In every game, whether it’s a sporting event or a board game there is a path — and sometimes more than one — to victory. For the Dallas Cowboys, it’s no different. As they get set to face a Seattle Seahawks team that is 0-2 for the first time since 2015, they’ll have to win in several areas to bring home the W.
After starting out 0-2 in 2015, the Seahawks finished the season with a 10-6 record and won their wild card game over the Minnesota Vikings before falling in the divisional round to the Carolina Panthers.
The Seahawks are one of those teams that you can get down, but can never count out. If the Dallas Cowboys want to come out on top in their trip to the Pacific Northwest, they are going to have to come ready to play.
In particular, these are the things that the Dallas Cowboys have to achieve to be the victors on Sunday.
Limit Big Plays
The Seattle Seahawks are a very interesting offensive case study. They have one of the better quarterbacks in the league, but have invested very little in trying to protect their most important asset.
They rely on Russell Wilson’s improvisational ability and penchant for big plays.
In 2017, Wilson had a quarterback rating of 100.9 on attempts greater than 20 yards down the field, per Pro Football Focus. He threw the ball “deep” 91 times, completing 31 passes for 1,134 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. He had the most deep attempts in the league last season and tied with Alex Smith with the most touchdowns on deep attempts. Wilson’s yardage was nearly 200 yards more than the next best in the NFL on deep passing.
Wilson’s going to take some deep shots. If you watched the Monday Night Football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Chicago Bears, you noticed that even though Wilson was getting battered, it didn’t deter him from taking shots deep down the field. Sometimes into unfavorable coverages.
The secondary has an advantage over the Seattle Seahawks group of wide receivers, but they’ll have to stay disciplined and not allow the big pass plays to beat them.
In a game where they were being dominated for more than three quarters, the Seahawks were able to hang around and had a chance at the end because of their penchant for big plays.
Don’t get beat deep.
Wrangling Russell Wilson
The Seattle Seahawks have allowed the most sacks in the league through two weeks. They’ve allowed six in each of their first two games this season. The Dallas Cowboys are going to have opportunities to sack Russell Wilson this week.
They have to take advantage.
Like Cam Newton in week one, Russell Wilson is a very elusive quarterback. Not only is he really good at making plays with his legs, he can be difficult to bring down. The Dallas Cowboys will have to work to keep Wilson in the pocket and finish when they get an opportunity to bring him down. He’s not a physical presence like Newton is, but he’s slippery and has some of that Tony Romo elusiveness to him.
If the potential tackler doesn’t get Wilson down on first contact, it could lead to big plays both through the air and on the ground. Wilson averages 33.6 yards per game on the ground in his career and 5.7 yards per attempt. In order to get off the field on third down, they’re going to have to prevent Wilson from using his legs to pick up third downs.
Establishing the Pass to Set Up the Run
At this point in the Dallas Cowboys offensive approach, everyone in the world knows what the Dallas Cowboys want to do on offense. They want to run the ball.
The Dallas Cowboys did a great job using this knowledge to their advantage on the first series of the game against the New York Giants.
On the first play of the game, they used a Run-Pass Option, with a clear out to the flat by Tight End Geoff Swaim, and found Allen Hurns on a slant to set up a second and short. Then after picking up that second and short with a run by Ezekiel Elliott, they used a straight play action out of a two running back, one tight end set, and hit Tavon Austin for the 64 yard touchdown.
Dak’s willingness to throw the ball deep on a couple other occasions helped open up the run. The deep ball has to be a threat in order to back defenses off the line of scrimmage and do what you do best: Run the Ball. If they aren’t going to back off, then you have to keep throwing it until you hit the deep ball enough that it forces them to do so.
The Dallas Cowboys were able to run the ball pretty effectively for the rest of the game, even if they didn’t hit a lot of big plays. With the New York Giants interior defensive line, it was going to be tough sledding anyway. Getting things going through the air, helped out immensely.
The Seattle Seahawks are going to try to do what everyone does; put the ball in Dak Prescott’s hands. If they’re going to win on Sunday, it’s going to be because Prescott had another efficient game throwing the ball.
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This game sets up really well for the Dallas Cowboys to improve their record to 2-1 and keep pace with the upper tier teams in the NFC. Every win matters, but these NFC games matter even a bit more. No game in the NFL is a cakewalk and this game is no different. If the Dallas Cowboys aren’t able to do the above, it could be a long day for America’s Team.
