Blogging The Boys
The Dallas Cowboys hopes of making the playoffs faded dramatically this week after the loss at home against Minnesota. In a game where trench warfare became all too easy for the Vikings, the final result was forged along the lines. How did the rookie class for Dallas perform during the Week 15 clash? Let’s dive in and find out.
(Game stats- Snaps: 71, Pass Blocks: 41, Pressures: 2, Sacks: 0, Penalties: 0)
Booker’s night against the Vikings came in the middle of a rough outing for the Cowboys’ offense as a whole, but he again looked like one of the steadier pieces up front. Dallas gave up 19 total pressures and two sacks as a unit. Within that, Booker put up a 65.7 offensive grade for the game, one of the better marks on the Cowboys’ offense and looking more in control than the issues both offensive tackles had during the game.
In pass protection, the story was less about Booker repeatedly losing one-on-one and more about the Vikings’ pressure looks overwhelming Dallas collectively. None of the sacks allowed came from Bookers assignment and individually he allowed only two pressures during the game. With Prescott hurried 14 times on the night, there were inevitably a few snaps where the right side was part of crowded pockets, even if Booker wasn’t the primary culprit on the worst breakdowns.
In the run game, the Cowboys did most of their early damage downhill, and the interior trio of Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe and Booker helped get Javonte Williams and Malik Davis into the end zone from tight red-zone situations before the offense bogged down into field-goal mode. There were no high-profile penalties tied to Booker, which fits his general profile as a relatively clean rookie technician rather than a grabby, boom-or-bust mauler. Taken in total, this was a solid in a bad night performance. The Cowboys’ line was overwhelmed by a defense that generated pressure consistently, but Booker held up reasonably well, continuing to look like a long-term answer at right guard even as the rest of the offense faltered around him, most notably the guy to the right of him.
(Game stats- Snaps: 39, Total Tackles: 2, Pressures: 1, Sacks: 0, TFL: 0)
Ezeiruaku’s night against Minnesota was more about steady work than splash, and it played out against the backdrop of a defense that never really got McCarthy uncomfortable. He logged 39 defensive snaps, one of the heavier workloads on the Dallas front, but finished with just two tackles, one tackle for loss, and no sacks. That tackle for loss came late, when he knifed in to stone Jordan Mason for no gain on a third-quarter run, one of the few snaps where the edge really dented Minnesota’s ground game.
The problem was what happened on all the other downs. As a unit, Dallas produced zero sacks and only ten total pressures on J.J. McCarthy, while allowing him to average 10.4 yards per...
