Cowboys Defense Hopes To Feast On Young QBs Ahead
Young quarterbacks beware, the Dallas Cowboys' defense is coming after you.
The Cowboys made life miserable Monday night for Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts, who at times looked like he'd never started an NFL game before. (It was his seventh career start in two years.) The Cowboys won easily, 41-21, to improve to 2-1 for the season.
Hurts' final numbers of 326 yards and two touchdowns, but his two interceptions were much more telling. One of the picks was returned for a touchdown by Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs.
In last week's win over the Los Angeles Chargers, the Cowboys also intercepted second-year quarterback Justin Herbert twice.
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That does not bode well for the next three quarterbacks set to face the Cowboys.
Next up is the resurgent Sam Darnold, who has found a new life for 3-0 Carolina. Darnold, the first round pick of the New York Jets, is off to an impressive start, having thrown for 888 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. But the Panthers are a team that wants to run first, and with Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) out, more of the load may fall to the fourth-year QB next Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
Darnold is facing a Cowboys' defense that has forced multiple turnovers in all three games this season. Darnold, who has only won three games in a row once in his NFL career, may be ripe for a letdown.
Daniel Jones and the New York Giants (0-3) follow. The third-year quarterback has an 8-21 career record and, while he hasn’t thrown an interception so far, he has just two touchdown passes. The Giants have been mediocre on offense.
In Week 6, it’s a trip to New England to face the Patriots and rookie starter Mac Jones. While it's not smart to underestimate a Bill Belichick team, the Patriots are 1-2 and Jones has more interceptions (three) than touchdown passes (two). New England’s only win was over the winless New York Jets, and the Pats have failed to score more than 16 in their two losses.
The Cowboys have managed to hold their last two opponents to 17 and 21 points, respectively. The Cowboys gave up 31 points to the Buccaneers in the opener, but also picked off Tom Brady twice. (Brady ain't young.)
Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s aggressive unit now has the chance to feast on three young quarterbacks with less-than-stellar track records. The Cowboys could potentially be 5-1 before their bye week in Week 7.
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You can reach Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
