Hogs Haven
It’s week 7 of the NFL season and the 3-3 Washington Commanders will be facing a 2-3-1 Dallas Cowboys team on the road at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX this Sunday at 4:25 pm EDT. The Cowboys have had a wild ride of a season so far, beating the Jets and Giants, losing to the Eagles, Bears, and Panthers, and tying the Packers in a spectacular 80-point overtime game.
On offense, the Cowboys are coached by OC and run-game designer Klayton Adams, as well as HC and playcaller Brian Schottenheimer. Klayton Adams may be the most impactful hire by the Cowboys to fly under the radar of most fans. Adams was previously the OL coach of the Arizona Cardinals and coached the Cardinals up to the 4th-most rushing yards in 2023 and 7th-most rushing yards in 2024. Since Adams’ departure, the Cardinals have dropped to the 15th-most rushing yards in the NFL so far this season despite mostly the same personnel and coaching staff. The combo of Adams and Schottenheimer have designed an offense in Dallas that utilizes a lot of play action, a lot of pre-snap motion, heavy use of tempo, and a very conscious effort to ensure run and pass plays start with the same looks. The result has been an offense that has generated the most yards and 3rd-most points in the NFL despite an injured CeeDee Lamb (who should return for this game), injuries to each of the interior offensive line starters, and a RB room that many considered the worst in the NFL prior to week 1.
On defense, the Cowboys are coached by DC Matt Eberflus, former HC of the Chicago Bears and former DC of the Colts. As with each of his prior two stops, Eberflus primarily runs a Cover 2 zone defense that rushes 4 and has the 12th-lowest blitz rate in the league. The result has been the NFL’s worst defense by yards allowed and 2nd-worst defense by points allowed through 6 weeks. Although this style of defense might be expected to defend the pass better than the run due to dropping 7 back into coverage, the Cowboys have actually allowed the most passing yards to opponents, but only the 3rd-most rushing yards. In addition to poor play, the Cowboys defense has been characterized by sloppy play, allowing the most penalty yards to opponents in the NFL.
I asked David Halprin of Blogging the Boys five questions to better understand the state of the Cowboys and what to look for in this game.
1) Tell us about the new coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball, particularly OC Klayton Adams and HC Brian Schottenheimer. How do they have the offense functioning at such a high level despite injuries to CeeDee Lamb, numerous injuries along the offensive line, and what many thought was a reclamation project RB room?
That’s the really positive side of what is happening in Dallas right now. As you mentioned, the team has been without...
