The Dallas Cowboys have found their way into the post-season for a third consecutive season. With the playoffs looming, the Cowboys are staring down the two seeds with just three regular-season games to go. After an embarrassing loss in Buffalo, the Cowboy’s defense is looking to get back on track and end the year strong. The last stretch of games has massive playoff implications for Dallas. Staying afloat these last few weeks will prove vital for NFC playoff seeding.
Excellent mid-season adjustments from head coach, Mike McCarthy completely turned around the Cowboys staggering red zone offense. On the other side of the ball, the defense has gotten exposed by the top offenses in the league. This has raised questions surrounding Dallas’s ability to beat top teams, which seems accurately warranted at the moment. The Cowboys are seriously missing Trevon Diggs right now, creating issues for all three levels of their defense. With this, here are the three keys to a defensive turnaround in Dallas come January.
3 Keys to Defensive Success in Dallas
Stopping the Run
It’s no secret that the way to beat the Dallas Cowboys is to run, run, run. Their run defense let up 266 yards on the ground against Buffalo, who only threw the ball seven times all game. A playoff performance like this will send the Cowboys home early, and now other teams know this is how you beat them.
Unfortunately, 2023 first-round pick Mazi Smith has not lived up to expectations as of yet, who was supposed to be their 330-pound run-stuffer. The Cowboys have suffered from this, which is why they must make personnel adjustments to soften the blows they take on the ground. Occasionally moving Micah Parsons back to his college position as Linebacker could help a lot of the issues they face against the run. Their current linebackers are not cutting it. It has created a blueprint for teams to use against Dallas on the ground.
Making up for Diggs Injury
The Trevon Diggs injury hurts the Cowboy’s defense, and their cornerbacks are going to have to come up big during his absence. Their current cornerback: Daron Bland, has been a good replacement piece for Diggs. Bland shares similar flaws as Trevon Diggs, who are both susceptible to getting burned downfield. He’ll need more than just good ball-hawking skills to be a successful cornerback in this league. Dan Quinn asks a lot of his defense, deploying one of the most man-heavy coverages in the league. For Dallas’s defense to reach its full potential, Daron Bland must come up big for them when it matters.
Dealing with Motion
The top offenses in the league have adopted motion into their offense, creating mismatches and confusion for opposing defenses. The Dallas Cowboys rank as one of the worst teams against the motion, partially why they struggled so much against San Fransisco earlier this year. The three teams utilizing the most motion: San Fransico, Miami, and Kansas City, are all Super Bowl contenders this year. For the Cowboys to reach similar heights, they are going to have to figure out how to stop this form of offense fast. The pre-snap movement throws Dallas in a loop. They will need to figure out how to stop it fast if they want to represent the NFC in Super Bowl Fifty-Eight.
Main Photo: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
