Plankton
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Friends, Romans, countrymen. Lend me your ears (and eyes).
I have come to praise the Dallas Cowboys, not bury them.
On a weekend where the team had been left for dead by pundits, fans and mankind alike, and where an erstwhile Eagle fan went as far as to bring a casket with a Cowboy logo adorning the outside, ready to celebrate the end of the Cowboys in 2018, and likely the end of the Jason Garrett era, the Cowboys dug deep and fought for their coach and their season.
In a season where the Cowboys had been decidedly short on creativity on offense, and lacking the grit necessary to grind out tough wins on the road, and coming off of a listless second half performance in their loss to the Titans just six days before, the 2018 Cowboys showed, at least for one night, that they can put together a strong offensive performance. The Cowboys weren’t exotic by any means, but they played with resilience, energy, and an indomitable will.
They were forced to grind it out early, and found some difficulties at the outset of the game with moving the ball on offense. With the defense missing its brain in Sean Lee, the Cowboys of old typically would have folded defensively, and provided little resistance to the opposition.
Enter Leighton Vander Esch.
Vander Esch, their much debated first round pick from 2018, provided one of the key plays in the game to swing momentum to the Cowboys early on. Following a quick three and out after being pinned deep by an Eagle punt and a hold on Byron Jones, the Eagles took over with good field position at the Cowboy 44 yard line. With the crowd at full roar, Carson Wentz tried to hit Zach Ertz on a square in for a quick first down. What Wentz didn’t see was Vander Esch, sitting in the zone where he was throwing. The rookie linebacker intercepted the throw, and pieced together a nice return to put the Cowboy offense in plus field position at the Eagle 38 yard line. The subsequent Cowboy drive bogged down in the red zone, and they had to settle for a Brett Maher 25 yard field goal, but the Cowboys took a lead and control of the game.
This allowed the Cowboys to dictate the pace and flow of the game on offense. They did so by going to what has been the successful formula for their success over the last five seasons – the running game, controlling the down and distance situations, and avoiding mistakes. Following a game where Ezekiel Elliott only touched the ball six times in the second half of a game where the Cowboy offense circled the drain, the Cowboys found some creases in the Eagle defense, and gouged them on runs up the middle. Elliott hit runs up the middle, and the Eagle defense cracked, with the runner going for 151 yards on 19 carries, and reestablishing the heartbeat of the Cowboy offense.
But, it was a three yard run by an unlikely player that showed the lengths that the Cowboys would go to win this game.
Facing a fourth and two from their own 31 yard line, the Cowboys lined up to punt. Back in 2016 against these same Eagles, faced with a somewhat similar scenario, punter Chris Jones ran a fake punt to swing momentum to the Cowboys. This time, it was Jeff Heath. In his role as the personal punt protector, Heath took the snap, and bulldozed his way ahead for three yards and the conversion. The Eagles actually had the play defensed pretty well, but Heath would not be denied, and this effort was emblematic of what it took to secure the win. This led to a field goal that pushed the lead to 6-0, with a highlight play from Elliott, soaring high to hurdle Eagle safety Tre Sullivan, and breaking free for a 32 yard jaunt, only to be stymied by the 15 yard line, which tripped him up.
The Cowboys pushed the lead to 13-3 by halftime, and braced themselves for an Eagle rally.
The Eagles did manage to score on their first possession of the second half, and the Cowboys positioned themselves to match their score with a field goal. Similar to the previous week, Maher came up empty, pushing his kick wide right. The Eagles then answered with a touchdown to tie the game. With the crowd looking for Cowboy blood, Elliott took the team on his back to regain the lead. On a 9 play, 75 yard drive, Elliott toted the ball seven of those plays for 54 yards, sealing the drive with a reception of a beautifully designed dump off pass for the touchdown. Once again, the Eagles took the ball down the field and scored to tie the game. With the game in the balance, the Cowboys put the ball in the hands of Dak Prescott.
Wait……what?
Prescott, who has been questioned, critiqued and otherwise lampooned by the fan base, was given the ball, and rather than go conservative, Scott Linehan trusted his young signal caller to manage the drive. Prescott came through, going three for four for 64 yards, none bigger than his strike to Allen Hurns for 23 yards on third and eight, bringing the Cowboys inside the 10 yard line. Three Elliott runs cashed in the score that gave the Cowboys back the lead.
