4 Dallas Cowboys Facing Make-or-Break Game in Week 2 vs. Washington Commanders

It's too early to hit the panic button at this stage of the season, but with how quickly things can go south in the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys desperately need to right the ship in Week 2.

After entering the season with high expectations, Dallas failed to meet them in Week 1 against the New York Giants, and that's putting it nicely.

Looking ahead to Week 2 against the Washington Commanders, the Cowboys need to notch a victory in order to stave off doubts about their ability to contend in 2026.

These four Cowboys in particular are in a crucial spot going into the contest and their performance could have a major impact on their standing with the team and its fans moving forward.

DaRon Bland

Bland is in the most precarious spot of the players on this list after he has struggled with poor play and injuries for multiple years now and threw up a stinker in Week 1.

Bland allowed a catch on four of the five passes thrown his way for 38 yards and a touchdown, finishing with a passer rating of 137.9 and a coverage grade of 58.5, according to Pro Football Focus.

Bland dominated the snaps on his side of the field while Dallas had Cobie Durant playing most of the snaps on the other side while rotating with Shavon Revel.

If Bland doesn't step it up, he could find himself rotating with Revel instead, and he might even get replaced by the second-year cornerback entirely.

Christian Parker

As bad as the Cowboys' defense looked in Week 1, we're going to give Christian Parker a pass for a few reasons.

The first reason has to do with the fact that it was his very first game as a play-caller. The second reason is the Cowboys have many new pieces on defense and sometimes it takes time to jell.

We're not going to toss Parker aside and give up on him even if the Cowboys don't play better in Week 2, but we are going to become extremely worried that he might not be the right man for the job if we see another lackluster game plan.

This is a huge week for Parker, who has to show improvement as a play-caller in his second game on the job.

Terence Steele

Steele's seat is hot early on this season after head coach Brian Schottenheimer said he would have to compete with Broderick Jones at right tackle after the Cowboys acquired the former Steeler in a trade on cutdown day.

However, Steele is off to a good start after allowing just one pressure in Week 1, but he isn't out of the woods yet. One good game doesn't erase multiple years of shaky ones.

If Steele falters at all in Week 2, that could at least help close the gap between himself and Jones, and the Cowboys could replace Steele entirely if Jones shows he's ready to provide better play, although it sounds like he isn't doing that currently.

Jaishawn Barham

Barham's career is in its very early stages, but he has a golden opportunity to take a big leap right away.

With DeMarvion Overshown sidelined for at least one game, not only is Barham in line to start, he's also in line to be the green dot.

If Barham can light it up and show he's capable of handling the added important responsibility, he might just cement himself as one of Dallas' starters at linebacker, and almost certainly in place of Dee Winters, who was nothing special in Week 1.

If Barham fails with the opportunity, he's going to go back to the rotational role he was in, and he might lose the starting job to someone else entirely if Overshown isn't back in Week 3.

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