WHAT’S UP WEDNESDAY: Cowboys Nuggets

Welcome to WHAT’S UP WEDNESDAY. After taking down a stumbling Rams team last week, the stakes rise on Sunday afternoon with the Dallas Cowboys (5-2) taking on the Philadelphia Eagles (7-1) in the first of their two meetings this season. Here are some thoughts (2,100+ words worth) on the offense, the dynamic duo, Aubrey’s streak, this week’s opponent and more. Let’s get to it.

WHAT’S UP WITH THIS OFFENSE?

Over the last two games, the Cowboys offense has come to life.

Yes, there have been games this season where they put up lots of points, but for the first time the offense had a rhythm and pace to it that felt different.

It started in the win over the Chargers and carried over to all four quarters in the victory over the Rams.

“If you look at what we have done in the just the first six games, there’s a number of things … but it’s just getting to things we just haven’t done yet,” McCarthy said. “We hit our average – 80-percent of our plays were rushes or completions. So, that part is consistent. We just had the one giveaway. The time of possession, which is important, was a big emphasis for us and part of our complimentary football formula.”

Quarterback Dak Prescott has been on a heater, throwing for 576 yards, 46 completions, 5 touchdowns and a 75.4 completion percentage in the two games. He also has 11 carries for 59 yards and one touchdown rushing.

Prescott’s play has also shown up in the red zone, where the Cowboys have struggled this season to score touchdowns.

“We had a good day in the red zone, but we felt like we left two layups out there too,” McCarthy said. “So, you just keep working and keep attacking.”

Dallas was a combined four for eight inside the 20 against the Chargers and Rams, but they also scored on offensive plays of 22 and 25 yards.

That’s a 60-percent success rate when inside the 25, better than the 36-percent (7 of 19) success rate they had in the red zone over the first five weeks of the season.

With the schedule now clearly in the middle portion of the schedule, the Cowboys offense is trending in the right direction.

“We have a lot of football to play,” McCarthy said. “Conceptually, We have some things we still haven’t got to yet. To me, that first trimester you show what you think you wanna be coming out of the offseason. Then you start getting into variations of those concepts. So, we are starting to hit that point.”

And just in time, with the Eagles up next.

WHAT’S UP WITH AUBREY’S STREAK?

Cowboys rookie kicker Brandon Aubrey tied the NFL record with 18-straight field goals made to start a career, when he knocked through a 27-yard kick with 1:32 left in the third quarter on Sunday afternoon.

It was the kick before the one that tied Cleveland’s Travis Coons at the top of the list that had the Cowboys most nervous.

After a 10-yard sack of quarterback Dak Prescott, the Cowboys quickly discussed a field goal attempt or a punt from the Rams 41 late in the first quarter.

Riding a wave of confidence, the Cowboys chose to go for the points and Aubrey quickly trotted out and knocked home a 58-yard field goal that would have been good from 65-yards.

“He’s been fantastic,” Cowboys special teams coach John Fassel said. “He hits good balls almost every time. He’s got a very good operation with Bryan and Trent – snapping and holding. … His poise on the sideline and endurance during a game is really outstanding.”

Coons’ record-setting kick came on a 21-yarder with three second left in the first half against the Ravens in 2015. The record was snapped the same night on try No. 19, when a would-be game winner with three seconds to play and the game tied at 27 was blocked and returned for a touchdown by Ravens safety Will Hill.

Aubrey’s record breaking try could come this week in the winds of Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.

“I don’t feel like he gets rattled by anything – a lot of kicks, not a lot of kicks, conditions,” Fassel said. “So, he’s built for the NFL.”

WHAT’S UP WITH THE 2023 DRAFT CLASS

Sunday wasn’t a very good day for the Cowboys most recent draft class.

With seven of the eight players drafted on the 54-man roster, Cowboys coaches had hoped that several would be making an impact.

However only three were active for Sunday’s game, and none were that impressive.

Third rounder Luke Schoonmaker saw the most playing time with 25 snaps at tight end. He finished with one catch for 13 yards.

First round pick Mazi Smith played 18 snaps and offensive guard/tackle Asim Richards played 11 snaps after Chuma Edoga went down with an injury.

“I thought (Richards) did okay,” McCarthy said. “Our young players, and definitely he is one of them, have really taken a step up these past few weeks. We’ve made a big deal of it in our meetings. But, that fourth quarter (against the Rams), a number of those guys got a chance to play, and we had some mistakes. So, I want to see those guys take what they are doing during the week and have it show up on Sunday. Because that is a great opportunity for your young players to get in there in the fourth quarter and play. Because that’s experience, they are gonna have to draw from. Because statistically, there’s a good chance they’ll be playing here in December.”

The rest of the draft class – fourth rounder Viliami Fehoko (defensive end), sixth rounder Eric Scott Jr. (cornerback), sixth rounder Duece Vaughn (running back) and seventh rounder Jalen Brooks (wide receiver), watched in street clothes.

WHAT’S UP WITH TD LAMB?

The Cowboys offense was aggressive on Sunday.

It benefited wide receiver CeeDee Lamb the most, as he put up a career day in the win over the Rams.

Lamb torched Los Angeles with 12 catches for 158 yards, both career highs.

“CeeDee had a big day, but I do like the way we are spreading the ball around,” McCarthy said. “If you look at play calling when you throw it as more aggressive, then we were more aggressive.”

