3 Takeaways from Cowboys' Week 4 Win vs. Patriots
The Dallas Cowboys bounced back from their first loss of the 2023 NFL season with one of the most dominant performances of the young campaign.
Dallas destroyed the New England Patriots, 38-3, in a performance that looked a lot like the team's opening two weeks over the two New York franchises.
The Cowboys made Mac Jones uncomfortable from the first snap, and their dominance forced Bill Belichick into a second-half quarterback change.
Offensively, the Cowboys continued to showcase their wealth of options for Dak Prescott to work with.
Jake Ferguson's breakout season continued as he led the Cowboys in receiving yards, and the team found ways to get KaVontae Turpin, Jalen Tolbert and others involved to support their star players.
Sunday's performance was the exact response the Cowboys needed to their Week 3 loss to the Arizona Cardinals so that they could enter the Week 5 showdown against the San Francisco 49ers at the highest possible level.
Defense Returns to Dominant Form
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Dallas' defense reverted back to the dominant unit we saw in Weeks 1 and 2.
The Cowboys flexed their defensive muscle in the second quarter, when Leighton Vander Esch and DaRon Bland scored touchdowns.
Vander Esch found the end zone on an 11-yard fumble return, while Bland took an interception 54 yards to the house.
The pair of defensive scores extended Dallas' advantage to 25 points at halftime and played a role in New England's second-half quarterback swap.
The Cowboys forced three total turnovers and held the Patriots without a point after the first quarter.
Sunday's showing was an extension of the two defensive showings to open the season, and it gave Dallas fans hope that the Week 3 loss to Arizona was just a one-week slip-up.
The Cowboys know their defense is strong enough to torture the weaker teams in the league. If they produce a similar outing against San Francisco in Week 5, Dallas could make a strong case to be one of the few Super Bowl favorites.
Jake Ferguson Continues to Make Big Impact
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Ferguson continued to make an increased impact on the Dallas offense in Week 4.
The Wisconsin product became the first non-wide receiver to lead the Cowboys in receiving yards in a single game in 2023 with 77 yards on seven catches.
The new No. 1 tight end caught all seven of his targets and increased his yardage production by 29 from Week 3.
It was clear that Ferguson would be a key piece of the offense after he earned seven targets in Week 1 and scored in Week 2.
Everything came together for the second-year tight end on Sunday, as he averaged 11 yards per catch.
Dallas has a budding star at tight end, and if his progress continues, it will have three consistent weapons to surround Prescott with in Ferguson, Tony Pollard and CeeDee Lamb.
Offensive Depth on Display
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Dallas got all of its offensive pieces involved in some capacity on Sunday.
KaVontae Turpin gained 46 yards on his lone carry, Jaden Tolbert caught four balls for 53 yards and Hunter Luepke scored a late touchdown.
Dallas was able to experiment with some of its depth players because of the large advantage that the defense built, and that could play a huge role in the coming games.
The Cowboys want to be as multi-dimensional as possible. Turpin gives them a big-play potential through the air and ground. Tolbert provides another viable option in the passing game. Luepke could be utilized in short-yardage situations.
Of course, Pollard, Lamb and Ferguson will receive the bulk of the attention from Prescott in the passing game and Pollard will command the most carries each week, but it is good to have more variety on offense.
All you need to do is look at the NFC's top two Super Bowl favorites, San Francisco and Philadelphia, to see how important an abundance of offensive weapons can be in the chase for a title.
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