If we’ve learned anything so far in the NFC East, it’s that the hot takes of the summer were way off. The Washington Football Team defense doesn’t look like unstoppable, the New York Giants offense is stagnant despite the addition of Kenny Golladay and return of Saquon Barkley, and the Philadelphia Eagles don’t seem to be a dark horse challenger in the division. The team all these hot takes were at the expense of, the Dallas Cowboys, look to be squashing a few narratives of their own.
A defense largely chided for their performance last year has suddenly found a pulse, and perhaps a budding star in Trevon Diggs. Dak Prescott seems to be rewriting his own story; Forcing his way into the national conversation as one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks after a 41-21 rout of the Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s take a deep dive into the box score and trace this Murder by the Numbers.
9.2 – Dak Prescott’s Yards Per Attempt
What a difference a year makes. In his first home game since fracturing his ankle, Dak Prescott was in control and commanded the offense. Save for a costly fumble in his own end zone, Prescott was accurate and composed; hitting eight different receivers and completing over 80% of his passes. It’s not going to make the highlight reel, but the way Prescott managed the game at the LOS and moved the secondary with his eyes, allowed the Cowboys’ intermediate passing game to take shape.
Prescott averaged nearly a first down per pass attempt despite having only three passes that traveled 20 yards or more. The league better buy a ticket now. The Dak Prescott revenge tour is in full swing.
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33 – The Eagles Conversion Rate on Third Down
The Dallas Cowboys defense has seemingly turned over a new identity under defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. The Philadelphia offense was held to only four 3rd down conversions on 12 attempts (33%). That number could have been worse when you consider the Eagles didn’t convert a third down deep into the 3rd quarter. All of their successful attempts were once the game was out of reach.
On average, Philadelphia needed eight yards to convert their 3rd down tries. Out of those 12 possessions last night, half of them resulted in either a 3 and out or a turnover on downs. It was critical for the Cowboys’ defense to prevent big plays and hand the ball back to their offense with a lead; They did just that.
5 – Offensive Holding Penalties forced by the Dallas Defense
It’s often said that “numbers don’t lie”. That’s mostly true, unless you know where to look. Numbers won’t tell you the whole truth. Case in point: The Dallas Cowboys defense is often criticized for not producing enough sacks.
It’s easy to skim over the stat sheet and see that Dak Prescott was sacked four times compared to only twice for Jalen Hurts. The context that’s lacking with those stats is how often the Jalen Hurts was under pressure. Dallas forced five penalties for offensive holding; two of which were against All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson.
Dan Quinn’s defense was able to apply pressure in a variety of ways; from the interior defensive lineman, from the edge, and even the defensive line working in tandem with twist stunts. So while the conventional stats won’t show how good the Dallas pass rush was, they deserve credit for stalling drives before they could get started.
3 – Total Carries by Eagles Running Backs
I had to double-take to make sure I read this right. Philadelphia chose to live and die on Hurts’ arm. Besides mostly unscripted runs by Jalen Hurts, the Eagles had only three rushing attempts by a running back (two from Miles Sanders and one from Kenneth Gainwell). The Eagles ran 53 plays and for all intents and purposes, completely abandoned the run to place the game squarely on Jalen Hurts.
For comparison sake, Dallas ran 71 plays and ran the ball 41 times, leading to a more efficient output. I’m not one to be insistent upon a balanced offensive strategy, but with the Eagles missing two starting OL, it was surprising for the Eagles to be that willfully one-dimensional.
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5.5 – Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott’s combined Yards Per Carry
There’s been a lot of discussion about Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, and how the snaps should be distributed in Dallas. I think the team has found themselves a happy median, and understands the benefits of each runner’s contrasting style. Elliott showcased his strength and punished would-be tacklers with tough physical running while flashing some elusiveness behind the line of scrimmage.
Meanwhile, Tony Pollard was his usual self, slipping through tackles and bursting through tight creases. It didn’t matter who was given the opportunity. The offensive line gave both runners big holes to run through and they delivered. The Dallas Cowboys may be the most diverse offense in the NFL and that’s in large part to Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard.
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