Blogging The Boys
Well, it’s not a loss, but it feels far from winning. The Dallas Cowboys, despite being largely picked to lose versus the Green Bay Packers, stood toe-to-toe with their longtime NFC rivals and played them to a draw in a wild last-second finish. Listening to the team’s starting quarterbacks, Jordan Love and Dak Prescott, following the game, you could tell they were clearly dissatisfied with the outcome and the fact that there was no clear winner. Frankly, Cowboys fans should feel the same. Dallas had Green Bay trailing in overtime and had the Packers facing 4th & 6. Dallas only needed to make one play to put a much-needed W in the column and return to .500.
Unfortunately, Green Bay converted and persisted on a methodical drive that gave the Packers an extra second for a game-tying field goal to even the game as time expired. However, Dallas needed their stars to deliver to avoid a dreadful 1-3 start, and they did just that. Dallas will have another chance to even their record next Sunday against the New York Jets. But first, here are the reasons Dallas was able to hang with the Packers for a tie.
Limiting Micah Parsons
Although officially Parsons was credited with a sack, it came more in the form of a technicality than anything. While the statistic will look pretty in the box score for Parsons, he never got a chance to wreck the game as some analysts projected. Even when Parsons played for the Cowboys, teams would find ways to limit his impact on games. The Cowboys followed that blueprint and gave the Packers a taste of what Dallas defensive coordinators experienced with opposing teams neutralizing Parsons.
The Cowboys utilized max protections to make sure that they had multiple bodies assigned to Parsons. They also had the running backs and tight ends chip him at the line of scrimmage on their way out into their passing patterns. Also, if Parsons wanted to rush from the interior, the Cowboys were ready for that, too.
It’s even more impressive because, due to injury or performance, Nate Thomas saw significant snaps at right and left tackle, and never afforded the opportunity for Parsons to make a game-altering play. Dallas also kept fellow edge rusher Rashaan Gary away from Prescott, allowing Prescott the time to find his receivers throughout the game. While it is hard to justify a team trading away their best pass rusher, you may start to see some of the reasoning behind it if teams are able to mitigate Parsons in this fashion. Dallas keeping Parsons off Prescott in his homecoming allowed the offense to come alive.
Winning the turnover battle
Dallas only got one turnover against Green Bay, but man, was it a big one. After Jordan Love connected with Romeo Doubs for a one-yard touchdown pass to put the Packers up 13-0, you thought Dallas might be in for a long night. Yet, the tide suddenly turned after a blocked extra point by...
