09-05-2021 Ravens Preview - Flipbook - Page 28
NFL2021
DALLAS
28
COWBOYS
COACH
Mike McCarthy (2nd season with team,6-10)
LAST SEASON
6-10 (3rd in NFC East; no playoffs)
Record since 2011: 86-74 (2-3 in playoffs)
2020 TEAM STATISTICAL LEAGUE RANKINGS
2020 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS
SCORING OFFENSE
17th of 32 (24.7 ppg)
RUSHING
Ezekiel Elliott: 244 carries, 979 yards, 6 TDs, 65.3 ypg
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SCORING DEFENSE
28th of 32 (29.6 ppg)
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RUSHING OFFENSE
17th of 32 (111.8 ypg)
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PASSING OFFENSE
8th of 32 (260.1 ypg)
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PASSING
Andy Dalton: 216-333, 2,169 yards, 14 TDs, 8 ints, 207.3 ypg
SCORING
Greg Zuerlein, PK: 135 points (34 FGs, 33 PAT, 8.4 ppg)
Stats from pro-football-reference.com
In good company
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy sees elements
of Joe Montana and Brett Favre in Dak Prescott
Clarence E. Hill Jr.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
D
allas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy
is admittedly superstitious.
So he doesn’t want quarterback Dak Prescott’s shoulder injury to be
compared at all to last season’s fractured
ankle that sidelined him for the final 11
games.
It’s a setback, for sure, as Prescott will
not play any preseason games and will take
his first live snap in 11 months when the
Cowboys take on the defending Super Bowl
champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the
league’s season opener on Sept. 9.
ButheknewrightawaywhenPrescotttook
himself out of practice on July 28 this wasn’t
the same level of last season when the injury
provedtobetheturningpointinaseasonthat
would see the Cowboys finish 6-10.
And he didn’t have those here-we-goagain feelings. He was simply hurting for his
quarterback who worked tirelessly in the
offseason to recover from the ankle injury
only to have to deal with another setback.
“Right away, just the way they described it
wasn’t a huge deal,” McCarthy said. “Really,
the fact that he stopped was so smart and
once we found out exactly what it was, really
shutting it down and starting it all over again,
put us in this timeline. I just feel the guy’s
pain. When you think about what he’s done
everyday to get himself ready for the season,
now he’s got something like that. He is like a
caged lion and rightfully so.”
But I didn’t feel that way. You shouldn’t
bring that up either, that’s not fair,” the coach
said. “I’m Irish. I got a good luck charm.”
To hear McCarthy tell it, he has more than
a good luck charm in Prescott. He sees him
as the centerpiece of not just a championship
team but a possibly dynasty team.
McCarthy said there is no doubt in
his mind that he’s going to be successful
in Dallas and Prescott will be the key to
sustained success based on his prior experiences with Hall of Famer Joe Montana and
Rich Gannon with the Kansas City Chiefs
and Hall of Famer Brett Favre and Aaron
Rodgers with the Green Bay Packers.
“To win every year here, that’s the real
challenge. And we have that part right,”
McCarthy said. “We have the quarterback.
We have the right person, the right leader,
and he’ll be a huge part in that. But that’s
what we had with Montana, that’s what we
had with Rich Gannon, that’s what we had
with Brett Favre — not only what they do on
Sundays, but what they do in practice during
the week. They’re so competitive, and they
make the whole environment better. That’s
how you win consistently. Dak is that for us.
So that’s what I’m excited about.”
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott throws a pass in the first half of a game against the Giants
on Oct. 11, 2020, in Arlington, Texas. MICHAEL AINSWORTH/AP
2021 SCHEDULE WEEK 7 BYE
WEEK 1
Sept. 9
WEEK 2
Sept. 19
WEEK 3
Sept. 27
WEEK 4
Oct. 3
WEEK 5
Oct. 10
@TB
@LAC
8:20 p.m. 4:25 p.m.
CBS
NBC
PHI
8:15 p.m.
ESPN
CAR
1 p.m.
FOX
NYG
4:25 p.m.
FOX
WEEK 6
Oct. 17
WEEK 8
Oct. 31
@NE
@MIN
4:25 p.m. 8:20 p.m.
CBS
NBC
WEEK 9
Nov. 7
WEEK 10
Nov. 14
DEN
1 p.m.
FOX
ATL
1 p.m.
FOX
WEEK 11
Nov. 21
WEEK 12
Nov. 25
WEEK 13
Dec. 2
@KC
LVR
@NO
4:25 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 8:20 p.m.
FOX
CBS
FOX
WEEK 14
Dec. 12
WEEK 15
Dec. 19
WEEK 16
Dec. 26
WEEK 17
Jan. 2
WEEK 18
Jan. 9
@WFT
1 p.m.
FOX
@NYG
1 p.m.
FOX
WFT
8:20 p.m.
NBC
ARI
1 p.m.
FOX
@PHI
1 p.m.
FOX
Note: This section was printed before final roster cuts, so personnel are subject to change; all times are Eastern and subject to change