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It wasn’t always pretty, but the Cowboys were able to come out of SoFi Stadium with a very important victory over the Chargers. After struggling mightily in one-scoring games recently, Dallas is showing signs of learning to win. We certainly learned a lot about this team on Sunday.
As Greg Zuerlein’s 56-yard field goal crossed the uprights, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief as Dallas went 1-1 this season. As of 2019, Dallas was 5-12 in one-scoring games (decided by eight points or less), so winning a game like this is a big boost to the confidence of a team that has had struggling in these matches. Another first: according to David Moore, it was the first game Dallas had won without scoring more than 30 points since December 2018, a streak of 34 games.
Dallas was finally able to win a lousy game and that must have been a relief for Mike McCarthy and his staff. It was the first win where Dallas really looked and felt good since 2019, as no one was feeling good after the Falcons ‘miracle win in 2020, and Dak Prescott was injured in the Giants’ win. Here are my observations of Sunday’s victory:
1) Dallas won a game that Dak Prescott wasn’t great at, but don’t fall for the misconception that he was poor.
Prescott was by no means poor, having completed 23 of 27 passes for 237 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown pass and was drafted once. Just looking at the box score would indicate inferior performance, but context matters. Chargers head coach Brandon Staley’s defensive plan is designed to prevent big plays and force the offense to be patient.
Prescott largely took what he was given as his average target depth was just over five meters. Despite a below-average score of 39, Prescott’s 85.2% completion rate was 13.9% higher than his expected completion rate of 71.3%. That differential was the highest in the league, according to Next Generation stats.
He also led an 11-play, 49-yard drive that cut the final four minutes that ultimately won the game, including a massive 12-yard connection through a narrow window with Amari Cooper that put Dallas within shooting range. . Don’t be confused, Prescott was fine on Sunday.
2) Kellen Moore’s game plan will evolve every week depending on the games
Los Angeles play a lot of zone in an umbrella-like pattern while showing slight amounts of defensemen in the box. Dallas didn’t go from 18 rushes against Tampa Bay to 31 rushes against Los Angeles for no reason. The Cowboys averaged 6.4 yards per carry and relied heavily on Ezekiel Elliott, Tony Pollard and the offensive line. Moore’s mix between Pollard and Elliott was perfect as the two full-backs complemented each other well all afternoon. It will be interesting to see how long Pollard moves forward after an explosive performance.
I loved Moore’s quote today on offensive philosophy: “Aggressively take what they give us. “
3) It was a very encouraging performance from the offensive line.
Tyron Smith did Tyron Smith stuff and was really good all afternoon. He was beaten by Kyler Fackrell in the red zone for a potentially disastrous backpack which was picked up by Dallas. That game aside, Smith was rock solid. Connor Williams has been great once again, as he roughed up the running game and allowed no pressure (and has yet to do so this season, according to Pro Football Focus). Tyler Biadasz has been better this week and it probably has something to do with a drop in competition from the dreaded Tampa Bay duo in the middle combined with the return of Zack Martin. Martin was fantastic and showed no signs of being affected by COVID-19 as he was the team’s highest ranked player by PFF with a rating of 95.5.
Terence Steele also deserves huge credits. There was a lot of skepticism about Steele starting in the right tackle against Joey Bosa (including me), and Steele delivered. He only gave up three pushes, was excellent in the running game, and kept Joey Bosa almost completely silent. He got some help (as he should), but he did his job and Dallas must feel good that Steele held on for the rest of La’el Collins’ suspension.
Zack Martin praised Steele, saying, “He played amazingly. We talked, if we had the central slide going fine, trying to get out there and help him out, and the times I did he didn’t need it. He did a remarkable job. “
4) Micah Parsons is going to be a superstar.
I would be the first to admit that I was very skeptical about choosing Parsons. But he’s impressed everyone every step of the way so far. He was one of the hottest names coming out of training camp, was a wrecking ball in preseason, looked solid against Tampa Bay and looked amazing on Sunday. He was all over the field. Parsons hadn’t played defensive end since high school and was asked to do so in the absence of Randy Gregory and DeMarcus Lawrence.
Some numbers on how Parsons performed in week 2:
- Parsons racked up eight pushes, which was the most by a rookie since Nick Bosa in 2019, and was tied for the most pushes of the week.
- Parsons had PFF’s highest passing score by a rookie so far this season.
- His 90.8 rating for PFF rushing passes was second among all defenders.
- Parsons led all edge rushers in the win rate with an absurd rate of 39%.
- His total stats line by PFF: eight pushes, four rushes, three QB hits, two saves and a sack. PFF gave him a score of 89.9, the team’s highest defensive rating.
Doing this without any post high school post experience shows just how special a player he is. His teammates and coaches don’t stop raving about him either. “He can run and hit like a you know what,” said Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. “He has rare speed and physique to do that. We want to make sure that we always present that part of his game. ”
“The dude is a beast,” Ezekiel Elliott said of Parsons. “He can be the elite linebacker. He can be the elite on defense. I’m glad we had him on our team.
It’s hard to say what Parsons’ role will be in the future, but I imagine he will be best suited as a hybrid player. He should start playing mostly with the ball again when Gregory returns, but Dallas would be foolish not to showcase his rush ability on obvious passes. Parsons has an extremely rare versatility about him and his elite brilliance and athleticism is what makes him special. He’s going to be the centerpiece of this defense going forward.
5) The Cowboys… take the ball?
Dallas leads the league in takeout for two weeks with six. The Cowboys had a little tear-away at the end of 2020, and it seems to continue. Dallas has the second-most takeout in the NFL in the last 16 games and has the most in the last 14 games.
You should be aware that flipping the ball is very random and is not something to be trusted. The regression to the mean is coming, and the Cowboys are better off hoping this race will hold up until at least DeMarcus Lawrence returns.
You could even argue that Dallas should have had three takeaways yesterday, as a Jayron Kearse interception was negated by a questionable pass interference penalty. Trevon Diggs’ interception was a thing of beauty as he jumped on Keenan Allen to take the ball away. Damontae Kazee’s interception in the end zone at the end of the third quarter was an incredibly important change in momentum.
The Dallas defense has done a lot of flexing but hasn’t quite broken (yet). Dallas won the game with their red zone defense, with the Chargers converting only one of four red zone trips to touchdowns. There’s a lot to work out on defense, and Dallas will better hope that fixes the issues before the eventual take-out regression hits. But so far that’s been more than enough and the Young Cowboys were able to score a huge early-season win that I’m not sure past teams would have won.
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