Film study: Three areas Cowboys must improve to become elite
The Dallas Cowboys have their eyes on a deep playoff run.
So far this season, the Cowboys have stood toe to toe with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, beat the Los Angeles Chargers, handled the New England Patriots in overtime and completely dismantled the Atlanta Falcons. The Dallas offense has shown Super Bowl potential at times this season, even beating the Minnesota Vikings without starting quarterback Dak Prescott. But the Cowboys defense has shown lapses that potentially could haunt the team in the playoffs.
Let’s analyze three areas Dallas needs to clean up on defense if it expects to make legitimate noise in the postseason.
Defending the run
When diving into the game film, it becomes apparent that the Dallas run defense has issues getting key stops at times.
It is worrisome that the Cowboys rank fifth in the NFL in rushing first downs allowed and 11th in missed tackles, according to Pro Football Reference. Teams are recognizing this, as only six teams have faced more run attempts this season.
In the fourth quarter against the Patriots, the Cowboys defense allowed a 13-play touchdown drive with eight running plays. Against the Falcons, the Cowboys loaded the box much of the game but still allowed 103 yards on the ground.
At times, Dallas defenders appear to inadvertently take themselves out of plays. In the clip below, the two defensive linemen penetrate the A gap. This works great against the pass when performing a stunt — but it works against the defense when it comes to defending a zone-blocking run play.
With a stretch run to the left side of the defense, the two defenders in the middle are blocked by one offensive lineman. Then that same lineman is able to get to the second level and help to open a huge running lane for running back Cordarrelle Patterson.
The week before, the Denver Broncos rolled up a whopping 211 rushing yards against the Cowboys. In that game, if it wasn’t defensive linemen blocking themselves out of plays, it was the linebackers. In the screenshot below, linebacker Keanu Neal seems to be reading pass all the way.
It’s a mistake Neal has made too often this season. There are several reasons why this hurts the defense, and we will touch on this later in the article.
Misdirection
Teams have been having a lot of success running misdirection paired with zone-blocking run plays against the Cowboys defense. Often, it seems as if the defensive linemen take themselves out of the play, or the linebackers fail to step up and instead get blocked easily.
That is what happened against the Patriots in the clip below.
Sometimes, teams will motion a player across the line of scrimmage to seal off a penetrating defensive player, and this motion can cause defenders to freeze in response to the misdirection.
The Cowboys defense faced this strategy often against the Broncos and Vikings. This leaves the tailback with a one-on-one matchup — and with backs such as Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon, it can be devastating.
The Vikings used motion to create an uneven matchup for tailback Dalvin Cook. Even a slight shift is all it takes for a back who can get skinny to gain a few yards each play.
Although most of these runs aren’t resulting in big gains, the tactic forces the Cowboys defense to honor both the run and the pass.
Protecting the middle of the field
The worst part about allowing the run to flourish is the impact it can have on the passing game. Play-action will force every level of the defense to overcompensate for the run, which will reveal holes within the defense.
Check out how this leaves the middle of the field wide open in the clip below.
To prevent over-the-top throws, Dallas’ linebackers sometimes have a tendency to drop back to their spots a little bit too quickly. That leaves a huge hole in the defense.
The Cowboys often disguise their looks at the line of scrimmage, lining up with loaded boxes but only bringing four in pressure as the other defenders drop back into their spots. This leaves underneath routes wide open, and Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was able to exploit the zone before the defense had a chance to read the play in the clip below.
When looking back at the Cowboys’ games so far this season, opposing offenses seem to be doing most of their damage in the passing game with bootlegs, floods and seam routes.
If the Dallas defense can run effective man coverage and clean up the miscommunication, there is no reason why the Cowboys can’t make a deep playoff run.
Teams such as Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers likely will present the toughest potential playoff matchups for Dallas because they possess above-average passing and running games.
This week’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs will be a big test for the Dallas passing defense to see if it can make stops on key downs when they need it.
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