lawrence needs just one sack to reach 40.0 career.
With just one takedown of Jared Goff Sunday night, Lawrence would become just the 11th defender in Cowboys history to record 40-plus sacks in a career. Tank seemingly has a good shot at getting home for a one seeing that in just three career games against the Rams, he has accumulated a sack, seven tackles, and two tackles for loss. A few of the other names that have reached the milestone include Ed "Too Tall" Jones (57.5), Randy White (52.0), Jim Jeffcoat (94.5) and Demarcus Ware (117.0).
Jared Goff is just three touchdown throws away from 90 in his career
While the Dallas defense would love to delay the celebration for reaching the milestone, the Rams lack of run-game could help the potential mark. If he should reach the mark, Goff would become just the third in Rams history to do so behind Kurt Warner and Jim Everett. He has tallied 12 three-touchdown games, with his most recent coming last December against Arizona.
Prescott and Gallup look to replicate 2019 opening day magic
Last season Prescott set a new franchise record for passing yards in an opening day matchup as he posted 405 yards against the Giants in a 35-17 win. In the game, Michael Gallup snagged seven passes for 158 yards which was good enough for a third-best receiving mark in a season opener.
Opening up a new stadium is not necessarily a home team advantage
There is often the mindset that the excitement around opening in a new stadium is enough to lift a home team to victory. When actually, NFL teams hosting in a venue are just 8-8 since 2000. The Cowboys have been a part in two of those 16 matchups and lost both, 2002 against the Texans (19-10) and in their own new stadium against the Giants, 33-31.
Jared Goff and Dak Prescott were the two least sacked quarterbacks of 2019
Each organization has had their fair share of storylines centered around an aging and banged-up offensive line. However, each brings in an admirable track record from last season. Last year's Los Angeles squad allowed an NFL-low 22 sacks all season while Dallas trailed just one behind with 23 sacks allowed.
Andrew Whitworth is still the anchor of the Rams offensive line
Sunday will mark the 211th career start for Whitworth as he begins his 15th NFL season. He is now squarely into the top 50 of all-time NFL starts and is seventh on the active starts list. It's the third season for Whitworth in Los Angeles and he will make his sixth appearance verses the Cowboys.
Mike McCarthy was shut out in his first game with the Packers
While there's not a ton of similarities between the 2006 Green Bay Packers and the 2020 Dallas Cowboys, they will each share the first game for Mike McCarthy leading a new franchise. The first time around did not land in favor of the new ball coach as the Bears blanked the Packers 26-0 behind just one offensive touchdown. The rest of the scoring came off of FOUR Robbie Gould field goals and an 84-yard Devin Hester punt return for six.
Sean McVay is perfect in season openers
It is the tell of a good coach when they're able to get their team ready for game-action after a long layoff or offseason. McVay has done just that as he is 3-0 in season openers while outscoring opponents 109-49 in those opening day matchups. He'll look to have the same success after adding three new coordinators to his coaching staff after a 9-7 2019 season.
Sunday's game will be the least attended game in Cowboys Franchise history.
This doesn't come off as much of a surprise because the safety precautions surrounding the players and staff are the most important thing. However, it will be a completely new environment that no NFL team (prior to earlier that day) has never had to deal with in the past. The Cowboys previous low-attendance mark came in their inaugural season of 1960 as an 0-8 Dallas squad hosted the San Francisco 49ers in front of just 10,000 at the Cotton Bowl.
Aaron Donald is in elite MVP company
Aaron Donald is just one of three players in NFL history to win Defensive Player of the Year honors in consecutive seasons. Donald won the awards in 2017 & 2018, joining only J.J. Watt and Lawrence Taylor to repeat.
