The Dallas Cowboys’ defense is bad. It’s a weird spot to be in, considering they were a top-five unit just a couple of years ago. In fact, they finished in the top seven in points allowed in all three
of the years that Dan Quinn was the defensive coordinator. However, since Quinn’s departure, the Cowboys’ defense hasn’t been able to collect its bearings and has been a liability. Last season under Mike Zimmer, and through five games this season under Matt Eberflus, the Cowboys’ defense is in the bottom five in both points scored and yards allowed. That’s not ideal.
This season, the Cowboys’ defense has had trouble getting off the field as well as being susceptible to big plays. They are the worst in the league in the following categories…
- yards allowed per game = 412
- passing yards allowed per game = 285
- third down conversion rate = 55%
Currently, they are fourth-worst in the league, surrendering 30.8 points per game.
On the other side of the ball, we are witnessing an offense that is moving up and down the field with relative ease. The Cowboys lead the league in yards. They are top three in passing yards and top four in rushing yards per attempt. They are balanced. No team in the league has more first downs than the Cowboys. They are fourth-best in the league, scoring 30.2 points per game.
Unfortunately, all the issues on defense hinder all the great things on offense, and the Cowboys find themselves with a .500 record after five games. If the team is to turn a corner, it must find a way to improve on defense.
Some of the issues on defense are expected. With a new defensive coordinator, there will be an adjustment period. The team also traded away its top defensive player in Micah Parsons, and his absence has definitely been felt along the defensive line. The big question for this team is how much of their problems are attributed to the learning curve of the new coaching staff, and how much comes from a lack of talent?
Breaking down the talent on the team, this group is better than how they’re playing. There are some gaps, but it’s not so different from what Quinn had at his disposal. Starting at defensive end, there are some good players within this unit. Dante Fowler and Sam Williams have been effective, rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku has shown up frequently, and free agent signing James Houston continues to be a huge surprise. Currently, he has the third-best splash-play rate in the league, just a couple of tenths ahead of someone Cowboys fans are all too familiar with.
As much talent as they have, the edge group has still underperformed to this point. They have a pass-rush win-rate in the bottom quartile at just 36%. They did show life on Sunday against the New York Jets as they sacked Justin Fields five times. Making stops and getting out in front certainly helped. As the defense improves, more pass-rushing opportunities will surface.
Along the interior, this team has received a big boost from the acquisition of Kenny Clark. Between him, Osa Odighizuwa, and Solomon Thomas, the Cowboys currently have a run-stopping win-rate of 33%, which is good enough for sixth-best in the NFL. The defense has come up big at certain moments in stopping the run, even successfully making stops on fourth-and-short. Alas, they have a fighting chance against the run.
As much as it has improved, the run defense is still a little shaky, and that’s because the linebacker unit has been suspect. New acquisitions Kenneth Murray and Jack Sanborn have looked downright awful at times, taking poor angles and getting washed out of plays. Second-year linebacker Marist Liufau has been hit or miss as he seems more concerned about hitting someone than he is about squaring up and making the stop. Rookie Shemar James had a good showing last week as he was solid in coverage, keeping everything in front of him, but against the run, he was just as much of a liability as the others. In the team’s best defensive effort, there were still several plays where they were just dreadful against the run.
While this is a big cause for concern, one has to believe that the linebacking specialist Eberflus will figure some things out. The long-term solution may be found in next year’s draft, the hopeful return of DeMarvion Overshown, or the development of Liufau and James, but for now, Eberflus needs to find a way to get better play from the resources he has, or things will remain problematic.
The secondary has been an issue early on, and the problem is two-fold. First, their three best defensive backs are dealing with injuries and have missed some time. Their top corners, Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland, haven’t been fully healthy and have either missed time, played on a snap count, or both. Their best safety, Malik Hooker, suffered a toe injury in the game against Green Bay.
But the bigger part of the issue has been players’ understanding of their assignments. Eberflus has played a lot of zone coverage so far this season, and there have been several breakdowns in coverage responsibilities that have led to big plays. The good news is the defense only allowed one passing play of 20+ yards against the Jets on Sunday. That’s either a sign that they’re making improvements or a testament to the Jets’ offense. The Cowboys will get better at pass defense as both better health and a better understanding of what Eberflus is asking should make them a more reliable unit. How reliable that is, remains to be seen.
Looking back at Mike Nolan’s defense in that atrocious 2020 season, things were really bad. Historically bad. However, as bad as they were, things improved as players started to figure things out.
- First 6 games = 36 pts/game
- Last 10 games = 26 pts/game
- Last 4 games = 20 pts/game
Unlike 2020, the Cowboys have an effective offense to go with it, so if the defense can just work itself near the middle of the pack, suddenly things start to get interesting. And there is great reason to be optimistic about the sustainability of the offense because they are scoring points despite being without several key starters. If they can just fix a few things here and there on defense, a playoff push becomes a realistic expectation.
