Commanders OC had a surprising admission about a rookie's passion
Washington Commanders fans might see some new faces take the field Sunday at their season opener against the New York Giants. One of those names heading into Week 1 is rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt.
A Journey of Respect
Commanders’ offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury offered high praise for the rookie, pointing to his journey, persistence, and passion for the game. “Yeah, it's been interesting. He's the guy who, I have a ton of respect for his journey. There's no doubt,” Kingsbury said.
Kingsbury pointed to Croskey-Merritt’s perseverance as proof of his love for the game, even admitting it’s a path that he himself would not have taken. “To stay at Arizona and just rep on practice squad every day when you're in college, I wouldn't have done that. I would've got a job or done something else. I don't like football as much as he does apparently.”
A Path Not Easily Traveled
Croskey-Merritt’s path hasn’t been easy. He began his college career at Alabama State before transferring to New Mexico in 2023, where he had a productive season. In 2024, he made another move to Arizona, but an NCAA eligibility issue limited him to just one game. Still, his impressive year at New Mexico and standout performance at the East-West Shrine Bowl helped him earn a shot with Arizona and, ultimately, the Commanders.
The 'Hype Train for Old Bill'
“For him to do that, go to an All-Star game and then just kind of earn the reps and he can't get enough,” Kingsbury explained. “He wants to know about it, wants to practice, he's always trying to get to the front of the line. And so that's been really cool to see.”
The Commanders’ running back room already features established names, but Croskey-Merritt’s hunger has made him one of the more intriguing storylines of training camp. For a player who once had to fight just to get reps, the hype surrounding him now is a testament to how far he’s come. “We’ll see how it all goes,” Kingsbury said, “but yeah, it's a big hype train for old Bill.”
Whether or not Croskey-Merritt sees snaps against the Giants, his impact on the Commanders’ culture is already being felt. His story represents what head coach Dan Quinn wants to see from every player: competitiveness.
The Commanders don’t know exactly what Croskey-Merritt’s role will be in 2025, but one thing is sure: he’s willing to work for every opportunity.
By the Numbers: Cowboys penalties, run D, Javonte Williams' TD two-fer among telling stats
Football is a game of numbers, but a 24-20 final score doesn't tell the entire story of Thursday night's regular-season opener for the Cowboys. Nor does CeeDee Lamb's career-worst four dropped passes. Not even the 0-1 start in Brian Schottenheimer's inaugural year is the number that matters most, especially with 94% of the season still to play.
Dallas will be searching for things to build on, and a deeper dive into the box score provides plenty: both positives to reinforce as well as opportunities for growth. While the team can look to Dak Prescott's mostly-clean uniform, Javonte Williams's touchdown two-fer, and some uncharacteristic red-zone success as Week 1 bright spots, there's still concern for the defense's well-documented Achilles' heel and some snap distribution disparities that could stand to be evened out.
Time of possession, penalty counts, and big-play prevention: they're all stats that are trending in the right direction for the Cowboys, even if it's been just one game.
Let's take a look inside some of the other numbers that help put the first game of 2025 season into a different perspective.
0: Sacks taken by Dak Prescott
The Dallas offensive line, revamped in the offseason with rookie Tyler Booker taking over for retired perennial All-Pro Zack Martin, kept Prescott mostly clean. The final stat sheet shows zero sacks for the vaunted Eagles D-line and only one QB hit on the night.
But Prescott deserves a significant amount of the credit for that; he used his legs (and that rehabbed hamstring) to buy time in the pocket and get himself out of a lot of trouble. Philly logged 13 pressures, and while Prescott recorded just three yards on his lone rushing attempt, he completed 75% of his passes thrown while under enemy fire.
1: Plays of 20+ yards allowed
Last year, the Cowboys defense was gashed for 52 plays of more 20 yards over the course of the season, an average of three per game. Against the defending Super Bowl champs Thursday, though, they allowed just one.
Hard to fault new Cowboys cornerback Kaiir Elam for Jahan Dotson's 51-yard pickup late in the second quarter; it came on a picture-perfect bucket drop where the former first-rounder was providing step-for-step coverage. Dallas was concerned about their CB corps coming in; they'll only get better as Trevon Diggs ramps back up and reinforcements Caelen Carson, Josh Butler, and Shavon Revel Jr. arrive.
2: Rushing TDs from Javonte Williams
Javonte Williams's fantasy owners- the ones who actually started him- had reason to celebrate the veteran's Dallas debut. But the former Bronco's two-touchdown performance was pretty noteworthy for the Cowboys faithful, too.
Prior to Thursday night, the Cowboys had gone 26 full games (including playoffs) without notching multiple rushing touchdowns as a team. And the last time one Cowboys player scored two on the ground?? Tony Pollard... in Week 1 of 2023. The Cowboys may never go full Martyball during Brian Schottenheimer's first year, but this was a step in the right direction toward a viable rushing attack that at least keeps defenses honest.
