Game Notes: Dak’s Balance, New Fullback & More

Walking The Tight-Rope

The Cowboys top two tight ends were heavily involved on Sunday, including an interesting day for Dalton Schultz.

On one drive in the second quarter, Schultz had two fumbles that were both overturned or not called by the officials, keeping the Cowboys in possession.

"One of them, I knew I was down. The second one, I don't know if I was down," Schultz said. 'They stopped the forward progress."

The Cowboys eventually scored – on a touchdown pass to Blake Jarwin, who credited receiver Noah Brown for clearing out the defense.

"Noah did a great job of taking the inside and making my man, defender, make a decision," Jarwin explained. 'He jumped outside and just the perfect look. We put a lot of time in that play, and to see it work out was exciting. It was exciting to get back in the end zone."

Schultz also scored a touchdown later in the third quarter on what he said was the "same exact" play they ran for a score last week against the Eagles.

Schultz had a team-high six catches for 58 yards and the score while Jarwin's only catch was an 18-yard touchdown.

Nick Eatman (10/3)

McGovern At Fullback

For the second straight game, the Cowboys got valuable snaps from guard Connor McGovern at fullback.

On the Cowboys' first touchdown drive, McGovern created running lanes for Ezekiel Elliott on two straight runs, including Elliott's one-yard TD.

The Cowboys likely envisioned some fullback responsibilities for Sewo Olonilua in preseason before Olonilua went on Reserve/Injured with a neck injury. Without Olonilua, head coach Mike 

McCarthy and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore have gotten creative by putting the 318-pound McGovern in the backfield.

"Connor's played good football. We want to keep him involved," McCarthy said. "It's been a nice package for us."

-Rob Phillips (10/3)

"Meaningful" Win

Quarterback Dak Prescott called last Monday's 20-point victory over Philadelphia a "statement win" in primetime. Indeed, it proved the Cowboys are a different team than last year's injury-riddled season.

Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones felt Sunday's 36-28 victory over Carolina was significant, too, given the Panthers' own early-season success.

"All the respect in the world for them," Jones said. "A solid team, got the quarterback (Sam Darnold) playing well, certainly very meaningful due to the stature of Carolina. That was a very meaningful win.

"At some point, even though we got up on them pretty good with them having no timeouts, you see that's the NFL. But I was really proud of our guys. They kept their cool and played."

-Rob Phillips (10/3)

Dak Leads "Balanced" Offense

Sort of an incongruous stat line for Dak Prescott Sunday against Carolina: He tied a personal-best with four touchdown passes for just the fifth time in his career, but only needed 188 yards to do it.

That's because the Cowboys dominated in the run game, piling up the highest rushing total since 2019 (245 yards).

"I didn't realize I didn't even break 200," Prescott said. "But that's kind of the strength of this offense, getting the ball in these guys' hands and you see what they can do afterwards. … That's what you're looking for when you want to be the best offense, when you want to be balanced, is you're going to do whatever it takes to win."

Prescott also finished the game without an interception, giving him a 130.3 passer rating Sunday.

-Rob Phillips (10/3)