Dallas, TX

Cowboys finally get their first noteworthy win of 2024

Published

6 months ago

October 7, 2024

Cowboys finally get their first noteworthy win of 2024

The Dallas Cowboys improved to 3-2 with Sunday night’s upset victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. It may seem odd to say this about a team that’s won 60% of its games this year, but this win is the first one that’s really offered reason for hope about the remainder of the season. Given the opponent and other circumstances, it’s the first 2024 victory that forced Dallas to dig deep for success.

In Week 1, the Cleveland Browns were little more than a sparring partner. While they did boast an elite defense last season, it hasn’t been nearly as good this year. And thanks to offensive line injuries and the continued struggles of QB DeShaun Watson, Dallas was able to bully an opponent that couldn’t even get its gloves up.

The win over the New York Giants wasn’t so one-sided, but that’s only because it was a contest of who could play worse. Dallas barely put down their NFC East rivals thanks mainly to Dak Prescott, who wasn’t even in top form, being a better quarterback than Daniel Jones. Barely beating the Giants was hardly cause for celebration.

While Pittsburgh has its issues, they presented a far more respectable opponent. They entered Sunday night with a 3-1 record, home-field advantage, and expectations to win by an overwhelming majority of analysts. When the game was delayed an hour due to weather, it felt like certain doom for a Cowboys team whose mental toughness has been rightfully questioned this year. The field conditions would also have seemed to lend itself to the Steelers’ style of play.

Then came the injuries for Dallas. Already missing Micah Parsons, DaRon Bland, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Caelen Carson, the Cowboys’ defense lost Marshawn Kneeland early in the game. With Brandin Cooks missing his first game since going to IR, Dallas also saw Tyler Guyton go down and Zack Martin go out for a portion of time.

We knew the Cowboys were in an uphill battle going into the game, and the climb only got steeper with the various circumstances. When Dallas allowed turnovers and a blocked field goal to rob them of points on three different drives, it felt like they’d shot themselves in both feet. We just kept waiting for the Steelers to finally take advantage.

But they didn’t. In spite of everything, including themselves, the Cowboys just kept fighting. Mike Zimmer kept finding ways to MacGyver a capable defense out of limited resources. After a month of tough sledding and limited opportunities, Rico Dowdle was in attack mode on every touch. Jalen Tolbert fought through obvious pain to get back on the field for the game-winning touchdown. And despite his own mistakes and brotherly friction with his star receiver, Dak Prescott stepped up on that final drive to seal the deal for his team.

We haven’t said this often lately, but give Mike McCarthy credit for the heart his team showed. We still saw some classic McCarthy booboos with dumb decisions on when to challenge and not challenge calls, or not taking a shot at the endzone on 3rd-and-long when you’re already well within Brandon Aubrey’s range. But watching Dallas show little fight in the losses to New Orleans and Baltimore (until very late), and this one having plenty of reason to go the same way, we saw a different personality in the team’s performance.

Does it mean anything going forward? It might; it’s amazing how much teams respond to renewed confidence or the perception that the outside world doesn’t believe in them. Dallas has both going for them this week, still seen as the underdog ahead of a big NFC showdown with the Detroit Lions. But if they build on what they did in Pittsburgh, especially in the run game, then the Cowboys may finally find the balance they need to be consistently competitive.

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Dallas, TX

Dallas school shooting suspect arrested on felony charge

Published

11 hours ago

April 16, 2025

Press Room

Dallas school shooting suspect arrested on felony charge

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Dallas, TX

2025 NBA Mock Draft: Dallas Mavericks Get Table Setter

Published

1 day ago

April 16, 2025

Press Room

2025 NBA Mock Draft: Dallas Mavericks Get Table Setter

The 2025 NBA Draft discourse is heating up as the College Basketball season wraps up and NBA regular season is on ice.

After this week’s NBA Play-In tournament wraps up, the NBA Draft Lottery standings will be set for May’s drawing to determine the 2025 NBA Draft order. Before that date, Draft expert Derek Parker released his latest 2025 NBA Mock Draft.

