A very exciting game that left a lot to talk about, so let’s dive in.
The Other Aaron
Aaron Jones got a few carries last week and did a little bit with them. He got a lot of carries this week and did a lot with them. With 19 carries for 125 yards and a touchdown, he had a far better statline than Zeke and his sub-4 ypc, who gained fewer yards despite having 10 more carries (but he did his stupid little eat your wheaties or soup it up or whatever celebration a lot… at least in the second half… you know, the one where he wasn’t getting stuffed every play or dropped for a loss by a cornerback that weighs 30 pounds less than him). Aside from stats, it’s how he played, its how he saw running lanes open in real time before it happened. This clip of his touchdown shows what running back “vision” is all about – this is what solid guys like Ryan Grant were lacking to take it to the next level. I loved what he did, but I’m protecting my heart. Running back is a position where it’s easy to be a flash in the pan, yet it’s also a position where an unheralded rookie can come in and play big. I’m not sold yet after two games, but he looks better than Samkon Gado – he looks more like Ray Rice (but hopefully that’s just on the field). They may have found something special here.
Davante’s Return
Adams was left for dead last week and then wow this week. Don’t forget his first TD, that was a thing of beauty – what a stretch and a big momentum boost. The game-winner was real crazy, though. They tried it, but it wasn’t there. Rodgers was like a golfer watching the previous putter show the lie, except he was the previous putter. It was like he knew that, with 4 downs, he had three mulligans. And there’s no way he’s missing that 4 times. Especially when Tae can just swoop around with a 360 to grab that with a crazy catch radius. That was a thing of beauty.
Our Old Buddy Damarious
DamaRand is talented and inconsistent, but he has first round talent at the most difficult position in the game. He broke up a free play and had a heads up game changing pick 6. Say it was a gimmie, but I’ve seen a lot of blown gimmies in my day and plays like that have a way of boosting confidence. You can’t give up on him yet. I didn’t mind the penalty, but I absolutely loved him throwing up the X. For whatever reason, that stuff doesn’t bother me as much from defensive players.
Your Old Buddy The Zebra
Terrible calls, starting with Blake Martinez, who had another great game. That’s what their defense is about. They can use Blake more in some games or situations and he can have a good game – they don’t need Ray Lewis when they have a flexible stable of role players. I’ll also point out there were obvious holds and terrible spots (especially on 4th and 1, more on that tomorrow) throughout the whole game… and they still won!
Nelson Muntz Says Ha-Ha
With Dal and Zeke doing their little millennial schoolgirl dance in the end zone, I was just grinning that they scored with over a minute left. Like this.
Aaron F#cking Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers took the lead twice in the 4th quarter (and Damarious Randall did it once, too). With all the garbage stats about 4th quarter comebacks and game winning drives, this is one of those performances that transcends stats. He truly is the greatest of all time and is the anti-Favre in so many ways, including win percentage in Dallas. But oh wait, Dak Prescott had more fantasy points to go with his 4th quarter, lead-losing pick-six.
Other Stuff
- What happened to Jordy?
- Injuries with King and Burnett both going out, the Cowboys ran more – good counter reactive game plan
- Clinton Dix looked like his cleats were sticking on that first 3rd and long – he’s an above average safety, not an elite game-changer, and that’s ok
- Stanford band almost worked and PFT had a good take
- Missed PATs? Come on. Vogel has been punting well, but you gotta fix that hold
- Janis returning to form as a gunner – wow
- Josh Hawkins showed a little more. I’m not sold on making him a starter yet, but he’s growing into an exciting role player
- 4-1 was a really tall order at the beginning of the season and it would have been even taller knowing all our tackles would be out, but here we are – on to Minnesota!