After what felt like weeks of anticipation, we finally got a glimpse of the new-look Cowboys defense, and boy did it deliver. They didn’t give up a touchdown until the fourth quarter and sacked Geno Smith four times. That said, it was also the Raiders, one of the worst offenses in the league.
Which means it’s time to roundup some analytics! At this point, strength of schedule adjustments are in full effect for all DVOA-related grades. So just how good was that win over the struggling Raiders, and how much has it helped the Cowboys?
Cowboys Efficiency at a GlanceDVOADVOA RankDVOA Rank Previous RankWeighted DVOAWeighted DVOA RankOffense10.4%9th11th10.3%10thDefense18.0%31st31st16.9%31stSpecial Teams2.6%10th13th2.4%11thOverall-5.1%19th21st-4.2%18th
The Cowboys jumped up two spots in total team efficiency, and both their offense and special teams climbed the leaderboard as well. The defense remains at 31st, but there’s important context to this. Last week, Dallas was just a couple percentage points away from being last, just barely ahead of the Dolphins.
Now, though, they’re just a couple percentage points away from surpassing the Jets at 30th. That’s still not where they want to be, but it’s a sizable jump in DVOA to make in just one week. If we look at every team’s performance just in Week 11, Dallas was 11th in defensive DVOA.
2025 NFL Team Tiers, Weeks 1-11, courtesy of rbsdm.com
Moving along to the EPA-based team tiers, we see that the star logo is getting started on its upward drift. The offense remains in the same tier as contenders like the Colts, Chiefs, Bills, and Packers while their defense needs serious improvement. If they keep playing the way they did on Monday, though, the Cowboys will be in great company.
Cowboys Offensive EfficiencyGradeRankOffensive DVOA10.4%9thPass DVOA26.1%11thRun DVOA-1.4%10thEPA/Play0.1385thEPA/Dropback0.2166thEPA/Rush-0.0036th
Offensively, the Cowboys got back to their usual ways. Consecutive letdowns against the Broncos and Cardinals prompted a question over whether or not they were losing steam, but the Raiders defense offered a tangible challenge that Dallas passed with flying colors.
Coming into the game, Las Vegas was allowing a 45.5% success rate to opposing offenses, only slightly below the surging Patriots. On Monday night, Dallas posted a 56.5% success rate, highest of any offense this week. It wasn’t their best single-game mark, but the Cowboys offense looks to be back.
Dak Prescott’s EfficiencyGradeRankQBR75.11stEPA/play0.2188thCPOE4.16thEPA+CPOE Composite0.1536thSuccess Rate49.5%13th
Dak Prescott is also back. After a dismal performance against Denver, followed up with a drop-filled game against Arizona, Prescott showed up in Sin City ready to lock back in. The only quarterbacks with a higher EPA/play this week were Jordan Love (for those who know, Toyotathon just began) and Josh Allen, who scored six total touchdowns against the Buccaneers.
Prescott is also tied with Allen on the season in big time throw rate while having the sixth-lowest turnover worthy play rate of any starter. And, of course, he leads the league in QBR. His numbers are MVP-caliber, and if the Cowboys can go on a run and make the playoffs, it will be hard for voters to go any other direction.
Cowboys Offensive Line EfficiencyGradeRankPressure Rate30.1%10thAdjusted Sack Rate4.9%3rdPass Block Win Rate66%10thRun Block Win Rate72%13thAdjusted Line Yards4.855th
The last time the Cowboys played a game, Terence Steele was benched for Nate Thomas and both tackles were giving up pressures left and right. Steele returned to the starting lineup for this one, but his play didn’t really improve, giving up four pressures on the night. That not only led the team, but it’s the third time this year he’s given up four or more pressures.
Tyler Guyton, on the other hand, was great. He and Cooper Beebe were the only two Cowboys to lay a goose egg in the pressures column, the first time Guyton has done so this season. Guyton had allowed 11 pressures in his previous three games and was inside the top 10 of tackles in pressures given up. His play against the Raiders, whose pass rush is led by Maxx Crosby, offers serious hope for his development the rest of the year.
Cowboys Defensive EfficiencyGradeRankDefensive DVOA18.0%31stPass Defense DVOA29.9%30thRun Defense DVOA2.8%29thPressure Rate35.6%12thPass Rush Win Rate38%16thRun Stop Win Rate32%6thEPA/Play0.13829thEPA/Dropback Allowed0.19528thEPA/Rush Allowed0.04329th
None of these numbers shout “the defense is fixed” but a big reason for that is because the Cowboys have nine games of terrible football baked into these numbers. It’ll take more than just one good performance against a bad offense for the metrics to go up in a meaningful way. That said, this game was highly encouraging.
Only three defenses had a better EPA/play allowed in Week 11, the first time the Cowboys have been top five in that regard for any single game this year. Only four teams had more pressures and their sack rate of 8.2% was the best they’ve had on the year. They also yielded the fewest yards per carry of anyone this week; the Raiders hardly ran it, but the Cowboys shut them down even when they did.
Cowboys Pass CoverageTargetsCompletionsCompletion RatePasser Rating AllowedADOT When TargetedAir Yards AllowedYards After CatchTrevon Diggs151173.3%154.916.917244DaRon Bland543768.5%102.69.6266157Kaiir Elam392461.5%112.612.222391Shavon Revel100.0%39.619.000Reddy Steward252288.0%96.23.427150Trikweze Bridges201365.0%110.616.517229Malik Hooker55100.0%158.317.27741Donovan Wilson201680.0%100.610.211845Juanyeh Thomas33100.0%143.82.3720Markquese Bell10880.0%107.36.04659DeMarvion Overshown44100.0%89.6-3.0-1234Logan Wilson5360.0%65.44.2-420Jack Sanborn121191.7%107.37.26156Marist Liufau151493.3%137.24.246128Kenneth Murray362877.8%97.93.980190Shemar James252392.0%132.53.377158Damone Clark7571.4%84.24.71721
Here’s the headline: everyone who played this week saw their passer rating allowed go down (in the right direction). Of course, the pessimistic take on that is it would’ve been hard for many of these players to get worse in that regard. Still, it was a much better night in coverage for the Cowboys.
That said, it still wasn’t perfect: the Cowboys allowed an average 4.8 yards of separation at the catch in this game, most of any defense in Week 11. In fairness, a lot of that came from the Raiders’ quick passing game, which feasted on short throws to the flat. There weren’t any blown coverages this week, but there is still room for the secondary to grow.