Our defense in the 5 playoff losses in last decade

[CowboyFrog]

I think some are too worried about defensive tackle and stopping the run.

If that's you, you should take a look at Eberflus' scheme in action. Here's a Baldy Breakdown of his scheme ..

Again like the last 3 decades it looks in theory, you'll understand if i need to see it work on the field with the players we have. I'm not saying it's not going to work, just saying they have earned my skepticizim over the last 30 years.

 

[Pass2Run]

Again like the last 3 decades it looks in theory, you'll understand if i need to see it work on the field with the players we have. I'm not saying it's not going to work, just saying they have earned my skepticizim over the last 30 years.

Fair enough.

 

[Big D]

The inability to run the ball also contributed . San Fran had a great D they just shut us down but if you can’t run or stop the run it’s gonna be an issue

We've been screaming about the run game for years. Last year was the closest we came to actually doing anything about it when McCarthy paid it some lip service. Right now, Schotty is taking a good game but the truth is TBD

 

[nalam]

We've been screaming about the run game for years. Last year was the closest we came to actually doing anything about it when McCarthy paid it some lip service. Right now, Schotty is taking a good game but the truth is TBD

True but atleast he is moving things in the right direction, Good OL coach - OC and OL maulers plus RBs ( FA and draft ) .

 

[Swagger]

Where was the defense ranked in the regular season since and including 2016?

Complimentary football. If the offense falls off a cliff in the playoffs then it often has a negative impact on the defense as well.

 

[rambo2]

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?

It looks like they understand it. A whole bunch of new players and coaches. Their 2nd and 3rd round picks can very well be very good. Elam looks like he could be good. They brought in linebackers and they drafted some dtackles. They could be decent. We will see.