Dallas Cowboys looking to prove they’re all in on Super Bowl run after Bennett trade
The Dallas Cowboys are fresh and recharged after last week’s bye, and ready to begin the second half of the season Monday night against the New York Giants.
The Cowboys (4-3) are sitting atop the NFC East, buoyed by the message the franchise sent with the bye-week trade for defensive end Michael Bennett and the attempt to acquire safety Jamal Adams from the New York Jets.
The team is going all in, doing whatever it takes to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since 1995.
“The message is we want to find every way possible to help our team stay in first place and to help us get to where want to be,” said receiver Amari Cooper, who saved last season and sparked a playoff run when he came over in a bye-week trade in 2018. “We are not content where we are at.”
Said quarterback Dak Prescott: “The same message that’s been around here for a couple of years now. Obviously the front office is on the same page as everybody in this locker room on wanting to win and wanting to win now. To be able to add a guy like (Bennett) with his caliber and the plays he’s made throughout his career, we’re all in on it.”
Here are five things to watch Monday night against the Giants:
What to expect from Michael Bennett?
Again, the Cowboys traded for defensive end Michael Bennett to make an immediate impact and help the team make a playoff push. There will be no easing him in.
He will play Monday against the Giants as a backup defensive end and nickel pass rusher from the tackle position.
“We’re looking forward to him getting out there and having a great impact,” defensive passing game coordinator Kris Richard said. “He’s very familiar with our system, and he’s already intelligent. It’s not as if there’s going to be very much that we can throw at him that he won’t be able to pick up.”
Richard is familiar with Bennett from their five years together in Seattle, including a Super Bowl title in 2014, before both departed following the 2017 season. Richard came to Dallas, and Bennett was traded to the Eagles before being traded to the Patriots last March.
What Richard likes most about the acquisition of Bennett is that “he understands excellence.”
Bennett’s career numbers — 65.5 sacks, 341 tackles and three Pro Bowl appearances — show that.
“He’s a champion,” Richard said. “His history, his playoff experience. ... Wherever he’s been, he’s had success.”
Cowboys mostly healthy, but maybe no Vander Esch
Swing tackle Cam Fleming has already been ruled out of Monday’s game against the Giants, and he could be joined on the sidelines by weakside linebacker Leighton Van Esch.
The loss of Fleming is mitigated by the fact that he is a backup, and starters Tyron Smith and La’el Collins are healthy as they have been in weeks. Brandon Knight will serve as the swing tackle.
Vander Esch’s situation is a setback of sorts. He suffered a neck injury against the Eagles before the bye. The Cowboys thought he would be good to go for the Giants game, but he is still sore and does not have full range of motion. He was limited in practice all week. The Cowboys may be cautious with him and go with Sean Lee in his place.
It would be the first missed game of Vander Esch’s career.
Witten playing, not broadcasting
A year ago at this time, tight end Jason Witten was one of the broadcasters for ESPN’s Monday Night Football. It was a job he couldn’t pass up, resulting in him retiring following the 2017 season.
Witten found that he missed football. So he quit ESPN and returned to the Cowboys in 2019, and he’ll be on the field for his first Monday night game since coming out of retirement.
“It will be good to see some of those guys, say hello,” Witten said. “I definitely appreciate their friendships and how hard those guys worked. I try not to be very emotional about it. I made that decision back in March. My focus is on helping this team get to 5-3.
“It was a good time in my life. It really was. I enjoyed every moment of it, working with those guys, but I’m also very appreciative of being right where I’m at,” Witten continued. “This is what I wanted to do. I had an opportunity to play. It’s a good group of guys. I’m amazed at how hard they work and how talented they are, but I’m right where I need to be.”
Cooper healthy, so offense should thrive
The Cowboys offense should hit on all cylinders against the Giants.
Receiver Amari Cooper is as healthy as he has been in weeks, and that should result in big numbers from him and quarterback Dak Prescott against a poor Giants pass defense that gives up 9.15 yards per passing play, the highest in the league.
Prescott has 20 pass plays of 20-plus yards this season, and his 14 career touchdowns against the Giants are his most against any opponent.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott should eat against the Giants as well. They are giving up 122 yards per game on the ground this season.
Elliott is coming off his strongest performance of the season — 22 carries, 111 yards and a touchdown against the Eagles. He is healthy and pain-free after the bye and looking to build on that momentum against the Giants.
“We’ve got to pick up where we left off,” Elliott said. “We can’t out come out flat Monday night. We definitely can’t do that. Division game, prime time. Those guys will be juiced up ready to go.
“We’ve just got to come out and pick up where we left off before the bye week, and start fast and play our football.”
Containing Saquon Barkley, putting heat on Daniel Jones
The biggest threat for the Cowboys defense is Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
Barkley is healthy again after missing a few games with a sprained ankle.
He had 11 carries for 120 yards, including a 59-yard scamper, in the opener against the Cowboys.
He has the quickness of Barry Sanders and the strength of Zeke Elliott. The Cowboys have to gang tackle him.
Once they contain Barkley, the Cowboys can focus on getting pressure on rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, who has been prone to turnovers.
Jones has 10 touchdown passes and seven interceptions this year. He has also lost six fumbles and been sacked 21 times.
Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence can’t wait to harass Jones as he did former starter Eli Manning.
“Eli is probably a soon-to-be Hall of Fame player,” Lawrence said. “He’s won Super Bowls. You can’t sit here and say Eli is a bad player. But age does catch up to us. I guess it caught up to him. They got another one, another little Manning. It’ll be good for them.”
