Blogging The Boys
Every week, we gather to discuss the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have David Howman, Sean Martin, and Tom Ryle.
Mike: They were right to be aggressive. Against an explosive Eagles offense, shrinking possessions and keeping the ball out of Jalen Hurts’ hands is sound game strategy. In the red zone, pairing play-action and quick throws on early downs also fits the matchup and has a higher touchdown probability. A couple of outcomes may have looked unfortunate in real time, but that’s variance, the process was correct.
Howman: They were the correct moves, yes. I can understand kicking the field goal late in the fourth, but then the Eagles only need about 30 yards to tie it up again. The failed fourth-down attempt meant they needed to go nearly 60 yards just to attempt a field goal. Giving the defense a longer field to defend is always ideal, even if they’ve been playing well.
Tom: I’m not going to fault the aggressiveness. I will knock the play-calling. After the fumbled punt, why didn’t they try to run it in? I know Dak was cooking, but Javonte Williams was doing pretty well himself. I think trying to power it in would have worked better.
Sean: I’m with Tom completely on this one. Don’t fault the aggressiveness, rather the play-calling. That said, sticking with the run at times even when down three scores was a factor in how they came back. Everything was a yin and yang in this game in one of the strangest ways possible.
Mike: Looking for unsung hero here, then it’s Sam Williams. He turned the game’s script with relentless speed-to-power. His backside pursuit erased cutbacks, and his motor kept the pocket tight so teammates could deliver pressure to Hurts. His signature moment was when he backtracked to punch the ball out of Saquon Barkley’s hands from a quick pass to the left, robbing the Eagles of points at a crucial point of the game.
Howman: The low hanging fruit is Alijah Clark, but the fumble ended up not resulting in any score change, so I’ll go another direction. How about Sam Williams, who’s been subject to lots of criticism this year, forcing the fumble on Saquon Barkley and prematurely ending an Eagles drive that looked like a guarantee to score?
Tom: I know he got a lot of praise for the lone sack, but Osa Odighizuwa deserves more. He had a TFL and four QB hits. He was much more effective than Kenny Clark in this game and seems to be thriving when on the field with Quinnen Williams.
Sean: Again, I like Tom’s line of thinking on praising the strength in numbers game for the defensive line, and tackles more specifically, but how...
