The Cowboys have had extra time to work on everything that went wrong against Tampa Bay. I’d like to make it through Sunday night without thinking about what they used the extra time for.
The Dallas Cowboys visit the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, with a kickoff at 7:20 on NBC.
Between the protection issues, I’m looking at Terence Steel and Jake Ferguson, possible cornerback changes, and adding an experienced coach to help the defense. There will be plenty to watch.
I’ll be looking for things that give us a reason to believe we will see a different result.
1. Can Dak Prescott Make Green Bay Pay for Pressure?
Micah Parsons isn’t expected to play, but the Packers still have 14 sacks, tied for seventh in the NFL. Dallas can’t come into this game thinking Parsons is out, so we are good. Green Bay has proven they don’t need him to get sacks.
With CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, I expect the offense to make a defense pay for leaving one of these guys in single coverage. Dak won’t have time to wait on a deep route every snap, so Brian Schottenheimer has to give his guys a chance to work quickly.
It’s not rocket science. Move Lamb around, use bunch formations to help the receivers get a cleaner release, and give Dak an outlet when Green Bay sends an extra rusher. If either one of these guys gets single coverage, the protection and route has to give Dak a realistic chance to use it.
Tampa disrupted Dallas throughout the game, and I know the Packers watched the film. My question is, will the Cowboys have an answer this time or need several stalled drives to find the solution.
2. Will Dallas Let Green Bay Find a Running Game?
The Packers rank last in rushing yards per game. Dallas is allowing a league-worst 168.4 rushing yards per game. So, which team will come out on top of this battle of attrition?
If the Packers suddenly find their running game on Sunday night, it will go to show either how bad this defense truly is or the coaching staff, and we will get another week of explanations that mean nothing in the grand scheme of things.
We need to see Dallas win enough early downs to put Jordan Love in obvious passing situations. Giving up five yards on a routine first-down carry lets Green Bay keep calling whatever it wants.
The two players I would love to see have big days are Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark in their return to Lambeau as visitors for the first team. I’d love to see both of these guys go off against this team, but chasing a tackle inside won’t help if it leaves the outside open.
“I expect them to be playing with their hair on fire.”
“I would expect to get their best shot this week. I got a lot of love for those guys.”
I don’t want to see a dominant performance. It would be nice, though. I just want to see this run defense actually perform, even if it is against the league’s worst.
Stop being the defense that helps opponents get comfortable.
3. Does Joey Porter Jr.’s Return Change the Cornerback Rotation?
This should be Joey Porter’s second game with the Cowboys, after an illness kept him out against Tampa Bay. The player I want back alongside him is Cobie Durant, but his availability remains uncertain.
If both play, it will be interesting to see who starts.
Does DaRon Bland keep the same role? Does Durant get the start on the outside, with Bland moving inside more in certain packages?
If you remember, Bland slipped on a 64-yard completion and again on a third-and-21 conversion against Tampa Bay. Those were costly mistakes that should cost him some playing time.
If Porter and Durant are available, I want Parker to choose the best combination like his job depends on it. Moving Bland inside won’t automatically fix anything, but keeping everything the same better have a good reason.
Christian Watson has six touchdown catches. This will be a good week to figure out which corner Dallas trusts more when the offense spreads them out.
4. Will Malachi Lawrence Get More Chances?
Malachi Lawrence recorded Dallas’ only sack against Tampa Bay and has only played 35.3% of the snaps this season. Schottenheimer has said more opportunities are coming for him, but we will see if that’s true.
I don’t want to hand Lawrence a starting job over one sack, but this defense needs someone to light a fire under them. Give him enough snaps to show whether that play was the beginning of something better.
I’ll also watch what happens when his first move gets blocked. Can he work free and force Love to move, or is he finished for that play?
It’s not all on Lawrence. The rush has to work together against the Packers. Him getting around the tackle won’t matter if Love has an open lane to step through. More opportunities will tell us if the rookie can consistently help collapse the pocket.
5. Will Experienced Help Produce Better Defensive Decisions?
Mike Pettine arrived Wednesday in an advisory role. Christian Parker remains in charge, but I’m still not beyond the idea that Pettine will be pulling the strings.
He needs time to learn the personnel and understand why Dallas is making certain calls. I don’t expect him to walk into the building and fix the defense in a few meetings.
This addition will give Parker another experienced coach available to help identify what the Packers want to do. The job of connecting the dots still falls solely on Christian Parker.
Those are the things I will be watching for. When something keeps working for the Packers, does Dallas change the coverage, simplify an assignment, or try another play while there’s still time for it to count?
I can accept the Packers making a good play, but I’m over watching something work against Dallas all night with no answers.
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