On Monday, head coach Mike McCarthy stated, I believe yesterday was our best game as a football team, our best game of complementary football.” It’s advantageous when the offensive has the ball for a longer period of time than the defense. We had more than 70 plays [offensively].
In addition to winning time of possession, which is crucial in and of itself, the Cowboys also created an offensive split that McCarthy thought was excellent. Despite Prescott throwing the ball 42 times, Rico Dowdle’s career day helped the Cowboys’ running attack get going.
The offensive ended with 31 running attempts; McCarthy had previously stated that he aims for “about 30” ground attacks per week.
Thus, everything is in perfect equilibrium, or very close to it.
The ball was distributed correctly on several of our trips to the plate, McCarthy said. “Those are the things that matter every week, even if you don’t play in Pittsburgh.” Running the football and completing it are important components of that. … Speaking of complimentary football, how often do you lose the game despite being down three like that and losing the turnover ratio like we did? That is a tremendous testament to our football team’s perseverance and fortitude.
Kneeland tore his meniscus, according to several accounts. To fix the injury, arthroscopic surgery is scheduled for him.
Kneeland is probably going to be put on injured reserve, meaning he will miss at least four games. For a Cowboys defense that was already lacking Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence on the edge, that is less than ideal. Parsons missed Sunday night’s game due to a high-ankle sprain, and Lawrence is on injured reserve due to a foot issue.
The other defensive ends on the active roster are Tyrus Wheat, Chauncey Golston, Carl Lawson, and KJ Henry.
In the first five weeks of the season, Kneeland recorded a pass defense, three quarterback hits, and ten tackles.