The Dallas Cowboys may not have beaten the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, but they showed some poise that many didn’t expect of them following a devastating Micah Parsons trade that could have easily derailed any momentum the team had going into the season.
One of the bright spots came in the backfield when newcomer Javonte Williams ran for two touchdowns, which contributed to one Cowboys coach recently getting honest about the offense’s performance in the running game last week.
According to Jon Machota of The Athletic, offensive coordinator Klayton Adams expressed that the team’s performance running the ball against the Eagles was a mixed bag, though there is a lot to build on going forward.
“There were moments where we kinda looked like we knew what we were doing. There are some moments where we’d like to build on what was happening. And then ultimately when we needed to run the ball to win the game, we couldn’t do that. That was pretty disappointing at the end. From a teaching perspective, there’s a ton of great stuff on tape. … We just need to execute a little bit better,” Adams said, via Jon Machota.
Cowboys OC Klayton Adams on how they ran the ball Week 1: “There were moments where we kinda looked like we knew what we were doing. There are some moments where we’d like to build on what was happening. And then ultimately when we needed to run the ball to win the game, we… pic.twitter.com/n58Woy2478
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) September 11, 2025
The Cowboys racked up 119 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries against one of the league’s toughest defenses, though they did get a bit of a break when Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting on Dak Prescott six seconds into the game.
Williams ran for 54 yards on 15 carries while Miles Sanders had 53 yards on just four carries, so Adams is absolutely right in saying that there was a lot to like from this running game.
It was a great first impression for the new backfield tandem, though Sanders did have a brutal fumble.
Williams has plenty of upside now that he is another year removed from his knee issues that plagued him during his time with the Denver Broncos.
Dallas has another tough front seven to deal with on Sunday with the New York Giants, but the Cowboys’ Week 1 performance gave fans plenty of hope that this team can have a strong rushing attack in 2025.
