Watt vs. Smith

Cowboys have chance to prove they took the right guy in Tyron Smith

The 2011 NFL draft was a star-studded affair that included names like Cam Newton, Julio Jones, Patrick Peterson and A.J. Green. All have made appearances in the Pro Bowl. Two more players from that draft will be competing against each other, as the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans battle for the Governor’s Cup on Sunday: Tyron Smith and J.J. Watt.

Back in 2011, the Dallas Cowboys held the ninth overall pick in the draft and decided on bolstering a putrid offensive line with left tackle Tyron Smith out of USC. Smith has become the Cowboys’ best offensive lineman on what many consider the best offensive line in the NFL today. The pick was brilliant and wouldn’t be second guessed at all except for the guy Houston nabbed only two picks after Smith went to Dallas.

Smith has become the Cowboys’ best offensive lineman on what many consider the best offensive line in the NFL today.

J.J. Watt has been nothing short of otherworldly on the Texans defensive line. In 2012, he collected a mind-numbing 20.5 sacks from his defensive end position on his way to winning the defensive player of the year award. (The entire Dallas defense is on pace for 20 sacks this season.)

Watt is also a marketing dream, starring in commercials and television shows; he has possibly the coolest introduction in HBO Hard Knocks history. All of the attention and accolades have led to the Dallas coaching staff’s defending their pick of Smith ahead of Watt this week.

The Cowboys shouldn’t even have to field questions about whether they regret picking Smith first. At the time, the Dallas offensive line was old and sieve-like, Tony Romo was a multimillion-dollar quarterback running for his life in every game, and the running game was nonexistent.

Dallas absolutely had to have help along the offensive line. Smith was the highest-rated player left on the board at a position of desperate need, plus he’s nearly two years younger than Watt. The pick made sense at the time and still does now.

The truth is that no one knew J.J. Watt would be as good as he has become. Call it the intangibles, heart, whatever you want, but had people known Watt would end up like he did, he would have been a top five pick.

Smith wouldn’t be far behind him, and the biggest reason I think the Cowboys might choose differently today is because the introverted Smith isn’t a marketing machine like Watt is, and we all know which players Jerry Jones would want to draft.

On Sunday, Smith gets to line up against Watt, directly across from him at times, and has a chance to show the NFL world that he deserved to be picked in the top 10 of the draft. Neutralizing Watt would not only give the Cowboys a great chance to win the game on Sunday, but would also quiet those who rely on hindsight to nitpick one of the Cowboys’ finest draft choices in recent memory.

Tyron Smith is widely considered Dallas' best offensive lineman.

Photo via godermag.com

Tyron Smith is widely considered Dallas' best offensive lineman.

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World Cup match recap

Japan and Sweden play to 1-1 draw in World Cup match at Dallas Stadium

Japan v Sweden: Group F - FIFA World Cup 2026

Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Daizen Maeda gave Japan the lead and Anthony Elanga took it away six minutes later, helping Sweden to a 1-1 draw Thursday night, June 25 that sent both teams to the knockout round of the World Cup.

Elanga’s impressive left-footed strike from just outside the right corner of the box in the 62nd minute was his second goal of this year’s tournament. Elanga has scored only three goals in 49 games for Newcastle, but zero in 32 Premier League matches.

Six minutes earlier, Maeda settled a nifty pass from Ritsu Doan with his left foot in the penalty area and easily beat Jacob Widell Zetterstrom with his right foot.

It was Japan’s seventh goal of the tournament, the country’s most for an entire World Cup. That topped the six the Japanese scored while reaching the round of 16 in Russia eight years ago.

Japan is advancing out of the group stage for the third consecutive World Cup and fifth time in seven tries since first reaching the round of 16 as co-hosts in 2002. The Japanese team finished second in Group F behind the Netherlands and will play Brazil in Houston on Monday.

“For the good of football in Japan, I think it would be a very good experience,” coach Hajime Moriyasu said through a translator of his 16th-ranked team facing No. 5 Brazil. “We do believe there's a chance for us to win. And then we hope that we will be able to move one step further move on to the next stage.”

The Swedes have advanced to the knockout round the past four times they’ve qualified for the World Cup going back to 1994 — when they reached the semifinals the last time the U.S. hosted soccer’s biggest event.

Sweden will have to wait to find out its opponent in the round of 32 next week.

“We have to probably recover the players first and make sure that physically we’re in a good place for whoever we play,” coach Graham Potter said. “We’ve got to be on our toes in terms of logistics. I would say if you had said to me when we first came that would be the challenge we’d face, I would have absolutely taken it.”

Elanga had another chance to score in injury time, with his right-footed attempted forcing goalkeeper Zion Suzuki to make a diving deflection.

On the ensuing corner kick, Suzuki deflected Alexander Isak’s header off the crossbar and into the air, eventually ending the scoring chance with a leaping grab in a crowd of players.

The Blue Samurai's bag-waving, chanting fans among 70,137 at the sold-out home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys were persistent as a scoreless game dragged into the second half. Japan seemed content to sit back and play for a draw that would have guaranteed the same spot in the knockout round as a win.

Just like that, things changed when Doan put Maeda in perfect position to score.

Elanga wasn't anywhere near scoring range, but Suzuki appeared screened and reacted late as the shot beat him to the far post.

Just three minutes later, Isak was inside the penalty area with a great scoring chance, but Suzuki deflected it wide and over the end line, angrily gesturing toward some of his teammates as Sweden lined up for another corner kick. The Swedes had eight corner kicks to only two for Japan.

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