Cowboys: Dan Quinn could be the Grinch who stole Christmas from Tyreek Hill
Dallas Cowboys fans are reasonably frustrated with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn after the recent collapse in Buffalo. Quinn failed to adjust while the Bills clearly did when they found out they could punish the Cowboys' porous run defense. Even Josh Allen admitted postgame that it wasn't their plan to run as much as they did […]
Dallas Cowboys fans are reasonably frustrated with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn after the recent collapse in Buffalo.
Quinn failed to adjust while the Bills clearly did when they found out they could punish the Cowboys' porous run defense. Even Josh Allen admitted postgame that it wasn't their plan to run as much as they did with James Cook on Sunday. But when they kept moving the chains with simple runs, they figured, why not keep at it?
Meanwhile, the Cowboys insisted on not loading the box, and the story simply never changed in Week 15.
Now, Dan Quinn has a chance to make it right. And in the process, he could take the form of the very Grinch while straight up stealing Christmas from Tyreek Hill.
You see, the Dolphins might raise significant concerns with their own rushing offense, which is one of the most creative and dynamic ones in the entire NFL. Head coach Mike McDaniel is very likely to test Dallas like Buffalo did for as long as possible.
But led by Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle, this is an offense that also wants to get the football to its speedy playmakers on the boundary. And against a defense that plays man coverage at one of the highest rates in the league? You know it's happening.
And here's the thing: Hill is chasing NFL history! Since the preseason, he warned the NFL world he was chasing a mark no one's ever reached: 2,000 receiving yards.
While some shrugged it off, Hill was very much on track to reach the milestone before going down injured in Week 14 on Monday Night Football. He also missed Week 15 against the New York Jets. Now, he needs elite performances the rest of the way and with a good game, the Cowboys defense could put his dreams to an end.
A to Z Sports' Dolphins beat writer Craig Smith did the math and found that Hill needs to average 152.7 receiving yards per game over the last three weeks of the season for the historic milestone. Before you say it's a done deal, you just can't dismiss Tyreek. Consider Craig's breakdown:
That's a pretty tall task for anyone in the NFL. But Hill isn't just anyone. He's capable of ripping off run to the end zone from any spot on the field against any defense. He's broken 153 receiving yards in a game 5 times this year and had 146 in another. It will take three of those performances in back-to-back-to-back games to pull this off.
Hill, who returned to practice on Thursday, is trending toward playing against the Cowboys. And listen, there's no wideout like Tyreek in the NFL. There's just not. There's no blueprint to slow him down. Teams have tried the bump-and-run on him, brackets with cushion, zone coverage, man coverage, the dude beats it all.
Sure, he's been slowed down here and there, but there's no secret recipe to getting it done. Here's what we do know, though: The Cowboys play a heavy dose of man coverage and that's not worked out great against Hill. It's likely not to work in this as Stephon Gilmore and DaRon Bland, who have played great coverage overall, do not have that kind of speed.
Not to mention, playing man in the backend could hurt the team's chances of stopping the run, with defensive backs consistently turning their back to the offense.
It's crystal clear Quinn will need to come up with a creative solution if he's to steal Christmas away from Hill while simultaneously stopping the rest of the talented Dolphins offense.
If he manages to do it, he'll receive very different treatment than the Grinch from Cowboys Nation.
Cowboys can thank NFL for upcoming blessing in disguise vs. Dolphins
Exactly what they need.