After a somewhat shaky game, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Detroit Lions 24-6 last Sunday. In the first half, both teams were in a defensive battle that resulted in a score of 6-3 with the Lions winning before the half. Within this game, what did the Cowboys struggle with, and what did the Cowboys achieve?
Corner Backs:
The Cowboys' cornerbacks did not do well this game at covering. Jared Goff did end up throwing two interceptions that were snagged by Corner Back Trevon Diggs and Jourdan Lewis. This was good, however, they also allowed Jared Goff to throw 21 completions out of 26 passes.
This won't fly with other teams. If the Cowboys' defense does this in a bigger game, the other team will win. Even though this is the first time the cornerbacks have let up stats like this the whole season, it's still a problem that needs to be addressed.
Turnovers:
As much as I told off the cornerbacks in the last paragraph, the defense was solid yet again. They forced a total of five turnovers in this game. One of them was a fumble recovery on their own one-yard line. This amazing defense is what stopped the Lions from taking the lead in the early 4th quarter.
This is insane. Demarcus Lawrence split the double, disrupted the puller on G-Lead, stoned the tight end (playing fullback), and then finally forced the fumble on the goal line. All in one play.
When it comes to DL highlights, this is like hitting for the cycle in one at bat. pic.twitter.com/HnqcBvy7MM
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) October 24, 2022
The Dallas Cowboys defense is for sure top three in the NFL (I would even say it's the very best). If the players can hit hard and force more fumbles as they showed in this game, then the rest of the season looks even brighter.
Something is terribly wrong here. Yes, a 24-6 win is good, but when you struggle the whole game offensively against the Lions, some eyebrows will surely be raised. Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore has to take a lot of the blame for the confusion.
Kellen just isn't sticking to the run game whatsoever. He is making a “healing” Quarterback Dak Prescott throw the whole game. This wasn't a wise call, and most of his plays just didn't work at all. Kellen needs to understand that the Cowboys have the defense to literally win a Super Bowl. You'll never find a defense this good for the next 100 years, don't waste it Moore. Kellen must get things under control now!
Dak Prescott:
This topic can slide either way. Dak played very well in the 4th quarter and led the offense to 14 points. Yet, he still could have done much better in ways. I understand he's still somewhat healing, however, when your defense gets a total of five turnovers, there's no excuse why you shouldn't put up 35+ points, (especially against the worst defense in the NFL, the Lions).
I am not here trying to pick on Dak, however, I want to see their offense succeed. If Dak Prescott can start leading this offense to more points per game, the Dallas Cowboys have a chance to finally make a big playoff push.
Overall, Defense looks solid however there needs to be a little more practice with the cornerbacks this week. Kellen Moore needs to get his head on straight, and Dak needs to step it up a little more. I am glad that Dak's first game back was against an easier opponent, but still, lots of work is to be done for the offense.
