Are you ready for some football? I know I am. Tonight on the NFL Gridiron we will see the Dallas Cowboys duke it out with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Hall Of Fame game. This contest will take place at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
Dallas Needs Dak To Stay Healthy
The Dallas Cowboys will be very careful with Dak Prescott in the preseason this year as they can not afford to see him get hurt. In 2019, the Cowboys had the top offense in the league and they averaged 32.6 ppg in the five games that he played last year, but Dallas was able to put up just 21.9 ppg in their final 11 games. The offense did start to click a bit more at the end of the year, but still, they need Dak to stay healthy. The Backup group, consisting of Cooper Rush, Ben DiNucci, and Garrett Gilbert, have just seven career starts among them and they do not possess the talent needed to rely on for an extended period of time. They will get plenty of reps in the preseason, which should make for a good battle for the backup role to Prescott. Gilbert is expecting to get the start in this one as Prescott is nursing a shoulder injury.If he stays healthy, then the offense will roll, especially with skill players like Zeke Elliott, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamp being Strong offensive threats. Dallas could very well have three receivers with 1000 yards receiving this year. Dallas ranked 17th in total offense last year at 371.8 ypg, 8th in passing at 260.1 ypg, and 17th in rushing at 111.8 ypg.
The defense was not good as Dallas ranked 23rd in total yards allowed at 386.4 ypg, 11th against the pass (227.6 ypg), 31st against the run (158.8 ypg), and 28th in points allowed, giving up 29.6 ppg. The Cowboys used their first three picks on this side of the ball and choosing LB Micah Parsons with the 12th overall pick was huge for them. He was one of the best LBs in the draft and Dallas does need help on run defense as you can see from the numbers below. CB Kelvin Joseph was taken in the 2nd round and DT Osa Odighizuwa was taken in the 3rd round. Dallas does lose LB Sean lee and DB Xavier Woods but overall, this looks like an improved defense. Dallas went just 6-10 last year but with an improved defense and a healthy Dak Prescott (If he stays that way), they will be in contention for a division crown this year.
Is Najee Harris The Answer?
The Pittsburgh Steelers have not had a good offense the last few years and it starts with a ground attack that has ranked 29th or worse in all three years. Pittsburgh needs the running game to get back on track, especially with an aging Ben Roethlisberger under center. The Steelers took Alabama RB Najee Harris with their first pick in the draft in hopes of jumpstarting the running game. Harris ran for 2690 yards and had 729 yards receiving with 50 combined TDs over his final two years at Alabama. I expect him to get plenty of reps in the preseason. The problem for Pittsburgh this year could be that they have to rebuild the offensive line after finishing 32nd in run blocking a year ago.
Many feel that OG Kendrick Green (Illinois) was the steal of the draft for Pittsburgh in the 3rd round. They also brought in four OL in free agency, including OT Joe Hagg from Tampa Bay. The offensive line will take some time to gel and that means the offense could struggle early on this year. Roethlisberger is still the main piece of this offense but he will not play a whole lot in this one. That will set up a QB battle for the backup role between Mason Rudolph and Jake Browning. Dwayne Haskins could also be in the mix, but he is questionable for the start of the season. Pittsburgh ranked 26th in scoring last year at 26.0 ppg.
Big Ben will not play alot in this one while Dak Prescott will not play at all. Running back Ezekiel Elliot should get a tiny amount of carries while Najee Harris of the Steelers should see plenty of action.
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