WHAT’S UP WEDNESDAY: Cowboys Nuggets
Welcome to WHAT’S UP WEDNESDAY. Behind another sizzling performance from Dak Prescott and the offense, the Dallas Cowboys are coming off their biggest win of the season over Philadelphia. Now they turn their attention to another big road showdown in Buffalo on Sunday afternoon. Here are some thoughts (2,200+ words worth) on the upcoming schedule, the ground attack, the play of Tyler Smith, this week’s opponent and more. Let’s get to it.
WHAT’S UP WITH THE UPCOMING SCHEDULE?
After their win over the Eagles on Sunday night, the Cowboys are back in the race for the NFC East, the NFC title and homefield advantage in the playoffs.
The pulled even with Philadelphia in the NFC East standings at 10-3, and with San Francisco in the race for the top spot in the NFC.
If the Cowboys win out and finish 14-3, then they will have done everything in their power over the final half of the season to earn the best playoff position possible.
“There is always a path, and the path is under construction,” head coach Mike McCarthy said. “It’s not who you play, but when you play them. We all know that because of the challenges every season lays out for you.”
However, the Cowboys don’t control their own destiny. They will need Philadelphia and San Francisco to at least lose one more game, but the Eagles and 49ers have an easier schedule, on paper, over the final weeks of the season than Dallas.
The Eagles take on Seattle, the New York Giants twice and Arizona in their final four games, while the 49ers face Arizona, Baltimore, Washington and the Los Angeles Rams.
The Cowboys battle Buffalo, Miami, Detroit and Washington – three of the top teams in the league this year and one NFC East rival that is always tough.
“These types of games, especially in this current season, we have had a number of games that we have won by a decisive margin,” McCarthy said. “So, to play in these types of games is great preparation for playoff football, because these are going to be juggernauts.”
But now with the Dallas, Philadelphia and San Francisco even at the top of the NFC standings these final four games on the Cowboys schedule are even more important than they were before they kicked off on Sunday night.
And it all gets going on Sunday afternoon in Buffalo.
“This is going to be a great environment to play in – outdoors, northern climate, all those things,” McCarthy said. “This is what you need as part of that opportunity to win, and to win and grow. If things go right, and you are able to get the momentum and grab those chunks of confidence that come with a good divisional win, as we had (Sunday) night, this is an opportunity to grow as a football team and that’s going to be very important. It’s always important in December. Your team has to be built to go win anywhere, that is the reality of this league,”
WHAT’S UP WITH ANOTHER PHYSICAL QB?
For the second straight week, the Cowboys will face one of the top running quarterbacks in the league.
After beating Jalen Hurts and Philadelphia last week, they take on Josh Allen and Buffalo this Sunday afternoon.
Unlike other quarterbacks who can run – Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, Tua Tagovailova and Patrick Mahomes, Hurts and Allen are physical runners who look to punish tacklers instead of sliding or stepping out of bounds.
“There are similar styles to these guys who are really tough strong runners, and I would count Allen and Hurts near the top of that list,” Quinn said. “Not only can they make you miss, but they can also try to run you over like a running back. So, for guys like that, there are quarterback draws, escaping out of the pocket and designed quarterback runs, those are the things as we go through the week that we will get more prepared with. He’s certainly, so far what I’ve seen, there’s some exceptional plays by him on tape, much like Hurts has.”
Allen is currently the second ranked quarterback in the overall running game, with a 91.0 grade by Pro Football Focus, but when it comes to just running the football, he is third with an 84.5 grade by PFF, behind only San Francisco’s Brock Purdy (90.2) and Mahomes (85.8).
Allen has 374 yards rushing on 72 carries, which is fourth best among quarterbacks. And like Hurts, he leads his team in rushing touchdowns with 10.
“We know we have to affect the quarterback, and that has to go down,” Quinn said. “So, for quarterbacks that can get outside the pocket and create on the move, that’s a really big deal. So sometimes you may have to try and cage somebody in, even though you may not have the best rush move in mind. That’s kind of the balance of it all and working together. And this quarterback will push us to the limits this week as well.”
WHAT’S UP WITH RUSHING ATTACK?
While at times they look stuck in the mud, the Cowboys running game has been productive since the bye week, including their 138-yard performance in Sunday night’s win over the Eagles.
“I thought we were better,” McCarthy said. “The inside zone was something that we needed to get going.”
They did, with 20 zone runs that accounted for the majority of the ground game.
The Cowboys 11th-ranked ground attack pounded the Eagles defensive front with 32 rushing plays, 28 of which came inside the tackles and gained Dallas 112 yards.
“I felt it (Sunday) night, that it was a very physical run game,” Schottenheimer said. “And then watching it again (Monday) morning it was very true. Our guys got after it pretty good.”
Tony Pollard rushed 16 times, all between the tackles and he gained 59 yards, of which 47 came after contact. Rico Dowdle chipped in with 12 carries for 46 yards, and 29 of those came after contact, and the teams only touchdown on the ground in the win.
“In this last game against a really good front, we knew we wanted to get after them in the running game,” Schottenheimer said. “We were able to come down hill. It was probably one of the most physical games we’ve played up front with our rushing attack. I thought our lineman were really, really good against a big stout defensive front. Not only the initial targets that they were able to get to, but the way the strained and lifted (getting lower and moving the opponent after initial contact). I thought both Rico and Tony ran really, really hard. They were coming after the ball hard, and (our) guys did a terrific job of securing the football in some really violent collisions and some compression tackles.”
