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It’s kind of amazing how big a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars feels for the Dallas Cowboys of all teams, but maybe that’s a sign of where the NFL is in 2018.
Dallas is on the precipice of falling to 2-4 which would make what feels like a hot seat for Jason Garrett all the more scorching. You get the feeling that the Cowboys are going to try and make up for last week’s game with this one, but that can be a dangerous thing if you let it control you too much. There’s only one win or loss at stake against the Jags, no more and no less.
What’s going to happen in this contest? Let’s discuss with BTB’s five bold predictions.
Rico Gathers finally gets in the endzone
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Did you know that Rico Gathers played basketball at Baylor? I bet you didn’t. The now-turned tight end has slowly been assimilating into more and more of the Cowboys offense over the course of the season, last week we even saw Dak Prescott go to him off play-action (gasps)!
The Cowboys have looked Gather’s way in the paint before, and a lot of us (myself included obviously) have been calling for this to happen only to be disappointed. Enough of that. It’s time. We need a Rico touchdown. I said we need it.
It is decided.
Jaylon Smith will have the play of the game
This is a bit ambiguous, but that’s kind of where we are with Jaylon Smith. I mean that in a complimentary way, we’re in a we-can’t-really-define-how-awesome-he-is sort of place.
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Jaylon has caught the eyes of football fans everywhere with his impressive comeback story. The truth about his 2017 season was that it wasn’t very good, but the thing about his 2017 season was that it was literally a season where he played football. Many thought that to be impossible.
The Dallas Cowboys seem to have their next star on their hands and it really is almost too good to be true. Many believed that the godbacker would one day regain the skillset that helped earn him that moniker, but the fact that it’s really happening is somewhat surreal.
I’m not sure exactly what Jaylon Smith is going to do against Jacksonville. I just know it’s going to be the biggest thing we talk about on Monday.
The Cowboys defense records zero interceptions off of Blake Bortles
There’s seemingly a big-time gift that will be in AT&T Stadium on Sunday. His name is Blake Bortles.
Jacksonville’s quarterback has been the butt of many jokes over the last few seasons, but being fair to him he’s definitely pulled off his fair share of impressive performances. Last week against the Kansas City Chiefs was not one of them for him as he was picked off four times.
Bortles actually has seven interceptions on the season having thrown at least one in every game save for his team’s loss to the Tennessee Titans. He’s an interception machine and the Cowboys have a good defense so we should expect a few, right? Wrong.
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Dallas barely hauled in their first interception of the season last week in Houston, and it happened in the final moments of regulation after DeMarcus Lawrence and Jaylon Smith made a great play against Deshaun Watson. They certainly have the talent to ball hawk as we’re all aware, but we also all know how as a team they tend to play down to competition.
The Cowboys traveled to Seattle with Russell Wilson having been sacked six times in each of their first two games... they failed to corral a bunch. Similarly the Cowboys couldn’t get to Deshaun Watson on many occasions last week despite Houston’s porous offensive line. These are mobile quarterbacks, but other teams are able to do it. The Cowboys usually fold at whatever their obvious advantage is.
It makes all the sense in the world for Blake Bortles to throw a few interceptions against the Cowboys. That’s exactly why it won’t happen.
Cole Beasley will have a career-high in targets (14)
In the very first game that Dak Prescott ever played quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys he and his squad lost to the New York Giants (OUT OF BOUNDS, TERRANCE!).
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Cole Beasley was targeted 12 times in that game. That’s only one below his career high of 13 which game his rookie season against the Washington Redskins. With Cowboys wide receivers seemingly ailing a bit and pressure on the offense to get going that sounds like somebody has ordered a bit of sauce.
It’s going to be difficult for Dak to find places to go with the ball due to the Jaguars swarming secondary, he’s going to have to make decisions quickly. Is there any doubt that Cole Beasley is the go-to option in situations like this (we’re looking at you, Scott Linehan).
There may have been a new Aladdin trailer for the world to see the other night, but it won’t exactly be a whole new world against the Jaguars. It’ll be a Cole new world. I regret nothing.
David Irving will sack Blake Bortles twice
Sunday marks the return of David Irving for the Dallas Cowboys. It’s been a minute.
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Irving is one of the more gifted players on the Cowboys, heck across the NFL, in terms of just sheer talent. He’s a monster in the middle of Rod Marinelli’s defensive line and he’s going to be a problem for any opposing quarterback. Hello there, Mr. Bortles.
When David wasn’t practicing there were many championing how he’s one of those players who can just show up to a game and dominate. Sunday is his opportunity and it actually kind of feels like it’s going to happen.
David Irving, DeMarcus Lawrence, and the rest of the Hot Boyz are going to have some fun. Hopefully it’s enough fun to net the Cowboys a win. We sure do need one.