4: Total Cowboys penalties
Penalties were a contact bugaboo under Mike McCarthy, with pre- and post-snap infractions often killing the team. Dallas was the fourth-most-penalized club in the league last season, averaging seven and a half flags per game and hitting double-digits in five different contests.
By comparison, four penalties (last year's game-best mark) in a Week 1 contest under a new coaching staff is an obvious and massive improvement. Of those four, two were unnecessary roughness, and one was for too many men on the field, both extremely preventable mistakes. Just one holding call; no false starts, no pass interference, no roughing, no offside, no illegal motions or alignment penalties. That's something Schottenheimer can build on.
6: Defensive snaps for Marist Liufau
Over half the Cowboys' Week 1 defensive starters were players who did not log a snap for the team in 2024. Not all of the newcomers impressed in their Dallas debut, though; veteran linebacker Kenneth Murray looked downright lost on multiple occasions, yet he was on the field for every single defensive snap of the night.
By contrast, second-year man Marist Liufau played like a man possessed and was far and away the best defender wearing the star... except he wasn't on the field that often. Liufau logged just six defensive snaps (and 12 more on special teams), but it's practically a guarantee he'll get more time with Matt Eberflus's unit moving forward.
11: 4th-quarter minutes for defense
The Cowboys were never more than four points down, but the offense simply never got enough chances as the game went on. The fourth quarter, in particular, turned into a game of keep away that the Eagles won handily, holding onto the ball for a suffocating 11:01.
It was Philly's 11-play possession to start the final frame that did the most damage, going for just 32 yards but killing 7:26 off the clock. Dallas took just 11 offensive snaps from that point on. Granted, they didn't do themselves any favors from a playcalling standpoint and, in hindsight, may have gone too pass-heavy too early. With 7:20 to go, the Cowboys passed on three out of four plays (3-of-3, 16 yards) before punting. Then with 3:02 left and all three timeouts to work with, they inexplicably hurried, passing on seven straight snaps (3-of-7, 27 yards, 3 deep incompletions to CeeDee Lamb) and giving the ball back to Jalen Hurts at the two-minute warning just to watch him kneel it out.
61: Offensive snaps for Tyler Guyton
Last year's first-round draft pick was thought to have torn an ACL on July 28, but Tyler Guyton managed to rehab his way back to his starting spot at left tackle and had no injury designation at all by Sept. 3. Never mind a pitch count; Guyton played every single offensive snap of the game.
He wasn't always technically sound and still shows a troubling proclivity for leaving his feet and getting himself off-balance in pass protection, but Guyton was in there taking up space with his 6-foot-8-inch 320-pound frame. His nasty streak was also on full display, notably in a first-quarter battle with Eagles linebacker Jalyx Hunt. Guyton reared back and laid a vicious head slap on Hunt that, although it escaped the notice of officials, may well earn him a hefty fine from the league.
63: Total minutes of weather delay
Thursday night's lightning stoppage probably came at an ideal moment for Dallas, having just lost a fumble 10 yards from the end zone on what would have been a go-ahead score. The hourlong delay pulled the plug on any momentum the Eagles might have gained in that moment, but it also cooled off both offenses considerably.
After the extended break that reportedly saw both teams chowing down on Uncrustables in the locker rooms, both offenses sputtered. No drive from either team went for more than 32 yards, all five of the game's punts happened after the delay, and no one scored again once they re-took the field.
67%: Red zone efficiency
Red has meant stop in recent seasons for Dallas; last year, the Cowboys converted just 46% of their red-zone trips into touchdowns, ranking a pathetic 31st out of 32 teams.
Thursday saw Dak Prescott and the offense find paydirt on two out of three red-zone visits. The only failure? The third-quarter possession that saw Jake Ferguson drop two in the end zone and ended with Miles Sanders's fumble. Nevertheless, there's nobody who wouldn't be thrilled with a 67% red-zone efficiency on a regular basis. Starting the game with a score certainly helps; prior to Javonte Williams's first touchdown, the Cowboys hadn't scored an opening-drive TD since Week 14 last year. It was the only first-possession touchdown Dallas posted in 2024.
158: Rushing yards allowed
The Cowboys were so intent on stopping the run (so they said) that they casually traded away the generational talent of Micah Parsons to get better at it. The move didn't exactly provide immediate results, however, as the Eagles racked up 158 yards on the ground Thursday night.
Yes, Philadelphia has Saquon Barkley. And Jalen Hurts. But the Cowboys' run D, ranked in the bottom five last year, had only six outings in 2024 where they gave up more yards, including both of their meetings with the Birds. The search for answers in shutting down the run continues.
