By now, every football fan has heard of the trade that sent Micah Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys to the Green Bay Packers. Every hot take has been had, every bit of information analyzed, and every thought opined leading up to the Cowboys matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Now, for one of the teams involved in the trade we, at long last, have actual on the field results to discuss and analyze.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made it very clear that one of the main reasons the trade was made was so that they could address their run defense. That motivation was why Kenny Clark was sent from the Packers to Dallas as part of the trade return.
In Week 1, that part of the rationale behind the trade may have been justified. The Cowboys run defense actually managed to contain the Eagles rushing attack, giving up only 158 yards on 38 carries, good for a meager 4.1 yards per carry.
Yes, Jalen Hurts did damage on scrambles. But the Cowboys defensive front got consistent penetration on handoffs, limiting Saquon Barkley to a mere 60 yards on 18 carries. That 3.3 yards per carry is 2.5 less than the 5.8 that Barkley averaged per carry all last season.
Of course, there are a few caveats with those results. It’s simply one game in a long season. Barkley may have had an off night, or they may not have known how to prepare for a new look Cowboys defense. It’s also worth noting that neither team scored after the weather delay, with both offenses seeming to struggle to get going again when they returned to play. That likely affected the overall box score as well.
Still, if you’re a Dallas fan, you have to feel encouraged by the results. Hurts scrambles notwithstanding, the run defense showed they’re mettle on Thursday night. That part of the Cowboys was supposed to get a jolt after the Parsons trade. Now they might actually have a new area of strength to hang their hats on.
The other side of the Parsons trade for Dallas was the pass rush, and just how effective that facet of the team would be with the subtraction of the All Pro. After one week, there’s some predictable reason for concern.
The Cowboys pass rush struggled to get consistent pressure on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts all game. Not only did they register only one sack (courtesy of Marshawn Kneeland), they got so little pressure that Jalen Hurts was able to complete 82.6% of his passes last night, 18% above his career average of 64.6%.
Like the run defense, there are caveats. It’s Week 1, and the Eagles are the defending champions with a top tier offensive line. Hurts’ mobility makes it hard to track him down, and his skill position players are fantastic. After the Parsons trade, Dallas' pass rush was expected to struggle going into tonight’s game. However, they were expected to put up at least a small fight.
Sadly, that fighting spirit never showed. And although the rest of the team actually looked like a potentially dangerous group, fans have to hope that the most predictable hole on the roster isn’t what sinks the Cowboys season.