Cowboys vs. Seahawks rookie report: Leighton Vander Esch continues to

play well for Dallas Well Dallas Cowboys Hats , that game did not go as hoped. Following a week in which the offense started to look like it had something going, the Cowboys went out and did that, resulting in a frustrating 24-13 loss in Seattle.While the takes of the offense, the play-calling, and Sean Lee’s injuries fly, we are taking a look at how the members of the 2018 Cowboys draft class are performing. We have seen these players have highs and lows over the course of three games. One player looks to be standing out more than the rest of the pack as we prep for the Detroit Lions.Let’s dive right into this week’s edition of the rookie report.Leighton Vander EschFor all of the doom and gloom surrounding the Cowboys three games into the 2018 NFL season, there has been a pleasant surprise over the last two games: the play of first-round rookie linebacker Leighton Vander Esch.Several, including yours truly, were unsure what to think about the selection of LVE — especially with interesting players at offensive guard and wide receiver still on the board — but the Boise State Broncos product has put together two solid games in a row. First, LVE made seven stops with limited snaps in the week two victory over the Giants. This past week, Vander Esch saw more playing time — especially with Sean Lee sidelined — and he made the most of it. The 19th overall pick of the draft led the Cowboys with nine solo tackles on Sunday, in addition to tying Lee with 11 total stops. While Vander Esch still has room to improve, his play has been a bright spot — and he earned this week’s Game Ball!Vander Esch has looked impressive during the past two games Dallas Cowboys Hoodie , especially when he has been able to showcase his sideline-to-sideline quickness when he tracks down opposing ball carriers. The rookie will have more responsibility on his plate while Lee recovers from injuring his other hamstring against Seattle. Is he up for the challenge? If so, that can only mean big things for this defense.Connor WilliamsConnor Williams took a lot of heat for his struggles in the week one loss defeat against Kawann Short and the Carolina Panthers. The rookie, as expected, struggled to adjust in his first professional game — and it didn’t help that the Panthers feature one of the league’s best fronts.The Texas Longhorns product rebounded nicely in week two, playing well versus the likes of Damon Harrison and Dalvin Tomlinson. Williams went from having trouble versus Carolina to not giving up a single QB pressure against New York. Those are the things you want to see from your young players. In week three, mostly everybody had their fair-share of struggles in the Sunday loss. Williams continues to progress as a run blocker, which is great news for this offense. Here, he helps free up Ezekiel Elliott for a nice gain.Michael GallupThere was tons of excitement when Michael Gallup hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott in the first preseason game versus the 49ers back in August. Since then, the rookie wideout from Colorado State has yet to make his impact felt in the Cowboys offense.We can fairly assume some of the problems revolve around Gallup being a rookie making rookie mistakes. There was that deep pass he dropped versus the Giants that would not have been an easy grab, but one that you need to make. Through two weeks, Gallup had only recorded two catches for 14 yards — in addition to drawing some PI penalties in week one.Dak looked for his rookie target early in week three — and they connected; however, what happened next was a combination of a rookie mistake and a great play from the Seahawks defense and some guy by the name of Earl Thomas.That went down in the box-score as an interception on Dak, but it was really more of a fumble by the rookie as he had the ball popped out from behind and it landed against Thomas’ leg. Gallup did have a 17-yard reception in the loss and he does have promise. We’ll see if the rook can get things going in the right direction as the season progresses.Dorance ArmstrongThe Cowboys have questions on the offensive side of the ball Youth Customized Dallas Cowboys Jerseys , but the defensive end position is where there are tons of playmakers. DeMarcus Lawrence has led the charge, but he is not alone as Taco Charlton looked good in the first two weeks and Tyrone Crawford is one of the veterans of the group. Randy Gregory was also hoped to make an impact, but — so far — that has not happened yet, partially due to missing week two with a concussion. Elsewhere on the defensive line, 6-foot-3, 258-pound Dorance Armstrong is looking to make his presence felt.The Kansas Jayhawks product recorded two tackles in week one and was able to cause disruption in week two. Armstrong did not show up in the box score in week three, but look for him to continue playing his role in a deep defensive end unit.Cowboys have dominated Panthers in the regular season (except for the last game) The last time the Dallas Cowboys