Dallas Cowboys: Studs and duds from improbable Week 2 win vs. Falcons
By Randy Gurzi
Dallas Cowboys Week 2 Stud: Ezekiel Elliott, RB
Dallas had a first-quarter to forget and Ezekiel Elliott was a part of that. He had two fumbles and, after getting one back, he lost the other. That helped the Falcons take a 20-0 lead in the first 15 minutes but Zeke didn’t let that stop him from giving it his all for the rest of the game.
He was a key piece of their 11-play, 75-yard drive that finally gave them something to build on offensively. He also topped it off with a one-yard touchdown as he continued his solid start to the season.
Zeke and the Cowboys offense kept fighting and he finished with 89 yards and a touchdown on the ground and 33 yards receiving. They never gave up and his efforts were a major reason.
Dallas Cowboys Week 2 Dud: Early efforts
For years, it seemed as though the Dallas Cowboys refused to get things going in the first quarter of their games. Week after week, they entered the second quarter trailing and we often had to ask what was going on. That was the case again in Week 2 and it was worse than ever.
Dallas not only was slow but they were also careless with the ball. They had four fumbles, three of which were lost that led them into the second quarter with a deficit of 20-0. For whatever reason, this was a problem under Jason Garrett and has remained so under Mike McCarthy as he has had back-to-back frustrating starts with Week 2 being a monumental letdown.
It’s easy to shrug this off since they won, but things should have been much better. Clearly they were the better team and if they showed up in the first 15 minutes, this could have been an easy win.