In the famous words of former Vikings and Cardinals Head Coach Dennis Green, they are who we thought they were.
The Buffalo Bills executed a specific game plan to showcase Josh Allen’s positive traits while mitigating his impulsiveness with the football.
The Dallas Cowboys continue to learn valuable lessons as the season moves forward.
Things that have hindered the Cowboys in the past, i.e., poor run defense, smallish linebackers, and a down-run game, showed up again.
It’s not to say that Dallas won’t make a deep run in the playoffs, but there are still areas to which the team should pay attention.
Dallas built this team to compete this year. Depth concerns keep me up at night, and I know it should also have Mike McCarthy’s attention.
Johnathan Hankins’ absence was a huge blinking red light for Dallas
Johnathan Hankins is the epitome of numbers that don’t tell the whole story.
If you subscribe to Pro Football Focus and I’ve put my fair share of their stats in my articles, then one would believe he shouldn’t be in the league.
A 31-year-old tackle who’s hopped around different teams with a 49.9 over PFF score is different from what you would consider a hot commodity.
However, Dallas’ defensive front was pushed around on Sunday by a much bigger and stronger Buffalo offensive line.
Truthfully, it goes beyond Hankins. It’s the overall depth and size of the defensive tackle group.
Mazi Smith recorded his first sack, but it was an early Christmas gift. Osa Odighizuwa is more effective in the pass rush than run stuffing.
Neville Gallimore is more of an afterthought with limited effectiveness.
Others were brought in to add depth, but it’s still concerning.
This Dallas Cowboys defense prides itself on pass rush. They get to the quarterback, and everyone knows it.
Unfortunately, as the playoff inches closer, teams will run the ball more, and we may need help to jump out to a lead. The tackles will need to step up.
The athletic linebackers have speed, but will their size become a problem
The linebacker position group and the defensive tackles go hand in hand.
The lasting memory I have is Damone Clark being driven out of the play by Dion Dawkins, similar to what happened in the movie, “The Blindside.”
👀 Man #Cowboys #33 is a legendary number for us… We can’t be handing out that number for any player… I hope Damone Clark step up in these next few games or just take that number off and switch it next season… https://t.co/YZfy0FVTNb
— Law Nation Sports (@LawsNation) December 18, 2023
Was it a fair fight to begin with? Hell no.
A 320-pound lineman moving a 230-pound linebacker is no fair fight, but it happened.
The problem becomes what came shortly after. Clark left the field with injury concerns. It doesn’t appear to be long-lasting, but the depth is becoming an issue again.
That left the team with Markquese Bell and Rashaan Evans.
I love the idea of athletic, fast-twitch linebacker/safety combos on the field until we run into a team ready to line up and run right at us.
The idea of Micah Parsons playing middle linebacker is still intriguing to me. Watching him be a one-trick pony on that edge is discouraging.
My opinion, which may extend beyond the page I’m writing on, is Dan Quinn needs to draft an authentic edge that can play the run so that Parsons can transition to the middle.
It may not help us this season, but that would be the plan going into 2024.
McCarthy needs to find a way to run the football
I don’t want to sound like someone spitting negativity after a loss. It’s not that type of party.
However, this position group has not been able to get over the proverbial hump.
Tony Pollard is having an excellent year on any other team, with 848 rushing yards, 4.1 per attempt, and five touchdowns.
With 311 rushing yards, Rico Dowdle is just a little behind and has had his moments.
It could be the playcaller as well. They were given 14 rushing attempts against Buffalo.
Dallas Cowboys rushing against the Buffalo Bills:
– Tony Pollard: 11 carries, 52 yards, 4.7 YPC
– Dak Prescott 4 carries, 27 yards, 6.8 YPC
– Rico Dowdle: 3 carries, 4 yards, 1.3 YPC
– Hunter Luepke: 1 carry, 3 yards
– CeeDee Lamb: 1 carry, 3 yards, 1 TD— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) December 18, 2023
Dallas will not be able to pass the ball all the way to the Super Bowl.
Typically, the teams that make deep playoff runs have an attitude about them.
They run the ball effectively, play hard-nosed defense, and have a quarterback who can make timely throws when the team needs him to.
At this point in the season, no one is walking through the door that is not already on the roster.
The position groups we discussed will need to look internally to find improvement if this team is the last standing.
