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Who played, and who produced, for the Dallas Cowboys defense? In our weekly look at the snap counts, we’ll evaluate whether Dallas is using it’s players well, and how well each of them is producing.
The Dallas defense was missing Sean Lee in the Cowboys 35-30 loss to the Rams, and it showed.
Defensive Overview
The Cowboys surrendered 412 yards, 168 of them rushing, and 244 net yards passing, 24 first downs, seven field goals, and 35 points. Two turnovers - a muffed punt by Ryan Switzer and a Dak Prescott interception caused when his arm was hit while throwing - were costly, leading directly to 10 Rams points.
The first half wasn’t bad for Dallas, as the offense ran up 287 yards on 34 plays, with the Rams only gaining 131 and 10 first downs. The score was 24-16 at halftime, but could have been better, as the Switzer muff cost Dallas seven of those Rams points.
In the second half, however, repeated five-and-outs by the Dallas offense just wore out the Dallas defense, which allowed Los Angeles to score on five drives in a row, and turn a 24-16 deficit into a 32-24 lead. Then, when Dallas close to within two and missed the conversion, the Rams went 12 plays for 73 yards, burning 5:16 of clock. Todd Gurley carried or was targeted on eight of the 12 plays. Without Sean Lee, the Cowboys couldn’t stop him.
Defensive Line
Player
Pos
Age
Games
Gm1
Gm2
Gm3
Gm4
Total
Season
Percent
Maliek Collins
Maliek Collins
DT
22
4
50
48
60
49
207
283
73%
DeMarcus Lawrence
DeMarcus Lawrence
DE
25
4
34
45
56
48
183
283
65%
Tyrone Crawford
Tyrone Crawford
DE
28
4
23
37
51
40
151
283
53%
Stephen Paea
Stephen Paea
DT
29
4
39
46
31
29
145
283
51%
Benson Mayowa
Benson Mayowa
DE
26
4
29
40
31
35
135
283
48%
Taco Charlton
Taco Charlton
DE
23
4
26
33
20
22
101
283
36%
Brian Price
Brian Price
DT
23
4
10
33
17
21
81
283
29%
Damontre Moore
Damontre Moore
DE
25
2
0
0
26
21
47
283
17%
Charles Tapper
Charles Tapper
DE
24
2
11
25
0
0
36
283
13%
This was a far cry from the sack parade the Cowboys put on against Arizona. The Cowboys got one 11-yard sack - a strip sack by DeMarcus Lawrence (who else?) - but couldn’t recover the fumble. Here is the production.
- DeMarcus Lawrence - three tackles, one assist, one sack for 11 yards, a forced fumble, a tackle for loss and quarterback hit.
- Maliek Collins - two tackles, and a tackle for loss
- Damontre Moore - one tackle, one assist, and a quarterback hit
- Benson Mayowa - one tackle, and a quarterback hit
- Tyrone Crawford - one tackle, a tackle for loss, and a quarterback hit
- Taco Charlton - one assist
- Stephen Paea - one assist
Despite these stats, Pro Football Focus gave Lawrence a poor grade because the Rams and Todd Gurley were able to run over him. This strikes me as more of a linebacker problem.
Linebackers
Player
Pos
Age
Games
Gm1
Gm2
Gm3
Gm4
Total
Season
Percent
Jaylon Smith
Jaylon Smith
LB
22
4
36
68
54
69
227
283
80%
Sean Lee
Sean Lee
LB
31
3
56
77
75
0
208
283
73%
Damien Wilson
Damien Wilson
LB
24
4
17
23
16
27
83
283
29%
Justin Durant
Justin Durant
LB
32
4
2
1
32
48
83
283
29%
Kyle Wilber
Kyle Wilber
LB
28
2
0
3
0
2
5
283
2%
Not having Sean Lee was the story of this game. As a result, Jaylon Smith played every down (69). Justin Durant and Damien Wilson and Kyle Wilber combined for 77 snaps, which tells you that the Cowboys typically played with only two linebackers (or even one) and went nickel or dime most of the time. Production.
- Jaylon Smith - seven tackles, three assists, one quarterback hit
- Justin Durant - three tackles, one assist, one tackle for loss
- Damien Wilson - one tackle, one quarterback hit
That’s lots of tackles for Jaylon, but for whatever it’s worth, Pro Football Focus has him scored at 40.2, which is 72nd for linebackers. It’s pretty clear he’s making the effort, but the results aren’t there yet. The Cowboys need Lee AND Hitchens back.
