FLOWERY BRANCH -- After going 12-5 in each of the past three seasons and reaching the playoffs, the Dallas Cowboys have stumbled out of the gate in 2024.
They elected not to do much in free agency, while working a lucrative extension for quarterback Dak Prescott and are off to a 3-4 start. It’s looking like a mistake in not signing running back Derrick Henry, who wanted to play for the Cowboys.
He went to Baltimore and is leading the league in rushing.
The Cowboys, who are on a two-game losing streak, are set to face the Falcons (5-3) in an important National Football Conference game at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“This is a good football team,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said on Monday. “They had a game (Sunday) night. They’re going to come in here angry and (ticked) off. We better be ready.”
The Cowboys led the 49ers 10-6 at halftime, but ended up losing 30-24 Sunday.
One of the subplots will be Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins going against his former head coach Mike Zimmer, who is now the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator.
Cousins played four seasons under Zimmer from 2018-21. The Vikings went 8-7-1, 10-6, 7-9 and 8-8. They went to the playoffs in 2019.
“Bringing back some ghosts,” Morris said. “I didn’t even think about that. Man, I’m sure. You know, I’m sure there’ll be something. Those guys won a lot of football games together.”
There was friction between the quarterback and coach during the final 2021 season. The was a sideline incident and reporting that Zimmer spoke openly in team meetings about Cousins’ inability to make “game winning” plays.
“I didn’t ask Kirk exactly how it ended, so I don’t know,” Morris said. “That’s probably more of a Kirk question. But, you know, hopefully Zimm (doesn’t) have too much information on our guy.”
Cousins is scheduled to speak on Wednesday.
Zimmer, who was the Falcons defensive coordinator for one season under Bobby Petrino and interim coach Emmitt Thomas in 2007, served as a consultant/analyst with Colorado for 2022-23. He coached Colorado coach Deion Sanders from 1995-99 during a previous stint with the Cowboys.
“Kirk has a pretty good knowledge of me, too,” Zimmer told the Dallas media on Monday. “He used to go against us every day. He’s very, very accurate. Takes good care of the football. Very smart. Can get in and out of plays.”
Zimmer didn’t try to open in old wounds about Cousins.
“I know he had that Achilles last year, so they are using him a little bit more from the pistol than they were before,” Zimmer said. “He’s always had a really good long ball. He’s always been very accurate. He’s not going to move around as much as (San Francisco’s Brock Purdy). Good player.”
The Cowboys defense has played without three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Micah Parsons for the past four games. He has yet to return to practice.
Former Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn moved Parsons around the defense. Zimmer was just figuring out how he wanted to deploy Parson over the first four games when he suffered a high ankle sprain. He was projected to miss four-to-six weeks.
“I got to go look at it more,” Morris said about how Parsons was used earlier this season. “I’ve got to look at more (film) and (see) what they (were) doing and what (was) happening with those guys. ... I know he’s been out what, four games? I’m not even sure, but we’ll see.”
The Falcons believed that Parsons is close to returning.
The Cowboys also have cornerback Trevon Diggs. The former Alabama standout has one interception. He led the league with 11 interceptions in 2021.
“He’s still playing,” Morris said. “Micah, if he comes back and is ready to go, we definitely got to have some attention brought to him and think of some of the things that we need to do.”
Prescott, who signed a four-year, $240 million extension in August, has completed 167 of 262 passes (63.7%) for 1,845 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has a passer rating of 84.5.
The Cowboys’ offense has been plagued by a weak rushing attack (74.1 yards per game, 32nd in the league) and poor route-running. Former Cowboys great Troy Aikman blasted the receivers recently.
Wide receiver Cee Dee Lamb has 45 catches for 613 yards and four touchdowns.
“On offense, Dak and CeeDee, (we’ve seen) what they’ve been able to do and how impressive they are,” Morris said.
This will be the 29th meeting. The Cowboys lead the series 17-11. The Cowboys won the last meeting 43-3 on Nov. 14, 2021 and they won the last meeting in Atlanta, 22-19, on Nov. 18, 2018.
About the Author
