As the final sands slip out from the top of the hourglass on the Matt Eberflus tenure as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, the Cowboys have a clear objective for the new year.
“We got to get an identity on the defensive side of the football,” co-owner Stephen Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “I don’t think we ever established what we were as a defense. We really weren’t a team that created turnovers. We didn’t get the ball. We gave up a lot of explosive [plays]. At times it felt like we were [stopping] the run. But we just got a lot of work to do on that side of the ball. I think everybody knows that. We’ll go all in.”
“All in”? Not all in. Not again.
Of course, it’s one thing to vow to go “all in” as to free agency, where cap dollars are tight and the Cowboys are often even tighter. It’s another to go all in as to the coaching staff, especially when Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is about to be available to make a lateral move.
“Bottom line, we need an identity on the defensive side of the ball,” Jones said. “I don’t think we established that this year. Whether it’s Coach [Matt] Eberflus or whoever it is, we have to create an identity. I think everybody would say that Coach [Brian] Schottenheimer has a ton of energy, he’s very authentic and has an identity. We’ve got to play to that in all three phases. I think we did in one phase this year. I don’t know that we established that in the other two phases.”
That’s hardly an endorsement of Eberflus. Anytime anyone says “whether it’s [the current employee] or whoever it is,” bet on whoever.
Assuming that the Cowboys will offer enough to get “whoever” a/k/a Flores to take the job.
The Packers will be starting Clayton Tune at quarterback against the Vikings on Sunday and it will not be Desmond Ridder backing him up.
Ridder signed to the practice squad this week, but the team did not elevate him from the practice squad. That means Jordan Love or Malik Willis be the next man up should anything happen with Tune during the game.
The Packers did elevate tight end Drake Dabney and linebacker Jamon Johnson from the practice squad. They also signed wide receiver Jakobie Keeney-James and offensive lineman Lecitus Smith to the active roster.
Offensive lineman Donovan Jennings and wide receiver Savion Williams went on injured reserve to open those two roster spots.
Signs have pointed to quarterback J.J. McCarthy returning to the starting lineup all week and it became official on Friday.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said on Friday that McCarthy will get the start against the Packers on Sunday. McCarthy missed Week 17 with a hairline fracture in his right hand.
Sunday’s game will be McCarthy’s 10th start of the season. He also missed time with an ankle injury and a concussion.
The Vikings ruled out tight end Gavin Bartholomew (back), tight end T.J. Hockenson (shoulder), running back Aaron Jones (hip), and wide receiver Myles Price (ankle). Cornerback Dwight McGlothern (hip) is listed as questionable.
Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy returned to full practice participation on Thursday, which suggests he’ll be back in the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Packers.
That will provide McCarthy with one more chance to make an impression at the end of his uneven first season as the starter in Minnesota. His current hand injury, an earlier ankle injury and a concussion have kept him out for almost half the season and his on-field results were often underwhelming.
Wide receiver Justin Jefferson’s numbers reflect the nature of those on-field results. He’s posted the lowest receptions and yards per game of his career and remains 53 yards shy of hitting 1,000 receiving yards for the sixth time in his first six seasons. On Thursday, though, Jefferson said his vote would be for McCarthy to remain the quarterback in 2026.
“That’s not my job,” Jefferson said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. “Of course I would love for him to be here. Of course I would love for him to be the quarterback. Especially off this year. I feel like he needs to show everybody and prove to everybody that he is that top-tier quarterback. So I would love to have him. I would love to work with him and show everybody that he is that No. 1 guy.”
Week 18’s performance won’t do much to change the big picture of the Vikings’ season, but a positive outing would be a good argument for McCarthy’s place in the future of the franchise.
The Packers could deploy recently-acquired cornerback Trevon Diggs as soon as Sunday, at Minnesota. Diggs has a high level of confidence in his ability to make a difference for the NFC’s No. 7 seed.
“I still feel like I’m the best,” Diggs said Thursday, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com.
Diggs plans to be the same player he has always been.
“I think I just need to be myself, you know?” Diggs said. “Be who I know I am. Go out there and perform, and performing everything will take care of itself. I’m not chasing accolades. I’m not chasing anything. I’m chasing, you know, being a better me, being better every day . . . helping this team win.”
Regardless of whether Diggs plays on Sunday, the Packers will need him when the playoffs start next weekend.
“It feels good, you know?” Diggs said. “I want to be comfortable with being uncomfortable being somewhere that I’ve never been before. Just starting over, starting fresh, a clean slate, and just working, and keeping my head down, and just working.”
Diggs has been reunited with former Cowboys teammate Micah Parsons.
“He told me, you know, it’s work,” Diggs said. “It’s a lot different. He said I’m going to like it a lot and I’m going to enjoy it. So far, I’ve been enjoying it a lot. My first day was out there today, and I had a lot of fun. And it’s a great, great thing to be here.”
The Packers get both the short-term benefit from having Diggs in the postseason, and the long-term value of inheriting a contract that extends through 2028, with no guarantees. It gives them the ability to evaluate Diggs for now, and to make a longer-term decision about his status on the team later.