Secondary
Player
Pos
Age
Games
Gm1
Gm2
Gm3
Gm4
Total
Season
Percent
Anthony Brown
Anthony Brown
CB
24
4
50
77
81
69
277
283
98%
Byron Jones
Byron Jones
S
25
4
56
76
81
61
274
283
97%
Jeff Heath
Jeff Heath
S
26
4
56
77
78
55
266
283
94%
Jourdan Lewis
Jourdan Lewis
CB
22
3
0
65
48
56
169
283
60%
Orlando Scandrick
Orlando Scandrick
CB
30
3
9
0
69
69
147
283
52%
Xavier Woods
Xavier Woods
S
22
3
0
34
43
16
93
283
33%
Nolan Carroll
Nolan Carroll
CB
30
2
56
25
0
0
81
283
29%
Kavon Frazier
Kavon Frazier
S
23
4
18
10
22
22
72
283
25%
Chidobe Awuzie
Chidobe Awuzie
CB
22
2
38
5
0
0
43
283
15%
Anthony Brown moved up to #1 on the snap charts for the season, three snaps ahead of Byron Jones and 11 ahead of Jeff Heath. Jourdan Lewis is now in the fourth spot, despite missing a game. Xavier Woods’ snaps were cut back a lot this week. Production.
- Anthony Brown - five tackles, an assist, a tackle for loss, and a pass defensed.
- Jeff Heath - five tackles, and an assist.
- Byron Jones - five tackles, a tackle for loss, and a pass defensed.
- Orlando Scandrick - three tackles, an assist, and a tackle for loss
- Jourdan Lewis - two tackles, an assist, and a tackle for loss
- Kavon Frazier - one tackle, and two assists
- Xavier Woods - two tackles
According to Pro Football Focus, Anthony Brown was not the problem on defense.
Brown was a blanket in coverage this afternoon, allowing just two catches on six targets for a total of 15 yards. Brown allowed just two total yards after the catch and he also broke up a pass intended for Tyler Higbee; Goff had just a 42.4 passer rating when targeting Brown’s man in coverage on Sunday.
PFF also liked Byron Jones.
Special Teams
This was a terrible week for special teams. You could make the argument that they lost the game. The biggest play was the Ryan Switzer muffed punt, which gave the Rams the ball on the Dallas 18 after they were down 17-6. It allowed them to get their only TD of the first half, and kept the game close enough that field goals (of which the Rams scored seven) could make a difference.
But the Cowboys also allowed the Rams to return a kickoff to the Dallas 35, which set up a field goal in the first half. Without those two plays, it might have taken the Rams out of a balanced offense, and hurt their ability to come back.
Player
Pos
Games
Gm1
Gm2
Gm3
Gm4
Total
Season
Percent
Kyle Wilber
Kyle Wilber
LB
4
19
27
27
29
102
118
86%
Damien Wilson
Damien Wilson
LB
4
19
27
27
29
102
118
86%
Kavon Frazier
Kavon Frazier
S
4
18
19
23
19
79
118
67%
Jeff Heath
Jeff Heath
S
4
17
20
22
20
79
118
67%
Rod Smith
Rod Smith
RB
4
17
19
23
20
79
118
67%
Xavier Woods
Xavier Woods
S
4
13
17
14
20
64
118
54%
Keith Smith
Keith Smith
FB
4
6
19
17
18
60
118
51%
Geoff Swaim
Geoff Swaim
TE
4
12
15
18
14
59
118
50%
Byron Jones
Byron Jones
S
4
14
12
17
16
59
118
50%
Anthony Brown
Anthony Brown
CB
4
11
15
16
17
59
118
50%
James Hanna
James Hanna
TE
4
6
16
11
12
45
118
38%
Ryan Switzer
Ryan Switzer
WR
4
8
10
11
11
40
118
34%
Noah Brown
Noah Brown
WR
3
0
11
6
9
26
118
22%
Damontre Moore
Damontre Moore
DE
2
0
0
10
11
21
118
18%
Ben Benwikere
Ben Benwikere
CB
2
0
0
12
8
20
118
17%
Nolan Carroll
Nolan Carroll
CB
2
13
2
0
0
15
118
13%
Chidobe Awuzie
Chidobe Awuzie
CB
2
13
2
0
0
15
118
13%
Sean Lee
Sean Lee
LB
3
1
8
4
0
13
118
11%
Jourdan Lewis
Jourdan Lewis
CB
2
0
8
1
0
9
118
8%
ConclusionWhere does the Cowboys’ defense go from here? They have Green Bay next week, then a bye. One hopes things will go up, for three reasons.
- Returning players. David Irving is off his suspension this week, Anthony Hitchens should return after the bye, and Sean Lee is expected back this week. Eventually Chidobe Awuzie should be healed as well. That’s three potential starters, and another athletic secondary player.
- Rookie learning curve. This can’t happen fast enough. So far, only Jourdan Lewis has made the jump to a major defensive role. But one might expect Chidobe Awuzie to get more snaps when he’s healthy. Xavier Woods also might play an increased role. Will Taco Charlton have an impact this year? That’s a big question.
- Offensive improvement. When the offense finally finds its ball-control rhythm, it will help the defense.
2016 Defensive Snap Counts
Defensive snaps Game 1 - New York Giants
Defensive snaps Game 2 - At Denver
Defensive snaps Game 3 - At Arizona
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