The defense, which had been cracking in the second half, was forced to make a stand. And, the players who stepped up were two of the players that had made momentum swinging plays earlier in the game.
On a third and two from the Cowboy 30 with 2:00 remaining in the game, in need of a touchdown and still holding three timeouts in their pocket, the Eagles had their whole playbook at their disposal. They opted to throw a quick screen/dump off to Corey Clement. The Eagles had Pro Bowlers Jason Kelce and Brandon Brooks leading the way, and a clear sideline to navigate. Vander Esch, looking a lot like his mentor Lee, instinctively eluded the effort of Brooks, and stopped Clement for a five yard loss. Of his 13 solo tackles on Sunday, none were bigger than that one, as he was the last line of defense between a stop and a potential scoring play.
On fourth and seven, Wentz looked to his trusty tight end Ertz, who racked up 14 catches on the night. The Cowboys blitzed, but it was picked up well by the Eagles. Wentz’ pass was high, and Ertz went up to get it, but it was one Jeff Heath who laid a strong hit on Ertz, stopping him short of the first down, and giving the Cowboys a critical turnover on downs.
This game was a true battle of wills. Look at Zack Martin, who gutted it out through a sprained knee to open consistent holes for Elliott to run through. Look at Prescott, who battled through some self-induced issues with getting pressured, and some accuracy issues on early throws to settle down into a 26 for 36, 270 yard night. Look at Linehan, who has battled the well justified ire of the fan base and media for his lack of scheming and play design to craft some solid designs and calls, none bigger than the tunnel screen to Michael Gallup on third and 15 for 25 yards on the Cowboys’ first touchdown drive in the first half.
And, look at the head coach, who managed to keep his team focused on the task at hand despite the growing noise for his own sacking. While one can question the in game coaching from time to time, and the almost robotic manner in which he conducts his press briefings, it would be hard to say that Garrett still doesn’t have his team playing hard for him. In a setting that lent itself to the Cowboys looking for a soft spot on the Lincoln Financial Field turf to land and stay down, Garrett’s Cowboys rose to the occasion, and temporarily, at the very least, saved their season.
Yes, it’s one game, and it’s not necessarily indicative of anything. The thrashing of the Jaguars led to a poor performance in Washington the next week. A bye week to recharge led to a comatose performance against the Titans. It’s safe to say that the game against the Falcons will be the litmus test as to whether this effort was the Cowboys last stand, or a temporary stay of execution. And, in this four game in 18 day gulag of a scheduling stretch, there’s no time to bask in the glory of this win.
In a game where the funeral rites were planned, and the eulogy all but written, the Cowboys decided to turn the script, and go out on their own terms.
And, for at least one week, the Cowboys showed the will and fight to survive another day.
Other notes from this week’s game:
I have come to praise the Dallas Cowboys, not bury them.
On a weekend where the team had been left for dead by pundits, fans and mankind alike, and where an erstwhile Eagle fan went as far as to bring a casket with a Cowboy logo adorning the outside, ready to celebrate the end of the Cowboys in 2018, and likely the end of the Jason Garrett era, the Cowboys dug deep and fought for their coach and their season.
In a season where the Cowboys had been decidedly short on creativity on offense, and lacking the grit necessary to grind out tough wins on the road, and coming off of a listless second half performance in their loss to the Titans just six days before, the 2018 Cowboys showed, at least for one night, that they can put together a strong offensive performance. The Cowboys weren’t exotic by any means, but they played with resilience, energy, and an indomitable will.
They were forced to grind it out early, and found some difficulties at the outset of the game with moving the ball on offense. With the defense missing its brain in Sean Lee, the Cowboys of old typically would have folded defensively, and provided little resistance to the opposition.
Enter Leighton Vander Esch.
Vander Esch, their much debated first round pick from 2018, provided one of the key plays in the game to swing momentum to the Cowboys early on. Following a quick three and out after being pinned deep by an Eagle punt and a hold on Byron Jones, the Eagles took over with good field position at the Cowboy 44 yard line. With the crowd at full roar, Carson Wentz tried to hit Zach Ertz on a square in for a quick first down. What Wentz didn’t see was Vander Esch, sitting in the zone where he was throwing. The rookie linebacker intercepted the throw, and pieced together a nice return to put the Cowboy offense in plus field position at the Eagle 38 yard line. The subsequent Cowboy drive bogged down in the red zone, and they had to settle for a Brett Maher 25 yard field goal, but the Cowboys took a lead and control of the game.
