In case you were hiding under a rock last night, let me remind you.
TONY ROMO VALIANTLY LED THE DALLAS COWBOYS TO VICTORY IN THE FINAL SECONDS OF LAST NIGHT’S GAME AGAINST THE NEW YORK GIANTS!
The Cowboys started the 2015 season 1-0 after Tony Romo rallied them very late in the fourth quarter. While there is a lot to celebrate, there is certainly a lot to work on and review going forward.
Run Game
From a rushing standpoint Joseph Randle seemed to be the lead guy for the Cowboys last night. He carried the ball 16 times for 65 yards, averaging 4.1 yards a tote. Darren McFadden did jump in for 6 caries, gaining 16 yards, and looked explosive in my opinion.
It looks like Randle is the RB1 going forward, but there were some moments where it felt like Cowboys fans wanted to see a little bit more DMC. If the Cowboys are truly going with a running back by committee approach then things are going to get interesting next week when we play the Eagles without Dez Bryant. More on that later.
Screen Game
Where the running backs, specifically Lance Dunbar, really made an impact was in the screen game. Lance Dunbar caught 8 balls for a whopping 70 yards! Joey Randle chipped in with 3 catches for 42 yards.
Last season we saw what guys like Dunbar could do out in the open field with blockers in front of them, and that showed a little last night. The screen game was used very effectively and was necessary for the team with all the other pass catchers dropping everything.
Drop It Like Its Hot
It seemed like on an NFL-wide scale yesterday that there was rust among a lot of elite players. Surely this is in part because most of them sit out for the preseason. That “rust” seemed very apparent on some of the Cowboys most notable pass catchers.
Terrance Williams had two big drops in the first half that had everybody up in arms. Dez Bryant dropped an easy pass in Giants territory that would have undoubtedly been a first down and forced the Cowboys to settle for a field goal. Jason Witten of all people lazily tried to catch a ball late in the first half that left it up in the air for grabs – which the Giants intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Devin Street had a similar transgression when the second half started.
Lance Dunbar actually led the team in both catches and yards, and while Dunbar had himself a nice game that says a lot about the performance of the receivers. There is much room for improvement for that unit.
Offensive Line
What many believe to be the best offensive line in the NFL played very well last night. They gave Tony an incredible amount of time to throw from the pocket and kept him upright throughout the evening.
QB1
Tony Romo had one of his finest games as a Dallas Cowboy last night. His stats read 36/45 for 356 yards with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, but it was so much more than that.
He seemed to be the most game ready player on the team, continually making adjustments at the line of scrimmage and picking the Giants apart. His biggest mistakes of the evening were hitting his receivers squarely in the hands and expecting them to catch it.
While some of Romo’s passes were a little slow and soft, it is Game 1 after all, he was beyond impressive. As you have undoubtedly seen Romo rallied the Cowboys with 1:37 left and produced a game-winning touchdown to his boy, Jason Witten.
Romo’s star shone the brightest last night and he carried this team to victory.
Looking Forward
Heading into Philadelphia next week the Cowboys are going to be without Dez Bryant, who suffered a broken bone in his foot and will miss 4-6 weeks. They are going to need to depend heavily on the other wide receivers who didn’t have the best opening night.
The usage of the running backs in the screen game is something that worked very well and an option that I believe the team will use going forward. Gavin Escobar caught the first touchdown of the season so I also expect him to be used as a big redzone target.
Tony Romo is the heart and soul of this Dallas Cowboys team. As long as he’s taking snaps from center then they always have a shot.
