NFL
By: Greg Rector
Washington Football Team (6-8) vs Dallas Cowboys (10-4) 8:20 pm December 26th
The Dallas Cowboys return home for the first time since Thanksgiving Day to face the No Name team for the second time in three weeks. Having won three straight road games mostly due to the play of an opportunistic defense, that has forced four turnovers in each of those games, along with making numerous other opponent’s drives simply stall out. Now as someone who only ever played defense, I love seeing this happen. It’s something I have been wanting for many years, a defense that attacks opponents. Being an older Cowboys fan I watched the effect of a feared defense on opponents when they had to face the vaunted “Doomsday Defense,” of the 1970s. Again in the 90s, it was no joyride facing the likes of Charles Haley, Ken Norton, Deion Sanders, etc… I love scoring just as much as the next guy, but watching a unit shut down an opposing offense is a great pleasure. The last two games as well were played in conditions that were less than ideal for the team use to the climate-controlled ATT&T Stadium. I mention all of this because there was such a level of criticism yet again for the Cowboy’s offense and in particular quarterback Dak Prescott. If more people would learn to stop focusing on one side of the football and understand the game on a bigger picture level, take a deep breath before over-reacting, many of you would be better off. The bottom line is the Cowboys now hold the second seed in the NFC, are riding a three-game winning streak, and control in large measure their destiny. That’s a lot of good things folks. Now let’s look at the game against the No Names.
Dallas Offense vs Washington Defense
Who knows with the current COVID protocols who will and won’t be available for the No Names on their defense. For Dallas, one thing is certain the game film from the No Names loss Tuesday night showed them how to run against them. The Eagles racked up 238 yards on the ground and for good measure just missed 300 yards passing. Basically, because of injuries and now the newest COVID outbreak, the No-Names defense is vulnerable. For all those in panic mode, because the Cowboys’ offense isn’t firing on all cylinders, this might be the game to quiet the critics. First of all the return of Connor Williams at LG was a major boost against the Giants. He allowed just one pressure and wasn’t called for any penalties. He might just be joined on Sunday night by LT Tyron Smith (Although I might be tempted to hold him out one more game) the Cowboys effectively ran to the left side against the Giants. Secondly, when Kellen “Boy Wonder,” Moore wasn’t calling the dive plays right up the middle for Elliott, he had a couple of good runs as well. So seeing the guards being pulled on occasion was a good sign, add in the explosive plays by Pollard and that aspect of the Cowboys’offense needs to do more of the same against the No-Names. On to the panic mode crowds concern, the Cowboys passing game. I’d like to know since when is 28/37 for 217 yds and a TD isn’t a good game? Given the fact they were playing in a cold, windy Met Life Stadium in December, I have no issue with a 75% pass completion rate. I would sure like to know how three clear drops by Ceedee Lamb was Prescott’s fault?? These things happen, folks, there’s never a game where everything works, where you score at will, the offense wasn’t 100% in the red zone, they had to kick FG’s instead of the touchdowns, well this last week of games shows us clearly that always going for the next first down doesn’t exactly work all the time either. Ask the Chargers, Arizona, and Baltimore. The one move I would like to see from the receivers is switching up who lines up where. Put Amari Cooper into the slot with Lamb going to the outside. Make an opposing defense adjust to what you do, just as the running game has been far too predictable, so has the passing game. In the end, though all I care about is seeing Dallas score more than the No-Name team. The time to worry about style points is over. Save that stuff for the first 13 games, come December it’s time for winning in any manner possible. Did the Buccanneers offense look all-powerful in last year’s playoffs? Not at all, remember how many turnovers they had vs Green Bay? The same has applied over the years with the Giants teams that beat the Patriots twice, the Ravens offenses weren’t scary and so many other teams over the years that have ended up with the Lombardi Trophy. Playoff football is about key plays at key moments. I’ll take the W’s and keep moving forward. For those who are deep into the numbers, the Dallas offense is currently 8th in DVOA rankings.
