NFL
By: Greg Rector
Dallas Cowboys (11-4) at Tennessee Titans (7-8)
Thursday, December 29th Nissan Stadium 8:15 PM
Amazon Prime
Dallas Cowboys fans had themselves a” Merry Little Christmas” present on Christmas Eve as they won a hard-fought back-and-forth battle against the division-leading Philadelphia Eagles 40-34 the identical score to the loss to Jacksonville the week before. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Titans are in free fall after losing their 5th straight game the latest loss was to the team with the NFL’s worst record the Houston Texans 19 -14. Let’s look at this Week 17 contest.
Dallas Offense vs Titans Defense
Despite all the issues with Dak Prescott’s interceptions, the usage split between Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, the receivers not being on the same page as the quarterback, and not getting open enough, and all those other concerns, this Dallas Cowboys offense is now the third overall ranked offense in the NFL. You all know me well enough to know that the final results are what I focus on. Sure I get just as frustrated and angry as any fan, but as I have said before resiliency is something I appreciate and something with the Cowboys’ that has been missing in action far too often. The Titan’s defense has been good but the struggles offensively have been on the field way too much and as fans know, that’s a recipe for disaster. The Cowboys’ offense got a boost with TY Hilton making his debut, while it was only one catch for 52 yards it was a deep ball moment that this offense has not had in its arsenal this season. Dallas used the passing game to beat the Eagles’ and considering the Titans’ pass defense is near the bottom of the league I expect to see the Cowboys move the ball through the air as the Titans are pretty stingy against the run. Having Hilton as a vertical threat as it did against the Eagles’ should help Ceedee Lamb, Michael Gallup, Dalton Schultz, and the rest of the receivers get open. After the disastrous early interception against Philadelphia, Dak Prescott went on a surgical strike mission and was highly effective the rest of the game. That’s the resiliency needed to succeed in the NFL. Hopefully, the weather will not be a factor as it was all over the league this past week. It would be nice to see a game without an interception. While the Titans have been good against the run, a balanced effort will keep the Titans honest and should help the passing game if Elliott and Pollard make enough key plays and keep the chains moving the Cowboys should have the edge against Tennessee. The Titans’ defense as I said has been on the field way too much and the Cowboys must keep that trend going Thursday night.
Titans Offense vs Cowboys Defense
His name is Derrick Henry, and he is the focal point for the Titans’ offense. With Ryan Tannehill’s season over rookie Malik Willis who has been made the starting quarterback out of necessity has struggled as many rookies do. For all those folks who attacked me in the last draft process and were all a flutter over what Willis could be in the NFL all I can say is the two words made famous by Degeneration X in the WWE. Despite having requisite “tools” especially as a running quarterback Willis is simply overmatched facing real NFL defenses. The Titans’ only hope offensively is Henry. Because the passing game is simply putrid, the Titans have to rely upon the powerful Henry to break tackles and make enough yards to keep them in games. This should be a week where the Cowboys’ defense doesn’t need to gamble and doesn’t need to make spectacular plays, especially in the secondary (That’s for you Trevon Diggs) stop the running game and you take away the one weapon this Tennessee offense has. Even with Tannehill at quarterback, the Titans’ passing game didn’t scare anyone. Willis has only been able to pass for 276 yards and has no touchdowns but three interceptions. Even as a rusher Willis has not been able to do much at all. So the Cowboys’ defense has a simple task Thursday night, swallow up Derrick Henry as often as possible. They have been much better lately at containing running backs. Miles Sanders was limited to 65 yards and just 3.1 yards per rush. Now to completely stop Henry is no small feat as he showed against the Texans when he had a 48-yard TD run. Limit what he can do and get the ball back into the hands of the offense. This might be the simplest game plan required all season. The Titans’ offensive line has been nowhere near as good as in years past. Every aspect of the offense has been horrific the last three weeks and Dallas with all their speed simply need to stay in their lanes up front and stick with the Titan’s receivers who are definitely unable to separate from defenders (Yes, much worse than the Cowboys’ have been), in order to have a good Thursday night.
Prediction
The one thing that cannot happen is having a letdown after getting the win against the team with the league’s best record. The struggles against Jacksonville and Houston attest to the Cowboys’ tendency to do just that. Don’t let that happen and this game should be a relatively easy task. The Titans’ are overmatched and Dallas as they failed to do against the Texans must come out and bury the Titans as early as possible. Many of the Titans know they are playing for their football lives, they aren’t going roll over and play dead. Respect them but go out and prove that as Dallas Cowboys you are the better team. Avoid the mistakes, get out of Nashville healthy and be ready to face the Commanders to end the regular season. I have the Cowboys winning 31-13. Just as Christmas Day was a good one, the end of 2022 and the start of 2023 should be a celebration for Cowboys fans. Happy New Year!!!
As always you can find me on Twitter @GregCowboys
