Cowboys news: Micah Parsons is carrying this team early on, and is on a historic pace

5 takeaways from the Cowboys’ upset win over the Bengals in Week 2 - Brandon Martinez, The Landry Hat

Micah Parsons is a unicorn, and is on track for a historic season.

1. Micah Parsons is the early Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner

It is crazy to believe that Micah Parsons continues to play at the level he did last season or arguably even better. After finishing second for the Defensive Player of the Year award last season, he is now the clear-cut frontrunner for the award in 2022.

2. Kellen Moore’s play-calling needs to improve

While Week 2 was not nearly the dumpster fire we saw in Week 1, the offense still did not look great. Now, I know, Cooper Rush is at quarterback, and he’s no Dak Prescott, but he was making some great plays at the beginning of the game.

4. The Cowboys have been underutilizing Noah Brown

This may be more of an overreaction than a takeaway, but Noah Brown has been the best receiver for the Cowboys this year, with CeeDee Lamb on the active roster. It’s not necessarily a slight towards Lamb, but rather an appreciation for the way Brown has stepped up in the absence of Michael Gallup, James Washington, and the departure of Amari Cooper.

Dallas Cowboys ‘Full Reps’ at Practice for Michael Gallup, Jason Peters Ready at Giants? - Logan McDonald, SI.com

The Cowboys wide receiver room is about to get a nice boost.

Avoiding an 0-2 start is a victory for the Dallas Cowboys following the injury to quarterback Dak Prescott. Now comes a Week 3 chance at New York to move to a winning record ... and to do so with some healthy reinforcements.

Michael Gallup on Wednesday is scheduled for “a full slate of reps’’ with “every opportunity” to play Monday vs. the Giants, coach Mike McCarthy said before the midweek workout at The Star.

When Prescott went down, most wrote the Cowboys season off and began to demand a trade for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garappolo. That didn’t happen. Quarterback Cooper Rush stepped in and got the upset victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

Nonetheless, the offense still only scored 20 points and was unspectacular against Cincinnati on Sunday. However, that may change with some reinforcements possibly on the way in week 3.

“Certainly [Michael] Gallup has a chance to work back in,” Cowboys COO Stephen Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Monday. “Certainly possible for him to be up against the Giants this week. This [WR] corps I think is going to come together.’’

First-round pick Tyler Smith holding his own at LT; Dallas Cowboys love his play style - Clarence E. Hill Jr., Fort Worth Star-Telegram

The early returns on Tyler Smith look promising, and maybe it wasn’t a reach after all to draft him in the first round.

Remember all the preseason concern and hand wringing about what the Dallas Cowboys were going to do at left tackle after eight-time Pro Bowler Tyron Smith suffered an alvusion fracture in his left knee, sidelining him until possibly December and forcing the team to sign 40-year-old Jason Peters as an possible answer. Two games into the season, no one seems to be worried to much about left tackle Rookie first-round pick Tyler Smith has more than held his own against the Tampa Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals, while facing two of the league’s best pass rushers in Tampa Bay’s Shaq Barrett and Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson.

According to Pro Football Focus, Smith has allowed three total pressures and just one hurry in the first two games. He allowed just one pressure in 62 snaps in the 20-17 victory against the Bengals.

He hasn’t been perfect. There are still some communication and technique issues he has to work on. Considering that Smith spent no time at tackle in training camp while he was competing with Connor McGovern for the starting job at left guard and has played the two games with a converted center Matt Farniok at left guard after McGovern went down on the first drive of the season, the Cowboys have couldn’t have asked for a better result.

Brett Maher has Already Been Better Than Expected - Shane Taylor, Inside The Star

Although he arrived later in camp, the move to bring Maher back has thus far been the right call.

The return of Brett Maher has started well for the Cowboys. He has made every single kick he has lined up for, including the game-winner on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

I will be the first to say I thought bringing back a guy who seemed to never make a kick inside of 60 yards was a bold move and one that would end poorly. To this point, he has done his job. We all know he will miss at some point and maybe even a big kick that the Cowboys need in a game, but let’s try to relax when and if that happens.

What have you done for me lately is excellent for a guy like Maher; you must take the good with the bad. After two weeks, it has been nothing but good, so let’s continue riding that momentum.

The results Maher has given the Cowboys after two weeks are a huge bonus. I made a few posts about the kicking competition during the off-season, and I said Maher needed to cash in on this opportunity; he has done a great job so far; now, let’s keep it rolling.

Rating the biggest surprises of the 2022 NFL season for all 32 teams - ESPN NFL Nation reporters, ESPN.com

Defense wins championships, or in Dallas’ case keeps them in the playoff hunt while Dak Prescott heals up.

While an NFL season isn’t determined in two games, a couple of games is an appropriate sample to start picking up on some trends. Some are expected and others are a bit of a surprise, and it’s the latter category that we’re tackling below, as our NFL Nation writers are picking out which surprise trends have real staying power and which are a mirage, a blip on the 17-game NFL radar.

Some of the trends listed below have fans feeling pretty good, like the Detroit Lions racking up bushels of touchdowns, Jalen Hurts playing at a potential MVP clip for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills being awesome at pretty much everything. Others elicit a bit more concern, from the Cincinnati Bengals’ lack of first-half touchdowns and the Los Angeles Rams frustrating fantasy owners with their usage of running backs Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson Jr.

Dallas Cowboys

The early surprise: Only two touchdowns allowed in two games

The verdict: Real. OK, the Cowboys will allow more than 17 touchdowns this season, but the second-year jump of the defense under Dan Quinn is real and what they expected. They have slowed down offenses quarterbacked by Tom Brady and Joe Burrow in the first two games. While those teams have other issues, the accomplishment can’t be taken lightly. For the Cowboys to succeed, even if Dak Prescott were healthy, the defense has to carry the day, and with three of the next four games against NFC East foes with varying levels of QB play, things are setting up decently for Dallas. — Todd Archer

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