Washington Offense vs Dallas Defense
Well no sacks, no big splash plays from Micah Parsons, just another solid game though. The guy who shined against the Giants was Demarcus Lawrence instead. As I said when returned to the lineup Lawrence is lining up inside more often and causing absolute havoc. Yes, Lawrence comes with a heavy price tag and while he doesn’t get the sacks a $20 million defensive end should have, his value in other aspects is invaluable. Then add in the 10th interception of the season from Trevon Diggs, along with Malik Hooker who has found his groove getting his first interception. The Giants outside of a couple of first-half runs for Barkley couldn’t establish a ground game, and Mike Glennon was under enough pressure that he made mistakes in the passing game. For the “Offense Only,” folks that meant Dak and the offense operated on a shorter field kinda helps explain why he didn’t have 300 passing yards. Most likely Taylor Heinicke should be back under center for the No-Name offense Sunday night. What cannot happen again is the foot off the gas mentality from two weeks ago. The No-Name offense was allowed to move the ball at will in the second half of the first meeting. Not this week, Dan Quinn must have this group attack for 60 minutes. My disdain for the prevent defense is well known, again save that nonsense for the earlier part of the season. With a primetime audience, it’s time to show the last team that people think will be a test for the Cowboys in the Arizona Cardinals, your visit to Dallas in another week’s time won’t be pleasant. The Cowboys’ defense just being middle of the road was the goal after last year’s disaster. They’ve far exceeded expectations and according to the new standard of DVOA being used to measure things rank third in the league. Playing like it is what is needed Sunday night.
Intangibles and Prediction
Well, the No Name team played copycat this week and have gotten new benches from the same Ohio company that provided the Cowboys benches used in Washington two weeks ago. What did they forget about? AT&T Stadium is a climate-controlled environment, unlike Fex-Ed Field. One thing I am happy about is the mentality, especially from the defense. Asked after the Giants game about where they stand both the players and Dan Quinn are clearly not satisfied. “When you win a championship, then you can be called a championship defense,” Jayron Kearse and that sentiment was echoed by others. Quinn stated “We can be better,” pointed out three missed tackles as evidence. That’s right folks just three missed tackles and they are focused on getting better. Now for the panicking folks about the offense, at home, the Cowboys are at a 78% red-zone efficiency rate which is top five in the league versus their 28th ranking on the road. Why do I mention this? Because the bye and the top-seed are still up for grabs in the NFC. Win out and get one loss for the current top-seeded Packers, and the Cowboys will play at home. Like the Giants this No Name team is beat up while the Cowboys are much healthier than they’ve been all year. With a national primetime audience this is the opportunity to shut some people up, not just in Cowboys Nation, but in the national media as well. One example of this is failed quarterback Dan Orlovsky who said the Cowboys really miss Blake Jarwin’s blocking abilities. Say what? Jarwin is in reality one of the worst blocking tight ends in the league when healthy. Really all of these networks shows that feed the narratives “fans,” have on social media need to come with a warning before they air. “The following program is for entertainment purposes only,” because the “takes,” these guys have been so often skewed to cause exactly what we are seeing. Casual fans who only understand the game at a rudimentary level. As I mentioned above there’s been plenty of teams including the defending champions who won Super Bowls because of their defenses. Even add in the Chiefs of two years ago who rode a hot defense that was doing what again? Oh yeah getting timely turnovers and being opportunistic into winning the Lombardi Trophy. As for a score Sunday night, I think the Cowboys will have a better offensive effort, along with facing a short-handed team who only has 4 days’ rest, I see the Cowboys winning 33-13.
We have a bench update! #WashingtonFootball reached out to @DragonSeats on Monday following the Dallas game and are planning to use them for the rest of the season, in Philly, in Dallas, in New York pic.twitter.com/H8IEJZS5Ke
— Mitchell Tischler (@Mitch_Tischler) December 21, 2021
As always you can find me on Twitter @GregCowboys and may you all have a Happy Holiday season.