This allowed the Cowboys to dictate the pace and flow of the game on offense. They did so by going to what has been the successful formula for their success over the last five seasons – the running game, controlling the down and distance situations, and avoiding mistakes. Following a game where Ezekiel Elliott only touched the ball six times in the second half of a game where the Cowboy offense circled the drain, the Cowboys found some creases in the Eagle defense, and gouged them on runs up the middle. Elliott hit runs up the middle, and the Eagle defense cracked, with the runner going for 151 yards on 19 carries, and reestablishing the heartbeat of the Cowboy offense.
But, it was a three yard run by an unlikely player that showed the lengths that the Cowboys would go to win this game.
Facing a fourth and two from their own 31 yard line, the Cowboys lined up to punt. Back in 2016 against these same Eagles, faced with a somewhat similar scenario, punter Chris Jones ran a fake punt to swing momentum to the Cowboys. This time, it was Jeff Heath. In his role as the personal punt protector, Heath took the snap, and bulldozed his way ahead for three yards and the conversion. The Eagles actually had the play defensed pretty well, but Heath would not be denied, and this effort was emblematic of what it took to secure the win. This led to a field goal that pushed the lead to 6-0, with a highlight play from Elliott, soaring high to hurdle Eagle safety Tre Sullivan, and breaking free for a 32 yard jaunt, only to be stymied by the 15 yard line, which tripped him up.
The Cowboys pushed the lead to 13-3 by halftime, and braced themselves for an Eagle rally.
The Eagles did manage to score on their first possession of the second half, and the Cowboys positioned themselves to match their score with a field goal. Similar to the previous week, Maher came up empty, pushing his kick wide right. The Eagles then answered with a touchdown to tie the game. With the crowd looking for Cowboy blood, Elliott took the team on his back to regain the lead. On a 9 play, 75 yard drive, Elliott toted the ball seven of those plays for 54 yards, sealing the drive with a reception of a beautifully designed dump off pass for the touchdown. Once again, the Eagles took the ball down the field and scored to tie the game. With the game in the balance, the Cowboys put the ball in the hands of Dak Prescott.
Wait……what?
Prescott, who has been questioned, critiqued and otherwise lampooned by the fan base, was given the ball, and rather than go conservative, Scott Linehan trusted his young signal caller to manage the drive. Prescott came through, going three for four for 64 yards, none bigger than his strike to Allen Hurns for 23 yards on third and eight, bringing the Cowboys inside the 10 yard line. Three Elliott runs cashed in the score that gave the Cowboys back the lead.
The defense, which had been cracking in the second half, was forced to make a stand. And, the players who stepped up were two of the players that had made momentum swinging plays earlier in the game.
On a third and two from the Cowboy 30 with 2:00 remaining in the game, in need of a touchdown and still holding three timeouts in their pocket, the Eagles had their whole playbook at their disposal. They opted to throw a quick screen/dump off to Corey Clement. The Eagles had Pro Bowlers Jason Kelce and Brandon Brooks leading the way, and a clear sideline to navigate. Vander Esch, looking a lot like his mentor Lee, instinctively eluded the effort of Brooks, and stopped Clement for a five yard loss. Of his 13 solo tackles on Sunday, none were bigger than that one, as he was the last line of defense between a stop and a potential scoring play.
On fourth and seven, Wentz looked to his trusty tight end Ertz, who racked up 14 catches on the night. The Cowboys blitzed, but it was picked up well by the Eagles. Wentz’ pass was high, and Ertz went up to get it, but it was one Jeff Heath who laid a strong hit on Ertz, stopping him short of the first down, and giving the Cowboys a critical turnover on downs.
This game was a true battle of wills. Look at Zack Martin, who gutted it out through a sprained knee to open consistent holes for Elliott to run through. Look at Prescott, who battled through some self-induced issues with getting pressured, and some accuracy issues on early throws to settle down into a 26 for 36, 270 yard night. Look at Linehan, who has battled the well justified ire of the fan base and media for his lack of scheming and play design to craft some solid designs and calls, none bigger than the tunnel screen to Michael Gallup on third and 15 for 25 yards on the Cowboys’ first touchdown drive in the first half.
