Clarence Hill: 5 Things Dallas Cowboys need to do to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is in the midst of a nasty interception streak that he can’t seem to shake.
Prescott has nine picks in his eight games, including five in the past three games.
Funny thing is, Prescott is also playing some of the best football of his career, leading the Cowboys to four straight victories and six wins in their past seven games.
Few of the interceptions have been bad decisions and bad throws. Many have miscommunication and bad luck with tipped passed.
Heading into Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the interceptions have to stop.
“I don’t like throwing interceptions,” Prescott said. “That’s what bothers me. It has nothing to do with what other people say or how other people feel. It’s something that I’ve never enjoyed, never liked, never had that accepted as a standard for myself.”
“I’ve just got to dial that in a little bit [and] heighten that focus,” he said. “But as far as the decision making and all that, it’s tough because I’m not going to change that. I’m going to continue to stay aggressive… I’ve just got to stop throwing interceptions. Whether they’re picked, deflected, whatever. It just can’t happen anymore.”
5 Things the Dallas Cowboys need to do to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars:
Who will replace Terence Steele?
With Terence Steele lost for the season with a torn ACL, the big question is who will replace him in the starting lineup.
Josh Ball got the initial call against the Texans to mixed results. Then 40-year-old Jason Peters finished the game at right tackle.
But the Cowboys are also looking at eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith as Steele’s replacement against the Jacksonville Jaguars in what will be his first game of the season and missing the 13 games on injured reserve with an avulsion fracture.
Smith has not played right tackle since his rookie season in 2010.
But with rookie Tyler Smith holding down left tackle, the Cowboys have given Smith reps at right tackle this past week in practice.
And considering that Peters is also a nine-time Pro Bowler at left tackle, who played right tackle against the Texans for the first since his rookie season in 2005, the Cowboys two excellent options to throw at the Steele problem.
“Unfortunately, we’ve lost a great player in Terence,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “But we’ve got a couple of guys that can step in, and when you’ve got a guy that’s a future gold jacket potentially that can play over there, yeah, you’re going to trust the training, trust the reps that we have, trust the way that we’ve been working this week in practice and moving forward on a lot of these things.”
Do not take Jaguars lightly
In addition to Dak Prescott’s nasty penchant for interceptions of late, the Cowboys have developed a nasty habit of playing with their food and playing down to the level of competition.
That is certainly what happened against the 1-11-1 Houston Texans last week when the Cowboys struggled for 27-23 comeback victory.
It is certainly hard to win in the NFL. It’s harder when you take your opponents lightly and don’t come into the game with a high level of intensity. And then become your own worst enemy with turnovers and mistakes.
The Cowboys can’t do that against a Jaguars team that is playing better than it’s 5-8 record suggests.
“We can never just play to the level of our opponent,” receiver CeeDee Lamb said. “I feel like that was the biggest lesson of the Texans game and just understanding that we have to be who we are regardless of what we play on any given Sunday and or Saturday or Thursday. Regardless of the situation whenever we out there we understand we got to handle our assignment and do whatever it takes to be victorious.”
Cowboys must be aware of Trevor Lawrence
Cowboys linebaker Micah Parsons remembers Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence from his days as a national championship MVP at Clemson and as the No. 1 pick in his 2021 draft class.
And Lawrence is starting play like it well.
Lawrence has thrown 10 touchdowns, completed 71.8% of his passes, and amassed a 111.7 passer rating in the last five games with no interceptions. He has passed for over 321 yards and three touchdowns in two the past three games, wins over the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens.
“Obviously, I recognize the success he had in college,” Cowboys coach McCarthy said of Lawrence. “But being a dual threat for the type of athlete he is — a 6-foot-6 quarterback — I’ve always been intrigued with that. His ability to play from within the pocket and then out of the pocket is, I would say, exceptional. Young quarterbacks, when they go through coordinator changes, that’s definitely a lot bigger challenge than people want to recognize. The point I’m making is that you can really see him starting to come into his own. Obviously, with [Jaguars head coach] Doug Pederson and the offense that they run — multiple personnel, multiple concepts — I think he’s definitely playing his best football this past month of his career.”
Parsons compared Lawrence to Tampa Bay Tom Brady and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow in that he doesn’t make mistakes.
“His arm talent is second to none,” Parsons said. “He’s very feisty as a runner. He’s mobile. I mean Trevor’s a helluva player. You can see why he was the No. 1 pick in our draft class. So I’m very excited to face off against him. This is the first time in my career so it’s going to be fun.”
Micah Parsons needs to stop talking about Jalen Hurts
Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons found himself in the eye of the story this week when he went on the Von Miller podcast and had some things to say about Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and his legitimacy as an MVP candidate.
Parsons was trying to say that the Eagles success in 2022 is based on more than just the play of the quarterback but his words were construed as disrespectful to Hurts, who is the leading candidate for the league MVP award.
“I’m sure they hate me,” Parsons said of the people in Philadelphia.
The other problem is that the Cowboys are a week away from playing the Eagles. They play the Jaguars on Sunday and quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
“I’ve got to focus on Trevor Lawrence. How do I get to Trevor Lawrence when he’s coming together,” Parson said. He’s a hell of a player and what they bring. That’s where my focus is. I was just having a good conversation with Von, a person I look up to, helped him on his podcast and the next thing I know it’s a sh-- storm. You see how that goes. We were just talking football. No once did I ever disrespect Hurts or any other player in any way. I’m just talking football.”
Getting to Lawrence is biggest focus now. Lawrence has only been sacked 23 times this season. And while the Cowboy are second in the NFL in sacks, they notched none last week against the Texans.
Parsons leads the Cowboys with 12 sacks but he has had none the past two games as the toll of playing defensive end more than linebacker is starting to wear on him.
“I’d say the trench warfare is definitely way tougher,” Parsons said. “It’s a harder job. I’m doing certain movements that my body’s probably not used to and you got to build muscle and build callous for it, build that toughness in it. The more I keep doing it, the more I’m getting used to (it) and the more I’m learning the position, I will get better and more healthy.”
Get WR T.Y. Hilton acclimated and continue to wait on Odell Beckham
When the Cowboys signed receiver T.Y. Hilton on Monday, quarterback Dak Prescott thought like the rest of the world that the team’s pursuit of Odell Beckham was over.
But that was before owner Jerry Jones said there was a chance the team could still add Beckham for a playoff run and told reporters to “Stand by” for an apparent coming deal.”
“I can’t say that I thought - at one point I thought it was done, at one point I thought it was over but the fact it’s still going, right? I mean that’s Jerry, right?,” Prescott said rhetorically.
Until something, if anything, gets done with Beckham. The Cowboys are moving forward with their current receivers and going about the business of getting Hilton up to speed and acclimated into the offense, possibly as early as Sunday against the Jaguars.
There is no question about Hilton’s speed at 33 years of age.
“Oh he can run, he can run,” receiver CeeDee Lamb said. “Any guy that comes in with the experience [he has] … I remember watching him with the Colts, bombing and taking a lot of things up top. I just want him to bring that here, and I think he most definitely will.”
Said quarterback Dak Prescott: “[Hilton is] just gonna make that [WR] room better. It’s a veteran guy who is, what, 10 years older than CeeDee? I mean, I just think that whether you’re thinking on the field preparation or off the field, how that can help — that room is gonna serve.”
