2. Chidobe Awuzie, Cornerback
In Week 1, Chidobe Awuzie was up to the task. According to the Dallas Cowboys coverage on Pro Football Focus, the fourth-year cornerback was seventh in the NFL in the opening weekend in passer rating allowed. He finished with a 27.1 rating against him and had a key interception as well — which was a welcome sight for Cowboys fans who wonder why their players can never take the ball away.
Chidobe Awuzie allowed a 27.1 passer rating when targeted in W1.
— PFF DAL Cowboys (@PFF_Cowboys) September 17, 2020
That ranked 7th among CBs with at least 17 snaps#Cowboys pic.twitter.com/Zpo0RXvU7g
What was most impressive about this stat from Awuzie is that he was facing a good offense. Jared Goff might have his warts but he’s been productive throughout his career. As have both Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods.
Having said that, Awuzie won’t have it any easier this Sunday when Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley come to town. The Falcons still boast one of the better passing offenses and these two are very tough to stop, especially Jones.
In this contest, Awuzie will likely get matched up often against Jones and while it’s unreasonable to expect him to shut the Falcons All-Pro down, he needs to find a way to make some key situational stops. This is going to be a big game for Awuzie and the Cowboys need him to be at his very best.