Near the end of the 2023 season, the secret of how to beat the Dallas Cowboys was out. Run the ball right down the defense’s throat.
The Buffalo Bills piled up 266 rushing yards against Dallas in a 31-10 rout.
A few weeks later, the Green Bay Packers put up 143 rushing yards in the 48-32 rout in the wild card game back in January.
The majority of the damage was right up the middle. First round pick Mazi Smith and the rest of the defensive tackles seemed helpless against the run.
Middle linebacker Leighton Vander Esch’s career-ending injury in San Francisco earlier in the year proved hard to recover from as well.
Shortly after the Green Bay loss, then defensive coordinator Dan Quinn moved on to take the head coaching position with the Washington Commanders.
Mike Zimmer was brought in for his second stint as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator. Given Zimmer’s reputation, bolstered by his time in Minnesota, for building stout defensive lines there was great rejoicing.
Just six weeks into the season, it’s fair to ask if the preseason expectations were well-founded or not.
The answer would seem to indicate it wasn’t.
Was Quinn’s Rush Defense Better?
Through the first six weeks and going into a bye for the seventh week as is the case this year, Quinn’s defense statistically is actually doing better than Zimmer’s.
In 2023, Dallas got off to a 4-2 start thanks in a large part to the defense.
The 2023 unit allowed only 100 points in those six contests. They averaged 177 passing yards allowed per game and just under 112 rushing yards per contest.
The 2023 unit recorded 12 takeaways and scored three touchdowns.
This year’s defense has just five takeaways and hasn’t found the endzone yet.
They are yielding 143 rushing yards and 215 passing yards per game so far this year, all higher than the 2023 crew. Worse still, the defense has yielded 168 points, 11 more points a game than last year at this time.
That’s a big reason why they are 3-3 instead of 4-2.
Honestly, they could be 2-4 or even 1-5 if just two plays had different outcomes.
Meanwhile, in D.C., Quinn has rebuilt the Commanders’ defense and has the team slightly ahead of the Cowboys statistically.
He also has them 4-2 and in first place in the NFC East, with Dallas in third place and one game back. That’s not good… for Dallas.
In Zimmer’s Defense
Zimmer’s defense has resembled something of a MASH unit this season. Even before the season began, Sam Williams was lost for the year to a knee injury.
The injury bug hasn’t cut the Cowboys’ defense an ounce of slack since.
DeMarcus Lawrence, Micah Parsons, DaRon Bland, Caelen Carson, Eric Kendricks, and Marshawn Kneeland have all missed games this year.
Even before those hits were taken, there were still issues with the run defense, as the numbers bear out. Zimmer was supposed to be able to shore that area up.
The Cowboys went out and signed free agents at defensive tackle.
Smith put the weight back on that Quinn had him take off in camp last year. Kendricks was supposed to shore up the middle with help from DeMarvion Overshown and rookie Marist Liufau.
Despite all that, the Cowboys still can’t stop the run.
Feasts Of The Running Backs
In Dallas’ three losses, the opposing running backs have gotten their fill with little resistance from the defense. New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara stormed through the line for 115 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. Kamara added two catches for 65 yards and another score as receiver out of the backfield.
In the loss to the Ravens, Derrick Henry gashed the defense for 151 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Quarterback Lamar Jackson added a touchdown and 87 yards on 14 carries.
On Sunday, David Montgomery had 80 yards and two scores on just 12 carries and teammate Jahmyr Gibbs added 63 yards on 12 carries of his own.
The Task Ahead
The next four weeks will be critical for Dallas’ season. The teams they are facing are a combined 15-8 on the season after six weeks.
Three of them have dangerous running backs that will certainly be looking to exploit Dallas’ glaring weakness.
The Cowboys first game after the bye is at 3–3 San Francisco. The 49ers have clearly found a replacement for Christian McCaffrey in Jordan Mason.
Then Dallas travels to Atlanta and the 4–2 Falcons’ two-headed running back attack of Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier.
Dallas will next host the 3–2 Eagles, who have Saquon Barkley, who is enjoying something of a renaissance in Philadelphia.
The fourth and final game is at home but comes against the 5-1 Texans. While Dallas has won two of the last three meetings, those games have been decided by a total of just 10 points combined.
Houston does not have a vaunted rushing attack, but figures to see their backs probing the defense to help open the passing attack.
Under Early Pressure
As mentioned above, Zimmer was supposed to shore up the defensive woes. The early returns don’t seem to favor his having succeeded.
Even with the injuries, Zimmer and the defense have to get their house in order and soon.
Because as of today, the Cowboys are already in need of another coaching upgrade.
This time around, it may not be just one coach that gets replaced.