While the Dallas Cowboys dropped their Week 1 matchup, fans have to be thrilled by what they saw from the young offensive line. Sure, Jalen Carter didn't play a single down after his ejection, but the Cowboys' line came to compete. But it wasn't just that.
The silly mistakes that haunted Mike McCarthy's tenure were cleaned up against the defending champs. Mental lapses like pre-snap penalties weren't a concern on the road in a hostile environment. Instead it was mostly personal foul penalties from all the scuffling.
Nick Eatman and Kurt Daniels of the official Cowboys' website put it into perspective. Daniels says the Cowboys didn't necessarily reduce penalties all-around, but cleaned up their act in regard to offensive pre-snap penalties compared to 2024.
"The Cowboys averaged 0.29 defensive offsides called per game in 2024, which tied for the 12th highest total in the NFL. But as far as false starts on the offense, Dallas averaged 1.71 per game, tying for the highest mark in the league."
Cowboys' young OL is showing massive discipline already
Eatman added that we'll have to regroup at the end of the season to see if there was real improvement with yellow laundry among the OL, but this was no doubt a fantastic performance by the young bunch against the Eagles.
"It's going to be something that we monitor over time. But when you see the Eagles getting called for a several penalties for over 100 yards, I do give the Cowboys players credit for not getting caught up in the emotions of that. Still, it's one game but it was a good start for the penalties."
Pre-snap penalties have haunted Dallas for a long time. Ask older fans what they thought about Flozell Adams. He was super talented with great size, but he could not stay disciplined.
It's early, but this has the makings of a really good offensive line. The young core paved the way for Javonte Williams to look like the true starting running back for the Cowboys this season. Even Miles Sanders shook loose for a 49-yard run in the third quarter before his fumble.
This may end up being the most consistent group since the days of Zack Martin, Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick. Nobody's saying Tyler Smith, Cooper Bebee and Tyler Booker are going to match their career accolades, but this is a group that's young, bright and tough with many years ahead.
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