Dallas is tied for 6th in points allowed

[MarionBarberThe4th]

Yea true everyone talks about TOP but what is our opponents average starting field position? Seems our offense is pretty good about not punting the ball from out of their own end zone

We've been moving the chains so well offensively that we haven't been punting from deep in our own end of the field.

They haven't even had to punt from deep inside their own territory Bc the offense is constantly moving the chains

 

[KJJ]

They haven't even had to punt from deep inside their own territory Bc the offense is constantly moving the chains

Another thing that's helped the defense is Dak isn't turning the ball over. Having to defend turnovers/short fields would be our undoing.

 

[J_Allen]

Another thing that's helped the defense is Dak isn't turning the ball over. Having to defend turnovers/short fields would be our undoing.

We'd be screwed. Two quick plays.

Another thing we need to work on is 3rd and long. Just stop them and get off the field.

 

[SDCowboy]

Our offense is the best at not letting the other team's offense on the field. I don't attribute much of the lack of points allowed to our defense.

 

[KJJ]

We'd be screwed. Two quick plays.

Another thing we need to work on is 3rd and long. Just stop them and get off the field.

You need a pass rush on 3rd and long.

 

[J_Allen]

You need a pass rush on 3rd and long.

We knew that going in and did next to nothing to fix it. Very frustrating.

 

[links18]

We knew that going in and did next to nothing to fix it. Very frustrating.

Probably didn't expect to be 10-1 with a Super Bowl there for the taking.

 

[AdamJT13]

Yeah, for sure. But this is more of the same. In essence, you counter concern about the D with confidence in what the O can accomplish.

It's about the combination of our offense and our defense being better than anyone else's combination of offense and defense -- at least in the NFC.

 

[Cowboy4ever]

I guess the concern is that there's a feeling the D has been doing it with smoke and mirrors and that they'll be exposed by the better teams we face in the playoffs.

I have heard that as well. But by the end of the year, there will only be 2 possible playoff teams in the NFC that we haven't played already, Seattle and Atlanta. We would have faced and beaten (hopefully) the other playoff teams in the NFC. These teams are not going to be all of a sudden better in the play offs. We would have already faced Washington and NY 2 times each, played DET and Vikings and hopefully beat them. So we will see how things turn out but I don't think teams will all of sudden start taking advantage of a weak D just because it's the playoffs.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

That's not the best stat to look at. Our defense is in the middle of the pack (we'll be somewhere between 15th and 19th after this week) in points allowed per drive.

Our ball-control offense limits the number of defensive drives. However, it limits our number of offensive drives by exactly the same amount.

Middle of the pack is still better than what our raw yardage numbers would suggest, but we're not as good on defense as the points per game numbers would suggest.

I'm not convinced it's sustainable, but you never know. Never expected us to be so competitive this year anyway, so it's all gravy at this point.

Great post.

 

[Sydla]

Seattle sucks on the road and their Oline stinks.

We don't have a great DL that can take advantage of an average OL.

Further, playing in Dallas isn't exactly a tough place to play for a road team. But yes, I'd prefer playing them here than up there.

But if people think Seattle isn't good enough to beat us, they are just sipping a bit too much of the kool aid at this point.

 

[Bowdown27]

Our defense hasn't given up a hundred yard rusher yet. But we still don't get sacks or turnovers. December and January we need to change that

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

It's about the combination of our offense and our defense being better than anyone else's combination of offense and defense -- at least in the NFC.

Yep. And the Cowboys are first in PPD differential, which is maybe the best way of measuring that combination.

We are putting a lot of pressure on the O to essentially carry the D, however. It's clearly the O doing most of the heavy lifting in our PPD differential. If the O falters at some point in the playoffs, giving us less than its average points per drive while the defence maintains its average, will it therefore be fair and accurate to say that the O let us down and the D gave us what we expected all along? I think it's fair to say that our D would be what cost us in that scenario, by leaving the O so little room for a bad day.

 

[KJJ]

We knew that going in and did next to nothing to fix it. Very frustrating.

A pass rusher was clearly our #1 need entering the draft but our first pick didn't fall in favor of taking one at that spot, although we got a GREAT player in Zeke. What upsets me is not taking a healthy defensive player with our second pick. It's gambling our second round picks on injured players and those with issues that's resulted in not landing many good defensive players. Our last two second round defensive picks are not playing. We wasted a #2 on Escobar 3 years ago instead of drafting a defensive player who could help us.

 

[KJJ]

Where is the Aaron Rodgers this year?

What QB has the skills to really throw all over us and score TDs instead of FG's?

Where have you been? We just faced a QB in our own division that put up 449 yards and 3 TD's which is usually enough to get you beat but our offense was able to overcome it by scoring 31 points and moving the chains in some critical situations with time running down. Eli put up 3 TD's on us in the opener and our defense was as healthy as it's been all year. We're 30th against the pass which means we're being thrown on. Matt Ryan and Julio Jones are more than capable of torching us in the playoffs for a number of TD's. We couldn't hold them down last season despite being ranked 5th against the pass which was one of our best pass defense rankings in years.

 

[Verdict]

So those teams that are going to expose us.... What are they going to do defensively? Shut down something they are not built to stop?

The teams that are the most well balanced are in the AFC in my opinion.

I am not taking issue with what you are saying, because it is true. But what you are saying also assumes that Dallas won't have a bad game offensively. A turnover here or there, or a bad call (Dez catch--cough) and we could really be behind the 8 ball with this defense.

We will play with the cards we are dealt and hope it is good enough. Cross your fingers.

 

[windjc]

I am not taking issue with what you are saying, because it is true. But what you are saying also assumes that Dallas won't have a bad game offensively. A turnover here or there, or a bad call (Dez catch--cough) and we could really be behind the 8 ball with this defense.

We will play with the cards we are dealt and hope it is good enough. Cross your fingers.

What happens if our defense gets a turnover or two? I'd say that is more likely (since we are +3 atm) than us turning the ball over.

 

[Verdict]

A pass rusher was clearly our #1 need entering the draft but our first pick didn't fall in favor of taking one at that spot, although we got a GREAT player in Zeke. What upsets me is not taking a healthy defensive player with our second pick. It's gambling our second round picks on injured players and those with issues that's resulted in not landing many good defensive players. Our last two second round defensive picks are not playing. We wasted a #2 on Escobar 3 years ago instead of drafting a defensive player who could help us.

I hear what you are saying, but the draft didn't fall that way for us, so we took a calculated risk. If Jaylon is healthy next year, and returns to form, it will likely have been a good risk.

Spence was available when we drafted, but apparently he had his own set of issues causing us to pass on him. All players carry some degree of risk/reward. You just have to make the best decision you can based on the circumstances and go with what you think is the best balance of risk and reward.

 

[Verdict]

What happens if our defense gets a turnover or two? I'd say that is more likely (since we are +3 atm) than us turning the ball over.

Well, we would likely win. But that's not the risk. The risk is the one game when we have a bad match up, or someone gets hurt, or we turn the ball over a time or two. This isn't an exact science. A lot of different factors can change the result of a game. (See Green Bay 2014).

 

[CooterBrown]

Eventually passing yards will lead to points, we saw that on Washington's last three drives where they scored 3 TD's. Although we stopped them early in the game we couldn't stop them when the game was on the line ......

One of Washington's TDs was because of a rookie mistake (Brown) and the other was a team playing with a two score lead. The goal on Washington's last possession was not to keep them from scoring, but to make them use a lot of time doing it. And, that strategy worked out fine. A win is a win. When you have a ball control offense, the clock is your friend on defense.