Blogging The Boys
After what felt like weeks of anticipation, we finally got a glimpse of the new-look Cowboys defense, and boy did it deliver. They didn’t give up a touchdown until the fourth quarter and sacked Geno Smith four times. That said, it was also the Raiders, one of the worst offenses in the league.
Which means it’s time to roundup some analytics! At this point, strength of schedule adjustments are in full effect for all DVOA-related grades. So just how good was that win over the struggling Raiders, and how much has it helped the Cowboys?
The Cowboys jumped up two spots in total team efficiency, and both their offense and special teams climbed the leaderboard as well. The defense remains at 31st, but there’s important context to this. Last week, Dallas was just a couple percentage points away from being last, just barely ahead of the Dolphins.
Now, though, they’re just a couple percentage points away from surpassing the Jets at 30th. That’s still not where they want to be, but it’s a sizable jump in DVOA to make in just one week. If we look at every team’s performance just in Week 11, Dallas was 11th in defensive DVOA.
Moving along to the EPA-based team tiers, we see that the star logo is getting started on its upward drift. The offense remains in the same tier as contenders like the Colts, Chiefs, Bills, and Packers while their defense needs serious improvement. If they keep playing the way they did on Monday, though, the Cowboys will be in great company.
Offensively, the Cowboys got back to their usual ways. Consecutive letdowns against the Broncos and Cardinals prompted a question over whether or not they were losing steam, but the Raiders defense offered a tangible challenge that Dallas passed with flying colors.
Coming into the game, Las Vegas was allowing a 45.5% success rate to opposing offenses, only slightly below the surging Patriots. On Monday night, Dallas posted a 56.5% success rate, highest of any offense this week. It wasn’t their best single-game mark, but the Cowboys offense looks to be back.
Dak Prescott is also back. After a dismal performance against Denver, followed up with a drop-filled game against Arizona, Prescott showed up in Sin City ready to lock back in. The only quarterbacks with a higher EPA/play this week were Jordan Love (for those who know, Toyotathon just began) and Josh Allen, who scored six total touchdowns against the Buccaneers.
Prescott is also tied with Allen on the season in big time throw rate while having the sixth-lowest turnover worthy play rate of any starter. And, of course, he leads the league in QBR. His numbers are MVP-caliber, and if the Cowboys can go on a run and make the playoffs, it will be hard for voters to go any other direction.
The last time the Cowboys played a game, Terence Steele was benched for Nate Thomas and both tackles were giving up pressures left and right....