faced off against the Carolina Panthers represents a dark memory for Cowboys fans. It was Thanksgiving of 2015. Tony Romo had returned the previous week from a broken collarbone that had sidelined the longtime quarterback for seven games. Dallas won exactly zero of those seven games, illustrating both Romo’s value to the franchise and the front office’s failure to have an adequate replacement on the roster.Still, despite a 3-7 record fans clung to feint hopes the team could sweep the team’s remaining games and sneak into the playoffs. Little did we know we were about to see the end of an era. Things didn’t go well. Romo’s second pass of the day was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Trailing 13-3 late in the first half Romo was again intercepted and the ball again returned for a touchdown. Finally, late in the third quarter and trailing 30-6, Panthers’ linebacker Thomas Davis sacked Romo, leaving the quarterback sprawled in pain on the field. Both Romo’s and the Cowboys’ season was over. But that’s not all. Fans had no idea at that time, but we had seen the end of the Tony Romo era as he would never again make an NFL start. That game was also noteworthy for the fact the Panthers actually beat the Cowboys. While the Panthers rank fairly low in terms of teams Cowboys fans love to hate www.cowboysauthorizedshops.com , there was a time when the two played virtually every year and Dallas usually came out on top. Consider:Between 1996 and 2007, Dallas and Carolina would face-off ten times (playing every year except 1999 and 2001).Dallas won seven of the ten matchups, including a 7-1 regular season record.Since 2007, Dallas has won two of the team’s three matchups.The Cowboys 0.818 winning percentage (9-2) is the team’s highest against any opponent in the regular season.Unfortunately, Carolina won both of the team’s playoff contests. The triplets’ era Cowboys saw their bid for a repeat Super Bowl (and fourth Super Bowl in five years) fizzle in Charlotte in January of 1997. The 26-17 loss was the first matchup between the two teams. Michael Irvin was injured on the first series of the game, leaving Troy Aikman with Deion Sanders, Kevin Williams and Kelvin Martin as pass catching targets. The Panthers also knocked an overachieving 2003 Cowboys from the playoffs with a convincing 29-10 wild card win following the 2003 season. This was Bill Parcells first season and frankly it was a miracle that he willed a team featuring Quincy Carter at quarterback and Troy Hambrick at running back to the post-season. Otherwise Dallas has largely owned the regular season series. Notable games include:Cowboys 27 - Panthers 20 (1998)Deion Sanders makes a late-game interception to help preserve an early season victory against the Steve Buerlein-led Panthers. Cowboys 16 - Panthers 13 (2000)This rather dull overtime victory was unremarkable except for Emmitt Smith’s 132 rushing yards. Emmitt, at this time, was within shooting distance of the NFL’s all-time rushing record so every game he ripped off big numbers such as this brought his lifelong goal just a bit closer. He would top the 132-yard mark only three more times in his illustrious career. Cowboys 14 - Panthers 13 (2002)This is surely the most unlikely Cowboys victory over the Panthers. Carolina led 14-0 with just under four minutes remaining when the Cowboys took over on their own 20-yard line. Until that point the Cowboys’ offense had generated seven punts, an interception, a fumble and had turned the ball over on downs. So, of course Quincy Carter immediately threw an 80-yard touchdown to Joey Galloway, the Cowboys defense stiffened and then Carter led a 10-play Dallas Cowboys Womens T-Shirt , 67-yard touchdown drive culminating in a 24-yard TD to Antonio Bryant. Bizarre stat: Dave Campo-coached teams went 2-0 against the Panthers and 13-33 against everyone else. Cowboys 24 - Panthers 20 (2003)This was the game that had both players and fans buying into first-year Cowboys coach Bill Parcells’ voodoo. The Panthers were a good team (came within a last-minute field goal of forcing overtime in the Super Bowl) and the two teams engaged in a good old-fashioned, hard-fought grudge match. Dallas managed to run the clock out by perfectly executing a four-minute drill. That game, and the entire 2003 season, is well documented in this Deep Blue segment. Cowboys 35 - Panthers 14 (2006)The Panthers ran out to a quick 14-0 lead and things looked dark, however, Dallas would respond with 35 consecutive points for an easy victory. But that’s not why this game is noteworthy. This was Tony Romo’s first NFL start after wrestling the starting quarterback job from Drew Bledsoe the previous week. Romo would go 24-for-36 for 270 yards, a single touchdown and one interception for an 86.6 quarterback rating. Thus, Romo’s first and last starts both came against the Panthers. Hopefully Dallas will continue its regular season dominance against the Panthers this Sunday. What do you think BTB, will we remember the 2018 season opener fondly or will it be a dark memory?