Our defense in the 5 playoff losses in last decade

[CCBoy]

Better coaches outsmarting ours when it comes to game plan and strategy.

There isn't a lock upon game changes or when...leadership at challenging grows with time together and disciplined team actions. This is growing right now as we learn to focus.

 

[GINeric]

Dak kept putting the D in horrible situations with short fields and repeated turnovers. And for most of those playoff games, he was a highly paid QB. Nah, I'm blaming Dak.

I can't disagree with you too much, but what about the defense giving up scores before our offense touch the field and also the defense getting gashed for major yards on the ground alone?

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the high team penalty count.

 

[Chasing6]

Dak kept putting the D in horrible situations with short fields and repeated turnovers. And for most of those playoff games, he was a highly paid QB. Nah, I'm blaming Dak.

The D kept putting Dak in great position???

 

[gtb1943]

There isn't a lock upon game changes or when...leadership at challenging grows with time together and disciplined team actions. This is growing right now as we learn to focus.

Post this when it actually shows up on the field
until then it is just homeritis

 

[RonnieT24]

Just these 3 stats are mind blowing!

Giving up 31 ppg, 157 yds rushing and allowing 52% 3rd down conversion rate! You can’t beat anybody with that kind of defense!

It's Dak fault.. always is..

Just kiddin.. It annoys me to no end that we lose games playing so poorly on defense and all so many people can talk about is Dak Dak Dak. I know um preaching to the choir but it's a team game. The sooner we grasp that and focus on constructing the team the proper way the better off we'll all be.

 

[5Stars]

It's Dak fault.. always is..

Just kiddin.. It annoys me to no end that we lose games playing so poorly on defense and all so many people can talk about is Dak Dak Dak. I know um preaching to the choir but it's a team game. The sooner we grasp that and focus on constructing the team the proper way the better off we'll all be.

lol...send this to Jerry.

 

[gtb1943]

lol...send this to Jerry.

and get a certified receipt....

 

[jblaze2004]

It's Dak's fault that the defense other than vs the 49ers was trash. And I don't think we did anything to change this. Maybe we are hoping our tackles hold up and we can just outscore opponents.

 

[Pass2Run]

It’s been said many times the Cowboys run super simple schemes and don’t put any wrinkles in. These stats tell me our coaches are failing us with schemes and being ready.

Right.

But with players like Blue, Lamb, Pickens, Tolbert, Williams, Turpin, etcetera, it seems like we should add more WCO wrinkles to make us more effective and explosive.

The offense needs a complete overhaul.

 

[75boyz]

It’s been said many times the Cowboys run super simple schemes and don’t put any wrinkles in. These stats tell me our coaches are failing us with schemes and being ready.

It shouldn't be lost on the masses that continuity, that is to continue the same offense, was a huge reason for the Schotty hire. Heck, they were holding on to re-hire McFraud and the same offense until the 11th hour even.
Yeah, it was all about so Dak doesn't hafta learn a new offense in his year 10.
Dak friendly.

It does no good to either gloss over or ignore this fact as many on this forum seem to be doing. Thinking that Schott is gonna re invent the wheel and be an innovative genius in changing something that's essentially gonna be the same Moore offense.
Along with all of the same old check down principles.
Just being ignorant of this a matter of individual choice/opinion I guess.

Cowboys!

 

[plasticman]

For the last three playoff losses, 2021 to 2023, Micah Parsons has a total of 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 QB hits.

When Micah plays a full season, his productivity declines drastically during the last five regular season games and all but disappears during the playoffs.

This is the result of Micah having to battle double teams in the trenches throughout the season. They need to find a way to either rest him more often or put him on the line less frequently. You want your best players playing their best in the most important games.

 

[doomsday9084]

In the last decade, the Cowboys have played in 7 playoff games, winning 2 and losing 5. The two wins in the last decade were a 2018 wild card win vs Seattle and a 2021 wild card win vs Tampa.

The five playoff losses in the last decade are what I want to focus on here because the similarities in what caused those losses are glaring. Those losses aren’t all on the defense. Yes, Dak has some blame for sure. But it’s not all on him either.

Here are the 5 playoff losses in the last decade:

• 2016 L 34-31 vs packers in divisional round at home.
• 2018 L 30-22 vs rams in divisional round on the road.
• 2021 L 23-17 vs niners in wild card round at home.
• 2022 L 19-12 vs niners in divisional round on the road.
• 2023 L 48-32 vs packers in wild card round at home.

I want to look at our common problems in these playoff losses and whether they have been addressed. Here are some stats that show patterns in the 5 playoff losses:

• Cowboys defense in the 5 playoff losses:
  • Avg giving up 31 points per game. (Take out the GB loss and still avg giving up 27 ppg)
  • Avg giving up 157 yards per game on the ground. (Take out the 273 in the 2018 rams L and we still avg giving up nearly 130 yds per game on the ground)
  • 3rd down conversions. In the 5 playoff losses of the last decade, our defense allowed 30 of 58 3rd downs to be converted. 52%!! Horrible.
  • Despite being one of the best sack teams in the league, the Cowboys only had 4 total sacks in all 5 playoff losses. Less than 1 per game.
  • Despite being one of the better defenses to create TOs, our D only had 3 TOs created in the 5 playoff losses.

These 5 losses weren’t all on the defense. Yes, Dak has played poorly at times, especially the last two playoff losses. But if we are being objective, he’s not been as bad as our defense.

Because if you avg giving up 30 points in a playoff game, avg giving up 157 yards rushing in the playoffs, and allow the opponents a 52% third down conversion rate, can’t sack the QB or get TOs, it’s pretty hard to win.

Does the FO understand this yet?

I don't see the same similarities that you do. Two of the 5 games were good defensive performances. One was abysmal. Two were poor.

That's not a pattern. You can't just take all the numbers and average them and call it a pattern.

https://www.pointspreads.com/news/nfl/nfl-wild-card-totals-points-preview-seeking-value-in-playoffs/
Just as a basis, the average NFL playoff team (win or lose) has been scoring about 25 points per game.