The 3-4 Dallas Cowboys look to begin a winning streak this week, facing off against the 2-5 Arizona Cardinals at AT&T Stadium. Here are three keys to the game.
Run. The. Ball. Again.
This is a copy and paste headline from last week’s keys before kickoff against the Eagles. Realistically, the mental reminder to run the ball should be the priority just about every week. This football team is simply better, as any team would be, with a dominant rushing attack. Dak Prescott thrives off the play-action, the receivers face lighter
coverages when teams have to commit resources in the box, and the defense gets to rest while the offense works down the field on an eight-minute drive.
Against Philadelphia last week, Brian Schottenheimer remembered his team features one of the NFL’s best run blocking offensive lines. Dallas ran the ball on 37 designed attempts, paying immediate dividends in a 38-21 win over their division rival.
This week against the Cardinals, the plan should be similar. This Cardinals defense has struggled against the run throughout the season, ranking 29th in rush success rate allowed, per SumerSports. It’s an extremely malleable defense that changes the looks they give opposing offenses weekly, but even with those changes they have not been able to slow down the rushing attack much this season. And when they commit the resources in the box to slow down Williams, Dallas should be able to exploit the secondary with their big playmakers on the outside.
Contain Trey McBride
The Cardinals tight end leads the NFL in receptions (59 for 472 yards with four touchdowns) and is Arizona’s clear number one threat. He’s a volume target for quarterback Jacoby Brissett on an offense that lacks much firepower elsewhere.
Dallas will need to contain McBride in the slot, out wide, on screens, on downfield throws, and eliminate the big yards after the catch. McBride truly is the ultimate weapon that deserves the utmost respect from opposing defenses each week.
Defensive coordinator Christian Parker will have to devise a game plan to limit the one big weapon Arizona possesses. If he’s able to do so, this is a game that Dallas should win relatively easily, regardless of the history between the two teams.
Get off to a quick start
The quality of the Cowboys opponents have helped the defense play better over the last three weeks, at least from the perspective of the final scoreboard. But they are still far from being considered a “good” defense. One of those reasons is the fact that they cannot seem to get consistent stops early.
Last week against a bad Eagles offense, Dallas surrendered two touchdowns on the first two drives. They would go on to let up just seven points for the rest of the game, but the lack of early success will certainly bite them if it continues this season.
The Cardinals offense has failed to put up 20 or more point in three of seven weeks. Four of their losses have been by two or more scores. If you can get a couple of stops early against Jeremiyah Love and Trey McBride, Arizona has shown that they’ll let these games get out of hand in a hurry. The Cowboys have not shown the ability to shut out opponents early this season, but the opportunity will be there this week against another bad team.
Offensively, Dallas needs to end their drives with seven, not three. The Cardinals will surely mix things up on defense, as they do every week, so the Cowboys need to be willing to adapt to what they see on the field. Balance and complementary offense will be a crucial factor in this week’s matchup.
When the Cardinals commit resources to stopping Javonte Williams, get the playmakers on the outside involved. When they sit back in a shell coverage to remove the deep threat, make them pay for their light boxes with a steady rushing attack. There is also a chance we see the Cardinals attack Dallas in a similar manner to the Buccaneers and Packers games. If so, Brian Schottenheimer and Dak Prescott need to demonstrate the ability to overcome the disguised blitzes and a stacked line of scrimmage.
The Cowboys have a shot this spooky Halloween weekend to end the 20-year nightmare that has been the Arizona Cardinals. If Dallas can jump out to an early lead, the Cardinals have demonstrated the lack of offensive firepower to keep up. If the Cowboys allow Arizona to hang around, however, this team will fight tooth and nail in a bitter dogfight.
Dallas has not shown the world that they have the ability to put games away early. What better time than now to do just that, and to put an end to this matchup that’s plagued them for two decades.
