Cowboys Watch: Questions on O-line, Kicker

Let's check in with the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants' Week 1 opponent, to see what storylines have emerged that could affect the game Sunday night.

The Cowboys got some concerning news this week as Tyler Smith, a second-year left tackle turned guard, is dealing with a hamstring ailment suffered during Monday’s practice. On Tuesday, the Cowboys ran what was deemed a “precautionary” MRI on their former first-round draft pick despite believing it wasn’t a long-term issue and his final status for Sunday’s game is still in question.

What makes a bigger problem for Dallas is the impact on the offensive line if Smith cannot play or is limited by the effects of his sore hamstring. Since joining the Cowboys last fall, the 24th overall selection has quickly risen to become a fixture on the starting front and a standout pass blocker for quarterback Dak Prescott.

According to PFF, Smith was active for 1,144 offensive snaps with Mike McCarthy’s operation in 2022, including 623 in the pass-blocking game. Most of those reps came from the left tackle spot, where he experienced some early struggles keeping pressures out of the backfield, but then he was rotated to the left guard spot on occasion, and his numbers improved.

In that time protecting the left edge, Smith allowed just six sacks and earned a streak of six straight games without allowing his quarterback to be taken down. His hurries were the highest stat and succumbed at 22 total. Still, generally speaking, he was proficient at keeping Dak Prescott off the ground and providing time for the offensive system to unravel and succeed at moving downfield every possession.

If, for some reason, the 22-year-old cannot participate on Sunday night, the Cowboys won’t completely be a sitting duck at the line of scrimmage. Still, there will certainly be a noticeable void on the left side and no real solid replacement to fill it. Dallas is very thin at the offensive line positions, holding just three other guards and four other tackles on their active roster.

It’s possible fifth-round pick Asim Richards could assume his teammates’ role, but that would mean throwing a rookie to the wolves ready to feast on the Giants’ defensive front.

Speaking of questions, the Cowboys will field a new kicker, rookie Brandon Aubrey, this season.

A former soccer product from South Bend, Indiana, with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Aubrey signed with the Cowboys on July 6 after terminating his contract with the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL. He was a two-time USFL champion with the Stallions, who drafted him in 2022 to kickstart his experiment as a professional American football placekicker.

Moving on from Brett Maher seemed like a downgrade for the Cowboys, especially given the fourth-year leg had the best kicking regular season in franchise history. He made 29 of 32 field goal attempts (90.6%, which was also a career high), went 9 of 11 from 50+ yards (82%), and was nearly perfect on 53 extra points. His lone misses came from two 59-yard boots, but the rest of his campaign set a few Cowboys team-kicking records.

Given his background and lack of experience, there could be questions about how the Cowboys handle deploying Aubrey in fourth-down scenarios, particularly long-distance field goal situations. Cowboys head Coach Mike McCarthy told reporters he has “growing confidence” in his kicker to respond to adversity and convert the big kicks when needed. Aubrey took a pair of 59-yard tries in the preseason to test his range for the regular season and split the outcomes.

“That’s why taking those two shots were important, those deep kicks, that’s his strength,” McCarthy said of a pair of 59-yard tries (one good, one wide, in the preseason closer against the Raiders). “I don’t worry about his ability; he’s passed that test. He’s high in that area. He just needs opportunities.”

Even with his coach’s confidence, there is bound to be some uneasiness as Aubrey takes the field to put his first NFL points on the board for an offense that’s been one of the highest-producing in the league. The Giants’ special teams unit was no huge threat last fall, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them send a little extra pressure up the middle to try to stifle the kicker and force a potential block or miss.

Dallas is likely to play it safe if they don’t believe Aubrey can make a kick from a longer distance, which could change the game's tides if it stays close.

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