In this lottery shuffle, the Dallas Mavericks landed the No. 14 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. This has been a season full of drama for the Mavericks who shipped Luka Doncic to Los Angeles on Feb. 1 to play for the Purple and Gold and send the Mavs off the rails.

“At No. 14 it is the now changed Dallas Mavericks. who have an obvious need at point guard following one of the most shocking trades in NBA history. There is no fixing Dallas with a single lottery pick, they are now an oddly constructed roster with a weird mix of young and old talent, so instead of trying to add a player to some pipe dream 2026 run, I am going to draft a project and hope it works out,” Parker explained. “That project is jumbo guard Egor Demin…This is a Mavericks organization that is familar with the archetype and now in desparate need of talent at the guard position. You might as well swing on Demin while you are in the lottery.”

This is a great pick by Parker for the Mavericks and if Nico Harrison was able to pull the trigger on this move, it would help Dallas for the present and future.

Sure, there are concerns about Demin and his ability to make a high impact out of the shoot, he is rightfully labeled a project by the draft expert. However, with the Mavericks lacking Kyrie Irving for a large chunk of the regular season, if Jason Kidd can get Demin up to speed and into the rotation as a rookie, the table setter can help the Mavericks win enough games for Irving to return and carry the Mavericks over the finish line and into the playoffs.

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Dallas, TX

Our recommendation for Dallas City Council, District 7

Published

2 days ago

April 15, 2025

Press Room

Our recommendation for Dallas City Council, District 7

We have supported Adam Bazaldua in each of his three previous races for Dallas City Council District 7, but we think it’s time for voters in this area to select another representative.

In a five-person race, we recommend Navy veteran Jose Rivas Jr., an ombudsman for the Texas Department of Juvenile Justice and the former vice chairman of the Dallas Community Police Oversight Board.

Rivas, 54, has demonstrated a more balanced approach to governing the district that doesn’t lean into national politics or the kind of reflexive progressivism that has become the incumbent’s stock in trade.

District 7 includes some of southern Dallas’ most important historic neighborhoods, from South Dallas to Joppa to Cadillac Heights. It is home to the city’s architectural jewel of Fair Park.

It is sadly also an area that experiences far too much violence and poverty.

We believe that Rivas offers the best chance to help the neighborhoods of District 7 realize their potential. The first step in achieving that goal is to ensure that people are safe in their homes and safe on the streets.

Rivas is calling for a 90-day plan, including mutual-aid assistance from other law enforcement agencies, to address crime in the district. Hot-spot policing has helped address crime, but it has also forced Dallas police to concentrate resources in high-crime areas. Residents in other parts of town see fewer cops as a result, and the entire city’s sense of safety is drained.

We have spoken to many residents and leaders in this district over the years. They have been clear that they want strong but fair policing. Rivas strikes us as the candidate most likely to deliver that.

Bazaldua, 38, is a gifted politician. When he meets with us, his answers on matters ranging from policing to development are nuanced and serious. But we see another side to him that embraces a view of governing that is well to the left of many residents in this district. We have long expressed concern about dragging City Hall in a partisan direction. Mayor Eric Johnson has been the leader in treating his office as a political stepping stone. What Johnson does from the right, Bazaldua does from the left.

His leadership on city charter amendments, including an embarrassing preamble that had to be revised in a scramble, indicated to us that he is more focused on burnishing his standing among local Democrats than in unifying the city under serious policies.

Rivas has done his homework on the trouble with Fair Park’s operations. His focus on streamlining the city’s regulatory processes to increase housing affordability is on target. And his recognition that the city has to be quicker to address homeless people struggling with addiction and mental illness is refreshing.

Of the remaining candidates, project manager Cydney Walker, 52, impressed us as thoughtful. We urge her to remain engaged in city work.

O’Neil Hesson, 31, and Lamar “Yaka” Jefferson, 44, are not prepared for this office.

We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com

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