How do you feel about the Cowboys defense right now?
It’s the busy portion of the season for the Dallas Cowboys and this is the second game they play in a ten day period. This weekend they take on the Washington Commanders which sees the return of Dan Quinn and many ex-Cowboys players. So how do both offense’s between these two teams stack up? Let’s take a look.
QUARTERBACK
Cooper Rush/Trey Lance
vs.
Jayden Daniels
Rush managed to throw for over 350 yards against Houston and he’s been the only player against Houston to throw for more than 250 yards this year. The sad part is for all that throwing, Dallas scored only ten points. Rush did have a costly interception right after Malik Hooker made an interception for Dallas, but he was asked to throw the ball 55 times last week – that’s insane. Without balance and with one-dimensional play-calling, this offense is doomed and the outlook does not look bright.
Daniels came storming out the gate this season and the rookie quarterback took to the league like a duck to water. Among the rookie quarterbacks, Daniels is the most productive and ranks 11th in passer rating. He’s thrown for ten passing touchdowns but has shown good decision-making and mobility by adding four rushing touchdowns this year and throwing only three interceptions. One point to note, however, in the last three weeks his production has dropped. He’s had three touchdowns to one interception and failed to eclipse 210 passing yards in a game in their last three games.
Conclusion:
The Commander defense is allowing the fifth-fewest passing yards, but they have allowed 17 passing touchdowns. The team’s 101.2 passer rating allowed is only a smidge better than Dallas.
Win: Commanders
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
RUNNING BACK
Rico Dowdle/Ezekiel Elliott
vs.
Brian Robinson Jr/Austin Ekler
Dowdle never really had much chance to get into a rhythm last week with Mike McCarthy calling up so many passing plays. He had ten attempts for 28 yards and Zeke got his solo rush attempt near the end of the game. This rushing attack lacks flair and poses very little threat to opposing defenses at the moment.
Robinson has rushed for 524 yards this year which ranks 26th. What is impressive is his seven touchdowns which is the fifth-most among running backs this year. Adding to his production is Ekler who has four touchdowns, but it’s his ability in the passing game that makes Ekler such a tricky player to defend. Also adding to the teams rushing is Daniels who is second on the team in rushing yards and also has four rushing touchdowns.
Conclusion:
Washington rank sixth in rush-yards per game and scored the most rushing touchdowns this year. Going up against a Cowboys defense that is allowing the second-most rush yards and most rushing touchdowns is a significant advantage this week.
Win: Commanders
Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
WIDE RECEIVERS
CeeDee Lamb/Jalen lbert/KaVontae Turpin
vs.
Terry McLaurin/Noah Brown/Olamide Zaccheaus
CeeDee Lamb led the team last week in receiving with eight catches for 93 yards, but that was nothing compared to watching KaVontae Turpin’s amazing 64-yard touchdown. Turpin’s insanely quick release and top-end speed was on full display on the play, but the unfortunate part is he was not targeted again until the team’s final drive at the end of the game. Jalen Tolbert had two catches and dropped one crucial pass, but this entire offense is lacking consistency anywhere.
McLaurin leads the team in receiving but last week against the Philadelphia Eagles he managed only one catch for ten yards. “Scary Terry” has 721 receiving yards this season which is seventh-most among receivers and his six touchdowns are fourth-most. Ekler is the team’s YAC monster and is 392 YAC-yards are sixth-most in the league, proving he’s still a capable and dangerous playmaker when given the chance. It’s another return this week with Noah Brown looking to face his old team he was a part of for five years. He managed four yards last week on one catch and has 355 receiving yards this year.
Conclusion:
Although Dallas has better stats this season than Washington in receiving, that has changed since Dak Prescott went to injured reserve. Lamb is the clear winner at WR1 between the two teams and both Tolbert and Turpin have out produced their Washington counterparts, the problem here is the quarterback position. While Washington enjoys having their starting quarterback at the helm, Dallas is limping in with a backup quarterback who may not last the entire game.
Win: Commanders
Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images
TIGHT END
Jake Ferguson
vs.
Zach Ertz
Jake Ferguson left the game at halftime and was evaluated for a concussion. He failed to return and is now in concussion protocol so keep an eye on the news with him this week. Luke Schoonmaker had six receptions off 10 targets and Brevyn Spann-Ford had four receptions. Both combined for 98 receiving yards.
Ertz is second on the team in receiving yards and receptions and has scored two touchdowns. His 428 receiving yards is ninth-most among tight ends.
Conclusion:
Ertz has more yards and touchdowns than Ferguson, and we don’t even know if Ferguson will play this week.
Win: Commanders
Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images
OFFENSIVE LINE
The Cowboys offensive line started dropping like flies last week. First Tyler Guyton left the field with a shoulder injury, next Zack Martin was slow to get up and walked gingerly back to the locker room, then Tyler Smith went down and left the field. Keep an eye on all three players this week, we could be seeing backups on the offensive line for Dallas. The Commanders are fifth in sacks on defense, something to be expected with Dan Quinn as head coach, and facing a broken offensive line could spell a disaster for this Cowboys offense.
For Washington, having such a young and elusive quarterback has helped reduce the sack rate and the team ranks eighth-best in sacks allowed and have allowed the ninth-fewest pressures. Their line has remained relatively healthy this year which has helped with the lines chemistry and cohesion.
This offensive line does have a huge weakness though, and that’s in its run blocking. As mentioned above, Daniels ability to escape pressure has helped the line is pass blocking, but the run blocking has shown to be ineffective for the most part. This makes what the running backs have done more impressive.
Win: Commanders