Eagles’ mistake vs Cowboys makes it obvious where NFL opponents will try to beat Dallas moving forward
The Cowboys defense will be put to the test by the Chiefs.
The Dallas Cowboys pulled off the upset against the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday but at 5-5-1 and on a short week, there’s little time to celebrate. Up next are the desperate Kansas City Chiefs, who are trying to stack wins following an overtime victory against the Indianapolis Colts.
Once again, the Cowboys are home underdogs. Can they shock the NFL world in back-to-back weeks by beating the two teams who battled it out in the latest Super Bowl? We’ll see. But to do so, they need to be ready for what will likely be an emphasis on the Chiefs’ game plan on Thanksgiving.
I would expect Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes to be very aggressive throwing the football on early downs, and to understand why, you just need to look at the Eagles’ massive mistake that cost them the game a few days ago.
Eagles admit they didn’t prepare for the Cowboys’ five-man defensive fronts
Shockingly, Eagles left guard Landon Dickerson told reporters postgame his team wasn’t ready for the Cowboys’ defensive looks using five-man fronts. The comments were shocking because it’s been one of the biggest storylines in Dallas all of November. Even before the trade for Quinnen Williams, it became clear defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus was emphasizing the new look.
Against the Las Vegas Raiders—one week before facing the Eagles—it was one of the biggest reasons why the Cowboys held Ashton Jeanty to zero yards before contact. For the Eagles to be taken by surprise by it is a huge indictment on Nick Sirianni’s coaching staff. And they paid the price for it.
Williams, an All-Pro defensive tackle, had a career-high eight pressures. He wrecked the Eagles’ run attempts more than once. A big reason for it was that he was double-teamed at the lowest rate of his career. He got his way thanks to the Cowboys’ five-man fronts.
The Cowboys, however, can’t expect future opponents to make that mistake. Especially because while the five-man looks give Dallas plenty of advantages, it also creates vulnerabilities. Sure, the Cowboys get one-on-one matchups in the run game and pass rush that have created some beneficial chaos for them. But it either gives the defense one fewer player in coverage or it forces the defense to drop an edge rusher into coverage, which is clearly not their specialty.
It’s a trade-off, and one that’s going to be put to the test by the Chiefs on Thanksgiving. Patrick Mahomes could capitalize off of it by being aggressive. After all, Mahomes is one of the best passers in the NFL and is much likelier to sling the football on early downs against these defensive looks to challenge the Cowboys’ secondary, which is the weakest unit on defense right now.
The Eagles passed often on early downs, but that had a lot to do with their inefficiency running the ball. According to RBSDM, the Eagles threw the football on 70% of their early downs. Quarterback pressure didn’t allow them to be successful, however. Mahomes is much better than Jalen Hurts extending plays and finding open receivers down field though, and I would expect him to punish the Cowboys defense for sacrificing coverage players in the backend even when he’s pressured.
The same goes for most opponents moving forward. The Eagles might have been unprepared and unequipped to take advantage of Dallas’ top vulnerability on defense. But the NFL season is a long chess match. Future opponents know about this weakness. Can the Cowboys stay one move ahead?
To do so, one thing is clear: QB pressure needs to be consistently successful.
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