3 players the Cowboys must use more in Week 4 against the Commanders

Fresh off a nice win in Week 3, the Dallas Cowboys are now facing a short week as they prepare to host their division rival, the Washington Commanders.

While things went well enough for the Cowboys to win on Monday night, some things will need to change if they want to carry that success into this week against Washington. If Dallas wants to win their second straight divisional matchup and improve to 3-1 on the year, here are three players they need to use more this week.

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OT Jason Peters

We got our first taste of what 40-year-old Jason Peters can bring to the table on Monday night. The former All-Pro tackle played left guard for the first time in his career and made an immediate impact. On Peters’ first offensive drive, he and Tyler Smith created a huge hole on the left side, allowing Tony Pollard to run for 46 yards.

Despite playing well when he was on the field, Peters played just 14 offensive snaps (22%) on Monday night opposed to Matt Farniok’s 50.

Farniok can potentially be a solid contributor to this team in the future, but the time is now to make the switch and insert Peters into the starting lineup. Peters has more experience, gets called for fewer penalties, and is overall a much bigger body that can help Dallas in the red zone where they have had their fair share of issues.

When the Cowboys take the field on Sunday against the Commanders, Jason Peters should be their starting left guard.

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WR KaVontae Turpin

Three games into the 2022 season, KaVontae Turpin has touched the ball just one time on offense. On Monday Turpin did tally his season high with eight offensive snaps (12%), but the Cowboys failed to get him the ball once.

Even without touching the ball on offense, Turpin made an impact. His 28-yard punt return in the middle of the fourth quarter, gave the Cowboys great field position and eventually led to the game-sealing field goal by Brett Maher.

Three games in, Turpin leads the NFL in punt return average and has shown just how dynamic he can be with the ball in his hands.

Now that Turpin has gotten his feet wet, it’s time for the Cowboys to use his rare skill set on offense. Whether it’s by lining him up in the backfield and handing him the ball, or throwing him a quick screen pass to the outside, Dallas needs to get the ball in Turpin’s hands and let him do his thing.

Turpin played some snaps on Monday night in a blocking role which is unusual, so Dallas may be setting something up for the coming weeks to work off that and give him a deep shot down the field. Either way, Turpin can help Dallas’ offense, especially in Dak Prescott’s absence, so they need to get him involved.

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LB Jabril Cox

Second-year linebacker Jabril Cox was active for the first time this season on Monday night, however, the 24-year-old did not play a defensive snap. The former fourth-round pick did contribute on special teams, but it’s time for the Cowboys to give him some sort of role on the defense.

Leighton Vander Esch and Anthony Barr have both played fairly well, but adding Cox to the mix would do a couple of things. It would allow for Barr and Vander Esch, two guys who have dealt with injury issues, to stay fresh throughout the course of the season. It also would allow Dallas to get another young player with playmaking potential on the field, a guy who could very easily be starting at linebacker next season.

It’s time for the Cowboys to see what Jabril Cox can bring to the table.