FRISCO — Last week, after a loss in Carolina, Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said he could relate to where his defensive coordinator, Matt Eberflus, was existing at the time.
The numbers told the tale of a team that was competing despite the play of a defense that was averaging over 30 points allowed per game. It was still early in the season, but as the Cowboys’ defense continued to struggle, the louder the outside noise about Eberflus’ group grew.
It was a dangerous spot for the Cowboys’ first-year defensive coordinator.
“I understand what he’s going through. It sucks and it’s no fun,” Schottenheimer said prior to last Sunday’s 44-22 win over the Commanders. “But we’re going to ride this thing out and again: we’ll play better. We really will.”
Cowboys
And because they did play better, this week’s game against the Denver Broncos is equally — if not more — dangerous.
The Cowboys looked different against the Commanders because they were different. Eberflus, true to the roots instilled by former Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli, elected to play almost entirely a zone defense through the first six weeks. Additionally, the Cowboys were reluctant to blitz often in that same span. Against the Commanders, both of those things changed. They ran man coverage 49.2% of the time against Washington, according to Tru Media. They entered the week 21st in the NFL in blitz rate, according to Pro Football Reference. After last week, they jumped all the way up to 14th in the NFL.
It resulted in a step forward for a defense that badly needed one. Taking a step immediately back could make a page-turn feel like an anomaly.
“The most humbling part of this business is when you say, ‘Oh, hey, we played great this week. We’ll be fine.’ No. If you don’t put in the work, and if you don’t stay true to the process, if you don’t go through the daily grind that it takes to be great, and study film to develop your players and to push the fundamentals and all those things, it’s bound to happen quite quickly that you’ll be the one they’re talking about again and saying, ‘Hey, this guy sucks.’”
As Schottenheimer alluded to, each week is different in the NFL. That means different gameplans each week, too.
Therein exists a question about the changes the Cowboys made last week against the Commanders.
Immediately after the game, Schottenheimer credited the team’s analytics department for the decision for the increased man coverage. Later this week, Schottenheimer and Eberflus both pointed to the value of analytics, but cautioned it as the sole reason for the major swing in man coverage.
“It’s part of the process, the analytics,” Schottenheimer said. “[Coaches], by trait, are guys that like to see things live. We like to watch the video because the video brings it to life.”
Eberflus, when asked about how he integrates analytics, said, “It’s like anything. You have to watch the tape. Analytics tells you something, but the tape tells you the truth. You have to really understand that the tape tells us what’s going on. But I like to get the analytics first, look at it, see where it is and really get the evidence off the tape. Then you see how you can move the defense to fit what they’re doing on offense. And then really it’s just about the guys executing.”
Truth be told, the Cowboys’ defense looked its best against the Commanders last week. And if analytics played a factor in a sudden defensive philosophy switch, it does invite a question of what the analytics are telling the Cowboys to do this week in Denver — a team that likes to run screens and swing passes as much as anybody. Could it spark the Cowboys to revert to a mostly zone coverage approach, even when they’ve struggled with it this season?
There’s also the player factor when it comes to how the Cowboys play defense moving forward. Trevon Diggs — out for the second-straight game with a concussion after an undisclosed accident at his home last Thursday — asked Eberflus if they could play more man defense, like they had in previous seasons. He wasn’t on the field last Sunday against the Commanders, but the players who were on the field voiced their appreciation for having the chance to play more man defense.
“We have a standard in the room: nobody can come on Alcatraz. That’s our island,” rookie corner Trikweze Bridges said, referring to the island that is one-on-one man coverage. “That’s us. Coach [Eberflus] giving us man calls, we already knew it was our time to show what we are and show the standard that we have. It’s us doing our thing, displaying who we are.”
Fellow corner Kaiir Elam also noted that last Sunday was the most man coverage they’ve played this season.
“It gives us this ability to show off our skill set,” Elam said. “Obviously, in zone, there is going to be soft areas. In man, we tighten it up. It was credit to coach Eberflus for allowing us to really show what we can do.”
Ultimately there are a lot of factors that go into a gameplan. There are analytics, there’s film, and then there’s player feedback. Ultimately, the gameplan — and the play calls specifically — are decided by one person, however.
So far, that approach has been working for the Cowboys’ offense. Dallas is second in points per game (31.7) this season and first in average yards (390.6) per game. One reason for the offense’s success, according to quarterback Dak Prescott, is Schottenheimer’s willingness to build a gameplan with voices from many different people and sources.
“From not only just me but from the whole group,” Prescott said. “He’ll then, as any leader and coach decide, determine how he takes that information in and whether it’s great information or we already knew that. It’s a collaborative effort from everybody. Yeah, all hands on deck.”
The Cowboys’ offense has looked like a group with confidence all season. After Washington, the defense did, too.
“It all starts with the urgency and our preparation,” said defensive tackle Kenny Clark. “I think we had a great week of practice and everybody being locked in and you just see that comfortability coming in. Hopefully we can just keep that going, stack another win and stack another good defensive performance.”
It feels dangerously pivotal after the defense’s first taste of success last weekend.
Twitter/X: @JoeJHoyt
Cowboys’ linebacker group settling in behind Kenneth Murray after early season concerns
Murray has received praise from Cowboys coaches for his leadership in helping stabilize the Dallas defense.
Cowboys’ game of musical chairs at safety continues with Donovan Wilson out vs. Denver
Backup safety Juanyeh Thomas is also questionable for Sunday with a migraine.
Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs (concussion) ruled out vs. Broncos
The Cowboys are considering placing the former All-Pro on injured reserve due to his health issues.
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.