Lamb also pulled in touchdowns two and three of his season, of the four quarterback Dak Prescott tossed in the win over the Rams.

It’s the sixth time in his 56-game career that he has caught two touchdowns, and just the first this season. His first two-touchdown came as a rookie in a home loss to Cleveland. He had two of them in 2021, both coming in victories – on the road against New England and at home against Atlanta.

Last season he had two games with a pair of touchdowns – the home win over Philadelphia and in the road overtime loss in Green Bay.

Lamb now has 23 career touchdowns, tied for 15th in the NFL since 2020.

WHAT’S UP WITH SPACING?

It’s a new day in the NFL.

No longer can teams get away with interior defensive linemen or middle linebackers that aren’t superior athletes.

What once was a place for players that could hit but couldn’t run fast has changed forever thanks to modifications in the rule book that have loosened up offensive fronts.

“(Today) there is more space in the game, the rule changes have created that,” McCarthy said. “So, you don’t see the 275-pound middle linebacker, everybody can run. The horizontal and lateral speed and quickness is probably as high as it’s ever been in the defensive front, and the offensive front.”

Offenses have taken advantage of those spacing rules to get blockers out wider, quicker.

To combat that, teams are moving their defensive tackles into the gaps between the guard and tackle, in hopes of occupying both at the snap. They can then put one of their best pass rushers standing in the middle and create a one-on-one matchup with the center.

The Cowboys employed this with Micah Parsons on several plays against the Rams, including a second-quarter snap where he beat Los Angeles center Steve Avila and sacked quarterback Matthew Stafford for a 9-yard loss.

“It’s been going on,” McCarthy said. “(But today) you are seeing so much more five-man spacing fronts. However, you want to get to it, whether it’s putting your premier rusher over the guard or center, it’s really challenging the declarations of the offense, whether it’s run or protection. So, they are trying to single you up and create matchups.”

WHAT’S UP WITH DALLAS’ DYNAMIC DUO?

Quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb were one of the top duos in the NFL before they ever played a game on the same field.

Now 41 games played together, the duo is becoming unstoppable.

Add that to the countless practices, offseason training sessions away from the Star and work in the film room, the duo has reached a special level according to Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.

“It’s cool to see what I call the me-to-you factor,” Schottenheimer said. “When you’ve got a quarterback and a receiver that have played a ton of football together, that’s what I call the me-to-you factor. It means, I’m gonna throw it me to you, do your thing and get open. I think that has been on display the last two weeks.”

Prescott and Lamb have combined for 275 yards and two touchdowns in the passing game, and another 71 yards in the ground attack over the past two games.

It starts with Prescott and his comfort with the offense now seven games into the season, the first five games being different than the last two.

After averaging 212.2 yards and 1.0 touchdowns a game the first five weeks, Prescott has seen those averages climb to 288.0 yards and 2.5 TDs over the last two weeks.

“Coming off of the last two games, the one thing you would see is the decision making – how quick and decisive he’s getting through his reads,” Schottenheimer said. “Just the decision making and how confident he is with reading his movement keys, getting through his progressions.

“I have always said … you should be able to watch a quarterback’s lower body to know how well he’s seeing the game. Because his feet tell you everything. If his feet are firm and in rhythm, and he’s taking tight hitches and stuff like that, you know he is seeing things well. If he’s kind of loose on his back foot, or he’s taking a lot of hitches then there tends to be a ‘I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to do.’ If you look at Dak’s feet right now, he’s playing with a lot of confidence and being very decisive.”

And that leads to targets for Lamb, who has seen 21 of them over the last two games. He turned those into 19 catches – the most since he had 21 catches on 25 targets in wins over Philadelphia and Tennessee in Weeks 16 and 17 last season.

But as good as Lamb has been, it will come down to Prescott and how he plays for the duo to continue to shine this week in Philadelphia.

“I thought he put together two really good games, but this is going to be a big contest on the road,” McCarthy said. “These games on the road are always a little tougher outside, so we’re preparing to take that step and keep stacking (wins). We are starting to look the way we want to look on offense.”

NEXT OPPONENT: WHAT’S UP WITH THE EAGLES?

The Cowboys biggest nemesis is the current class of the NFC, starting the season at 7-1 including wins over Miami, Minnesota and Washington twice.

In one of the most hyped matchups every year in the NFL, the Cowboys and Eagles split their two games last season, with both teams winning at home.

“We have history with this team,” McCarthy said. “We played them twice last year, but we really have to dive into who they are today, not last year.”

The Eagles are third in the NFL on offense in total yards per game (387.4), seventh in passing yards per game (255.1), seventh in rushing yards per game (132.3) and third in scoring at 28.0 points per game.

But the offense has still had its struggles.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts has been intercepted eight times this season, which is tied for the most in the NFL among quarterbacks with eight starts – along with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Mac Jones and Sam Howell.

Defensively, the Eagles have the NFL’s top rated rushing defense, giving up just 65.5 yards per game this season. As good as they are against the run, they are almost equally as bad against the pass, where teams are averaging 247.5 yards passing per game.

The last time the Cowboys won in Philadelphia was a 51-26 beatdown in the final regular season game of the 2021 season. Philly won last season’s meeting at The Linc, 26-17.