And, look at the head coach, who managed to keep his team focused on the task at hand despite the growing noise for his own sacking. While one can question the in game coaching from time to time, and the almost robotic manner in which he conducts his press briefings, it would be hard to say that Garrett still doesn’t have his team playing hard for him. In a setting that lent itself to the Cowboys looking for a soft spot on the Lincoln Financial Field turf to land and stay down, Garrett’s Cowboys rose to the occasion, and temporarily, at the very least, saved their season.
Yes, it’s one game, and it’s not necessarily indicative of anything. The thrashing of the Jaguars led to a poor performance in Washington the next week. A bye week to recharge led to a comatose performance against the Titans. It’s safe to say that the game against the Falcons will be the litmus test as to whether this effort was the Cowboys last stand, or a temporary stay of execution. And, in this four game in 18 day gulag of a scheduling stretch, there’s no time to bask in the glory of this win.
In a game where the funeral rites were planned, and the eulogy all but written, the Cowboys decided to turn the script, and go out on their own terms.
And, for at least one week, the Cowboys showed the will and fight to survive another day.
Other notes from this week’s game:
- As pleasing and as strong as the effort was on Sunday night, the Cowboys were still sloppy at times. Noah Brown committed two penalties, one which wiped out an 11 yard Elliott gain. Prescott still shows issues with pocket presence, and ran his way into a couple of sacks, as well as near disaster with his scramble back, fumble, then heave out of bounds. Prescott also missed a couple of routine throws that go back to fundamentals in terms of footwork and timing. It’s a testament to the effort last night that these things didn’t derail their ability to win the game.
- Brett Maher has now missed two short field goals in his last two games, and of his four misses this year, three have come from the right hash mark. If Maher is unable to convert kicks from the right hash, then the Cowboys need to consider bringing in a replacement, as it could cost a team that has no margin for error at this point.
- As good as Elliott was last night in the run game, his contributions in the passing game were just as good. His pass protection last night was excellent, and really showed his all-around capabilities. If there is an area for concern, Elliott seemed to be gassed a bit at times during the game, and his overall conditioning could be a question.
- The offensive line played probably their best game of the season last night, and it was the left side of the line leading the way. Despite him notching two sacks, Tyron Smith mauled Michael Bennett for much of the night. It was telling seeing a camera shot of Bennett leaving the field on the Cowboys last touchdown drive, out of breath and his jersey looking askew. Smith was at his powerful best last night. Not to be discounted was the play of Xavier Su’a-Filo, who worked well in combo blocking with Joe Looney, and helped control the Eagle interior DL in the run game.
- While it was scary seeing Martin go down with what looked like a serious knee injury, it was also good to see La’el Collins absolutely pancaking Chris Long on the play. Collins showed effective aggression last night, and could be hitting his stride.
- Last night, we saw the effects of having Amari Cooper in the passing game. With Cooper dictating coverage from the Eagle secondary, Cole Beasley and Allen Hurns had much more room to operate. Prescott made some solid throws to take advantage. If the Cowboys can find some consistent production from the tight end position, then this offense could be onto something.
- Chidobe Awuzie has been getting picked on quite a bit this season. Rightfully so, given the stellar play from Byron Jones on the other side of the defense. Awuzie made one of the biggest plays of the game, breaking on a Wentz pass to knock away a throw to Alshon Jeffery that would have set the Eagles up deep in the red zone. Awuzie managed to do this without looking back for the ball, which made it all the more impressive.
- It was interesting seeing the repeated replays of Damien Wilson grabbing Wentz’ arm/wristband as the QB managed to get off a throw downfield, and there being no mention of the blatant missed hold by Halapoulivaati Vaitai on the play. Without the hold, it was a likely sack.
- No rest for the weary for the Cowboys. They are back on the road this week with a game against a Falcons team smarting from a loss to the Browns, and their season also on the brink. This is followed by a short turnaround on Thanksgiving against the division leading Commanders, and a game one week later against the red hot Saints. The Cowboys’ approach needs to be a one game at a time approach, with each game representing the season. Period.
- Regardless of the feel good nature of the win last night, the pressure and heat should not be lessened on the head coach, offensive coordinator and, especially, the owner. One game doesn't change the poor planning of the offseason, flawed planning going into the season, uneven play and general malaise of the franchise. Continuing the course of what looks like a 7-9 or 8-8 season should result in significant changes for the organization as a whole. As the past would dictate, the changes would not happen at the GM level, so Garrett and Linehan should not be any more comfortable today than they were prior to kickoff yesterday.
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