Cowboys-Falcons: Five things to watch
Brandon Weeden takes over for the injured Tony Romo when the Dallas Cowboys host Atlanta at AT&T Stadium on Sunday.
However, owner Jerry Jones doesn’t see the loss of Romo as a major stumbling block because of the talent the team has at each position.
Eight weeks is a long time to go without Romo, but first things first, and that is taking on the 2-0 Falcons.
1. Replacing Romo
The No. 1 story going into this game is how Brandon Weeden will fare replacing the injured Tony Romo. Weeden lost the lone start he made in place of Romo last season but has another year of experience in the system. The Cowboys have publicly backed Weeden, although they got insurance by trading for veteran Matt Cassel.
2. Establishing the run
With Romo and Dez Bryant sidelined, expect the Cowboys to rely heavily on their running game. Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden should get plenty of opportunities this week and must do a better job in establishing the ground game compared with the first two weeks.
3. Mr. Ironman
Jason Witten has proved to be one of the most durable and reliable players in the NFL. A couple of sprained ankles and a sprained knee shouldn’t be enough to keep him out of Sunday’s game. Witten has vowed he’ll be good to go and extend his streak of playing in 189 consecutive games with 133 starts in a row since was sidelined for one game as a rookie in 2003 with a fractured jaw.
4. Contain Jones, White
The Cowboys’ secondary did a nice job shutting down the Giants’ Odell Beckham Jr. and the Eagles’ Jordan Matthews in the first two weeks. It will have its hands full once again this week with Julio Jones, among the top receivers in the game, as well as his counterpart, Roddy White.
5. Garrett vs. Quinn
This is a game that features two head coaches who worked together on the Miami Dolphins’ staff in 2005-06. Jason Garrett served as the quarterbacks coach, while Dan Quinn worked with the defensive line. Garrett had a breakthrough season last year by going 12-4 and winning the NFC East, while Quinn is off to an impressive start in Atlanta at 2-0.
This story was originally published September 26, 2015 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Cowboys-Falcons: Five things to watch."