It’s no secret the Dallas Cowboys defense is struggling this year. But can it have a bounce back performance against a struggling J.J. McCarthy, quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings?

As long as defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus’ unit can do one simple thing they haven’t been doing lately, it should. The only problem is, in the last couple of games, it has been an issue. I’m talking about tackling in open space, which should be a major storyline come Sunday night.

Cowboys defense absolutely needs to tackle well

Here’s the thing: The Cowboys started playing with five-man defensive fronts as much as possible in an attempt to stop the run and create one-on-ones when rushing the passer. It worked. The run defense is no longer bleeding out on a weekly basis and Dallas has improved—not nearly enough—in making opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable.

But one trend has emerged in their last couple of games: Both the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions were able to feast on yards after the catch by targeting underneath areas of the defense and daring the Cowboys to make tackles. Last Thursday night, cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. and safety Donovan Wilson missed two tackles apiece. DaRon Bland and Caelen Carson combined for two missed tackles.

Over the last two weeks, 59% of the passing yards the Cowboys have given up have come after the catch. For context, the Cowboys have only gotten 44% of their passing yards after the catch in that same span. And according to A to Z Sports Minnesota’s Tyler Forness, the Vikings will be fishing for YAC on Sunday.

McCarthy to try to capitalize on Cowboys’ weakness

“The passing game is such an interesting dynamic,” said Forness about the Vikings’ offensive woes. “J.J. McCarthy has been incredibly inconsistent this season, and last week saw him put together his first complete game as an NFL player. It wasn’t a great statistical game, but his EPA/play was a whopping 0.39, which is far and away his highest in his seven NFL starts.

“Where the Vikings’ passing offense is right now is a fascinating topic. They aren’t doing a ton of different things than last season with Sam Darnold, but it is different because Darnold was a psychopath (complimentary) about chasing deep shots and had his mechanics down. McCarthy isn’t there on either level. He will pass up throws that Darnold completed for 30 yards last season to hit T.J. Hockenson on a shorter concept. The deep shots will come with time, and that can’t come soon enough for Addison and Jefferson. Until then, watch for corner routes, deep outs, and short throws to give them YAC opportunities.”

Jefferson and Addison aren’t easy players to tackle. Eberflus will need to have his players ready to go for primetime, and for the secondary, that doesn’t mean covering alone, but also tackling.

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