The Cowboys defense must prevent another perfect completion game for Jared Goff. In the Lions game against the Seahawks, Goff threw for a perfect 18/18, giving the Lions their third win. Since then, he’s had a BYE week of rest and now faces the Cowboys at their place in Week 6. There are a few strategies the Cowboys can take from the Seattle game to stop Goff in his tracks.
Strategies for the Cowboys Defense to Stop Another Perfect Game from Jared Goff
Goff the Shifty QB
In the game vs. Seattle, Goff was hard to bring down. Several times, he would duck under a defensive player, pivot just slightly to avoid the sack, and throw the ball down the field. This creates a challenge since the Cowboys have struggled with tackling in the past few games. Pressure didn’t work super well for the Seahawks defense either. Sure, they were able to get 3 sacks on Goff, but it didn’t diminish his passing percentage.
So increasing the pressure might not produce anything different for the Cowboys. And with the injuries the Cowboys are currently facing on defense, pressure wasn’t much of an option anyway. What they need to do instead is focus on cutting off the angle for Goff and reduce his options.
Cutting Off the Escape Route for Goff
Whenever Goff is under tight pressure, or when he’s struggling to find a man downfield, his go-to is to turn to his flat route and get a quick pass off. The Cowboys defense needs to cut this off. In order to do that, they won’t want to put so much pressure on Goff and should focus on having their linebackers watch for this short route.
Although it doesn’t seem intimidating at first, these routes tend to pick up tons of yardage downfield because they’re forgotten about. So much focus is on Goff. Shutting this down for Goff allows the Cowboys to turn their attention downfield.
Corners Have the Biggest Job on Cowboys Defense
Another huge problem is going to be consistent, downfield ball. The Cowboys have some solid corners, and there will be some returning faces in this upcoming game. There’s a good chance that the pick-6 record holder, DaRon Bland, could return from injury. He’s been a full participant in practice Wednesday and Thursday so it’s highly likely.
Even if he isn’t, rookie Caelen Carson is likely to be back from injury too. Carson was also a full participant in practice on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, according to the Cowboys injury report. This could be huge for the Cowboys production downfield. Jourdan Lewis and Trevon Diggs have already been playing such good football. Stopping Amon-Ra St. Brown will require everyone to be anticipatory instead of reactive.
But ironically, St. Brown isn’t the Lions top receiver right now–Jameson Williams is. So double coverage on St. Brown won’t solve the problem. The corners will have to play their most aggressive game yet to force incompletions for the Lions offense.
Cowboys Defense with a Chance to Make a Close Game
Goff and the Lions haven’t been blowing out other teams. In fact, besides the Seattle game, all of the games for the Lions have been within one score. The Cowboys are hungry for their first win at home. And beating the Lions on defense could be their way to get there.
Main Image: Barry Reeger – USA Today Sports