The Cowboys duo of Pollard and Dowdle have 1,103 yards on the ground, they are both averaging 4.1 yards per carry and have accounted for seven touchdowns.
“It’s always going to take more than one guy,” Schottenheimer said. “The cool thing is, if you watch those guys, they’re really interchangeable. They’re excited when the other guy comes in and then they’re their biggest cheerleader when the other guy goes in.
WHAT’S UP WITH TYLER SMITH?
Now in the final stretch of his second season, Cowboys offensive guard Tyler Smith has turned into one of the top run blocking linemen in the NFL.
“What a joy he is to coach,” McCarthy said. “There are two or three plays in the coaching session every week that he does something that just makes you shake your head.”
Smith, who has played 780 snaps this season, has an 88.0 grade on Pro Football Focus for his play during the Cowboys 282 running plays this season. Smith’s grade is only behind Atlanta’s Chris Lindstrom (89.8) and Denver’s Quinn Meinerz (88.8) and is almost 20 points higher than teammate and six-time All-Pro Zack Martin (69.4).
Smith has an overall blocking grade of 77.5 by PFF, which has been dragged down by a 65.6 grade in pass blocking. However, that should rise as he gets more time next to two-time All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith.
“(Tyler Smith) has so much great football in front of him,” McCarthy said. “He’s still learning. He’s still getting comfortable with the footwork. It is just great to see him and Tyron playing next to each other now, week in and week out. … Very pleased with the way he is playing.”
WHAT’S UP WITH THE SUCCESS OF THE SECONDARY?
Even though the Cowboys secondary room has a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year, another that was named an All-Pro as a rookie and the current NFL’s record holder for interception returns for a touchdown in a season, the clear leader is coach Al Harris.
“He’s got such a huge (amount) of experience at that position,” Quinn said. “If I was a corner, he would be somebody that I would want to train me, because he can see it from the view of the helmet – being outside and knowing the different techniques to go to. So, the scheme part of it outside, may be not as complex as it is at other positions. But the technical part of that, man you better be on it, or you can get exposed in a hurry. The two positions where everybody can see how the game went are quarterback and cornerback, so they have to be tough, and they have to be resilient because there are going to be plays made both ways.”
The former two-time pro bowler spent 14 seasons in the NFL, including seven in Green Bay where he played for head coach Mike McCarthy in his last three seasons with the Packers.
After retirement, Harris went right into coaching.
In his 12 years of coaching – that includes stops with Miami (2012), Kansas City (2013-2018), Florida Atlantic University (2019) and now Dallas (2020-present), only twice has a team he was working with finished below .500 – the Dolphins (7-9) and the 2020 Cowboys (6-10).
His experience on the field, coupled with what he has learned on the sidelines, puts Harris in a unique position, even when dealing with guys like former DPOY Stephon Gilmore, Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland, all at different points in their careers.
“He is remarkable in his teaching. He’s able to express it in a way to these guys that they can clearly grasp it and pick it up. The best of the best coaches can do it out on the field and then use those eyes and say this is what I saw, and in game this is what the route was, and this is what happened. He’s exceptional at that. We are very fortunate that he is working with that group and the proof is in their performance.”
WHAT’S UP WITH BIG HANK?
The Cowboys run defense took a big hit on Sunday night when defensive tackle Jonathan Hankins went down with an apparent high ankle sprain.
The run defense has been a point of contention all season, but the team had gotten better over the last few games and Hankins has been a huge part of that. In the five games before Sunday night’s win over the Eagles, Hankins had 13 tackles and three sacks.
“He’s a really important factor for us inside,” Quinn said. “He’s square, he’s strong, He’s got tons of experience.”
However, if Hankins can’t go on Sunday in Buffalo, the Cowboys will turn to rookie Mazi Smith to fill his hole in the starting lineup. But after Smith, they will have to turn to Neville Gallimore and practice squad signee Carl Davis.
“We are equipped if we have to (go without Hankins),” Quinn said. “But hopefully it doesn’t get to that.”
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NEXT OPPONENT: WHAT’S UP WITH THE BILLS?
Coming off their biggest win of the season on the road in Kansas City, the Buffalo Bills head home to host the Cowboys in a big game for both teams. The Bills are 7-6 and tied with five other teams – Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Houston, Denver and Cincinnati, for the final two spots in the AFC playoffs. And despite their win over the Chiefs last week, they still have losses this season to the Jets, Jaguars, Patriots, Bengals and Broncos. They are led by quarterback Josh Allen, who is having another solid season. He thrown for 3,447 yards, while completing 66.9 percent of his passes, which is the second best of his six-year career. However, his rushing numbers are down, carrying the ball just 72 times for 374 yards, the threat is still real. The Buffalo offense, with Allen, running backs James Cook and Latavius Murray, receivers Stefan Diggs, Gabe Davis and Khalil Shakir, as well as tight end Dawson Knox, are the fifth ranked offense in the NFL, averaging 378.9 yards per game. Defensively, the Bills are middle of the road allowing 321.9 yards and 18.8 points per game. Playing in a traditional 4-3, the Bills are led by defensive tackle Ed Oliver, defensive ends Von Miller and Leonard Floyd, linebacker Terrel Bernard, cornerback Rasul Douglas and safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. Bernard is 12th in the NFL tackles with 112, while Floyd is tied for 14th in sacks with 9.5, Oliver is tied for 18th in tackles for loss with 11 and Douglas is tied for 10th in passes knocked down with 11. The last time the two teams met, Allen threw for 231 yards and 1 touchdown, rushed for another 43 yards and touchdown in a 26-15 win for the Bills in late November of 2019.