Despite a convincing win over Washington, alarming win rates and a struggling ground game reveal a roster failing to dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides.
The Dallas Cowboys walked out of Sunday's Week 2 with exactly what they needed — a convincing 37-20 win over the Commanders, a much cleaner performance and at least a little breathing room after an ugly opener at New Yotk.
Dak Prescott looked like himself again, and the defense showed progress after getting pushed around in Week 1.
But ...
The win didn't fix everything. Look a little deeper, and one of Dallas' biggest early problems is showing up right where games tend to get decided: the line of scrimmage.
Yes, there is a nasty number, a scary stat, that suggests trouble in the trenches.
The Cowboys own the NFL's worst run block win rate at 66 percent, according to ESPN Analytics. Their 38-percent pass rush win rate ranks 29th.
That's trouble in the trenches … on both sides.
Dallas' offensive problem is pretty specific. The Cowboys rank 10th in pass block win rate at 54 percent, so this isn't an offensive line falling apart every time Prescott drops back. The protection has held up.
Creating movement when Dallas wants to run it has been a different story.
The Cowboys followed 69 rushing yards against the Giants with only 66 on 21 carries in Sunday's 37-20 win over Washington. Javonte Williams finished with 30 yards on 12 attempts, and coach Brian Schottenheimer acknowledged Monday that Dallas is getting "too much knockback in the backfield" and isn't consistently creating the movement it needs.
It's hard to look at those numbers without coming back to Tyler Smith. The All-Pro guard underwent thumb surgery before the season and landed on injured reserve with an initial four-to-six-week timeline. T.J. Bass has stepped into his spot at left guard, but there isn't a clean replacement for one of the best players on the roster.
Jerry Jones pushed back Tuesday on the idea that Smith's absence explains all of Dallas' issues running the ball. He pointed toward the offense needing to create more favorable looks by threatening defenses through the air, while adding that Smith continues to progress well.
Maybe Smith isn't the entire problem … but there is no talking around 32nd.
And things haven't been much better on the other side.
Quinnen Williams was brought to Dallas to change the Cowboys' defensive front. Dallas surrendered significant draft capital to acquire him last season, then committed another three years and $105.9 million to him in August.
Through two games, Dallas sits 29th in ESPN's pass rush win rate. Sunday offered some progress — the Cowboys generated 12 pressures against Washington, including nine when rushing only four, after producing just two four-man pressures in Week 1.
None of them became a sack.
Williams has already been hard on himself, saying after the opener that he needed to be more disruptive in the backfield. Then came Sunday, when he was slow getting up on a couple of plays and later acknowledged being "a little banged up."
Jones dismissed any lingering injury concern Tuesday, saying Williams wasn't dealing with anything and later calling him one of the best interior defensive linemen in football.
That would be good news for Dallas, because Baltimore isn't exactly showing up at a convenient time.
The Ravens enter Sunday with ESPN's No. 1 run block win rate at 79 percent. Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry are waiting behind it, one week after Jayden Daniels scrambled six times for 69 yards and Washington piled up 182 rushing yards against Dallas.
Sunday's win gave the Cowboys plenty to build on. The offense looked dangerous again, the defense created more pressure and the ugliness of Week 1 suddenly felt a little farther away.
But the line of scrimmage doesn't care much about momentum. Dallas is dead last at winning run-blocking reps and 29th at winning pass-rush reps, Smith is still unavailable and Williams has already had to answer questions about being banged up.
The Cowboys, overall, gave their needed response against Washington.
Now the trenches, specifically, have to give them another positive response.
