The Dallas Cowboys will storm AT&T Stadium field today for the first in the 2023 regular season as they take on the Aaron Rodgers-less New York Jets. *Photo by Joe Glorioso All-Pro Reels https://www.flickr.com/photos/joeglo/
Today the Dallas Cowboys host the New York Jets in their home opener for the 2023 season at AT&T Stadium. The match-up that has lost some of its luster after Jets QB Aaron Rodgers’ season was cut short just 4 plays into his teams home opening victory against the Bills. The Cowboys are heavily favoured in this one but as seasoned football fans can attest to, there are no guarantees on any given Sunday. That is especially true in the opening few weeks of the season where teams are going to learn, adjust, and establish their identities.
Let’s not forget that despite losing Aaron Rodgers last week, the Jets did manage to win against a strong Buffalo Bills team. The Jets defense is for real and they have two dynamic running backs in Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook. The Cowboys looked great in their week 1 blowout of the New York Giants. The Cowboys defense led by Micah Parsons, looked as good as advertised but their known weakness has been defending against the run and the Giants exposed that on their opening drive. There are still some questions regarding the Cowboys new offense under Mike McCarthy and there is always concern about the depth along the Cowboys offensive line. Last week’s scoreline resulted in a bit of a free pass on the offensive side of the ball for Dallas. This week should provide a greater test for Dak Prescott, Mike McCarthy, and co.
A victory or defeat in week 2 of the regular season will not define the Cowboys season or determine what will happen the rest of the way. Despite being outclassed by the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs 2 years running, Cowboy fans have reason for renewed optimism. Last season they accomplished something no Cowboys team has in nearly 30 years…some form of sustained success. They earned back to back 12 win seasons, and they actually advanced further in the playoffs last year than they did the year before.
Despite the justified optimism, Cowboys fans demand more. The ultimate goal for this years Cowboys team is to continue to improve moving forward. They cannot ride too high or too low after any regular season game as we fans tend to do. The focus has to be on winning in January. The path to accomplishing that goal has only just begun and there will be bumps along the road. The Zach Wilson led Jets could prove to me one of those bumps. If that does prove to be the case, it will be how the Cowboys respond that will determine if they are ready to take the next step.