FRISCO, Texas – Back to work.
No sulking. No feeling sorry for yourselves. No moody dark cloud hanging overhead.
The Cowboys realize no matter what happened in that awful 44-19 loss to the New Orleans Saints, or that they are merely 1-1 after two games, there is 15 more to play.
"We got a lot of work to do," Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said.
Veteran cornerback Jourdan Lewis knows no one inside the locker room is backing down.
"We know what we got to do," he said, "and we practiced hard today."
And you know what, the same thing is happening over there on the East Coast, where the Baltimore Ravens are in an even worse situation, sitting there 0-2, and knowing darn well they had better not lose to the Cowboys on Sunday and fall to 0-3.
So from the Cowboys side of things, Micah Parsons had this to say about the Ravens riled up temperament coming in on Sunday. "I definitely think so. I think they're coming in with some heavy redemption on a couple of games they shouldn't have lost, tight ones, and we got to come back from that mind-boggling loss we had at home. So it's going to be a great battle."
And from the Ravens side, sounds like an echo.
"We're not going to be defined by everyone that's saying we're not any good, or that the season is over after two games," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh had to say. "That's what's going to be said, and we understand that, but they're not here; they're not inside. No one inside is going to say that. We have to take care of our stuff, take care of our business (and) take care of our work."
Now we'll see which team takes the best, uh, shot, come Sunday at 3:25 p.m.
- Good News: Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson, who missed Sunday's game against the Saints with a bone bruise to his knee, was back on the practice field on Wednesday. Was told he was pushing to play against the Saints even though he did not practice, but the team made the best decision long term to hold him out of the game. Sort of to save him from himself. Ferguson was listed on Wednesday's practice report as "limited," and sounds as if the Cowboys expect him to play.
- Bad News: Bad enough the Cowboys defensive front got pushed around Sunday by the Saints, but that problem grew worse on Wednesday when the Cowboys placed veteran defensive tackle Jordan Phillips on IR with a wrist injury. Phillips has been part of the defensive tackle rotation, playing 19 snaps Sunday. On top of that, starting DT Mazi Smith did not practice (back) Wednesday.
- Looking Inside: Seems most folks want to diss the Cowboys running backs after two games, quick to point out Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle have each only rushed for 56 yards and the Cowboys as a team are averaging just 3.7 yards a carry. But seems few have bothered to look inside those numbers. Because if they had, prominent in that lack of production is the offensive line's inability to consistently run block. And guess what? The Ravens have given up just 99 yards rushing in two games, including a mere 27 to Las Vegas.
- Welcome Back: To fortify that depleted defensive tackle position, the Cowboys made a prudent move, bringing back former defensive tackle Carlos Watkins, who had spent two seasons with the Cowboys (2021-22) before leaving in free agency in 2023. Bad luck after signing with Arizona, in his second game tearing his biceps muscle, requiring surgery and spending the rest of the season on injured reserve. "I never wanted to leave, but that's how the business goes," Watkins said. The Cardinals released Watkins in March of 2024, then he was signed by the Rams in training camp where he played in two preseason games before getting released and signed to Washington's practice squad. Was picked up by Washington where he played in one game then returned to its practice squad. Since the Cowboys have signed the eighth-year veteran off a practice squad, he is guaranteed at least three weeks on the 53-man roster. Bet he plays Sunday against the Ravens.
- Right On: Funny how things work out. Bet most people when trying to predict the Cowboys' record once the schedule was revealed had the Cowboys sitting 1-2 after the first three games, losing on the road to Cleveland, beating the Saints and losing to Baltimore. Just didn't figure they would beat the Browns so soundly and get clobbered by the Saints, but still have a shot at going 2-1 after three. And if they do, 3-1 is a possibility meeting the Giants next in Week 4. Also probably didn't figure they would be tied for first place in the NFC East going into the third game of the season. And should they lose, starting off 1-2, they'd be no more than a game back out of the lead.
- Right On 2: Saw this note online pertaining to the Ravens. That old football game company Strat-O-Matic simulated every game the Ravens would play in 2024 and spit out an 0-2 record to start the season. Now, the other side of that pancake has the Ravens 1-2 after Week 3, beating the Cowboys, 29-16. But if the Cowboys win on Sunday and the Raven start 0-3, their next two games are at home against Buffalo and at Cincinnati. Oh, my. The latest stat on the 32 teams starting a season 0-2 since 2020 points out only two qualified for the playoffs: the Texans last year and Bengals in 2022. But then that similar stat came up at the start of the 1993 season when the Cowboys began 0-2, suggesting long odds to make the playoffs. Ha, the Cowboys went 12-4 and won Super Bowl XXVIII.
- Few App-etizers: Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey, going eight-for-eight to start the season, has made all three 50-plus-yard field goal attempts in the first two games, making him 13-of-13 from 50-plus to start his career, the longest such streak in NFL history. And how appropriate Ravens kicker Justin Tucker is coming to town, having already made 58 field goals from 50-plus yards and needs just one more to surpass Sebastian Janikowski for second most in a career to Matt Prater's 81 … The Ravens come into Sunday's game with the No. 1 offense in the NFL, averaging 417.5 yards a game and the No. 1 run defense, yielding just 49.5 yards a game … Elliott and Ravens Derrick Henry come into this game ranked first and second in six career rushing categories among active running backs, including yards (Henry 9,632; Zeke 8,960), touchdowns (Henry 92; Zeke 72), 100-yard yard rushing games (Henry 38; Zeke 30) and rushing attempts (Zeke 2,081; Henry 2061) … Oh, and know what you're thinking, like why didn't the Cowboys sign Henry instead? Well, $16 million reasons over two years, with $9 million guaranteed, with another $2 million potentially in incentives.
Let's go to veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks for this week's last word, a guy who has been around the NFL now going into his 10th season. The middle linebacker knows a thing or two about the Baltimore running game and knowing full well the Ravens had the NFL's No. 1 rushing offense last year. He was asked what he tells his fellow young linebackers on this team after such a disastrous performance this past Sunday when the Saints ran for 190 yards.
"Man, this is a great opportunity we have," Kendricks began. "We're playing the Baltimore Ravens, you know what I mean? So it's like, this is a team that we've known these past couple of years to be a serious contender, and this is a huge opportunity for us to show what we're made of as a linebacker corps. So have a smile on your face when we're preparing, you know what I mean? This is a great opportunity. This is what we love doing. This is what we want to do.
"Let's go out and do it. You're going to get hit in the mouth, like, wipe the blood off and get going. Let's go. They have a lot of plays, they have quarterback runs, they have different running backs, the salt-and-pepper kind of running back duo, and I think that it's just up to us to play, play our keys."
Better hope everyone is listening.
