Cowboys defense fades after week 12

The Den
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The Cowboys defense was giving up around 290 yards a game but the last 3 games they have given up an average of 390+ yards a game.

If you look at the Cowboys defense under McCarthy they have faded down the stretch after week 12 each year.

Over the first 12 games of each of the past three seasons, the Cowboys defense ranked.

Average points allowed per game…#5
Average sacks per game…#1
Average takeaways per game… #2
Opponent QB rating… #3

After week 12 the Cowboys defense ranked.
Average points per game…#16
Average sacks per game…#16
takeaways oer game…#1`
Opponent QB rating…#7

As you can see their defense is really good at creating turnovers but they tend to get softer and wear down as the season progresses.

The Cowboys defense has been ranked 6th on the year but the last 3 games they ranked 21st which is worse than the Lions defense the last 3 weeks.

Is this a depth issue or just the players wearing down?

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To me, it’s a scheduling thing.

Dallas D is ELITE vs shit teams. Even early when they played SF/Philly they didn’t do much

But last 4 weeks they have Sea, Philly, Buffalo, Miami

That’s why they don’t have those #s anymore

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Scheduling and therefore a game script thing. Bad teams fall veins and get buried by a team that is great at front running.

Week 13 on they are last in defensive success rate according to Robert Mayes of the Athletic.

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Important not to fall far behind early and get out of our gameplan.

Also important to take points in this game….I hope MCDC takes the 3 when we have opportunities from 40 yards

I know their kicker will bury those opportunities for them

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I’ve been thinking about this and trying to understand why this stat is…

Here’s my conclusion. The Cowboys defense runs a ton of sub packages. Which leaves them small in the middle their defense. They are built more on speed and less on size and physicality.

Button line is they wear down. They get banged up, beat up and become more susceptible to teams exploiting their size. When teams reach December they tend to run more and a soft LBer corp gets beat on by power run teams.

That’s the situation Dallas is about to face. The Lions run offense will be running against a smaller and softer LBer corp than they’ve faced all season.

I think the Lions RB’s are in for a big game today.

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I’d LOVE a Buffalo like box score

Goff 15/20. Gibbs/Montgomery 40/200

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What is Dallas expecting us to do? We need to find a way to force our will.
I hope to see us throw high completion 4-6 yarders on 1st down. This opens up the run game for runs on 2nd, 3rd, and 4th down. A few of these will go for some good chunk yards as well.

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Seems like this is accurate… and historically proven as well.

Philly and the Bears had quite a few good defenses about 15-20 tears ago… relying on quickness and speed. But they seemed to struggle against the run late in the season as teams ran more aggressive in cold weather.

Game script will be important today…. IMO.

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Their whole defense is basically a sub package. Marquise Bell was an HBCU safety. They’re so damn light at the second level. Mazzi Smith just isn’t him (yet) and Osa is twitchy but like 280.

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I’m expecting Laporta to attack the middle in this game. I’d like to see a big game from him and our running backs

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Exactly that’s why I think we can impose are will on them with a power run game. Use our TEs heavily too. They will be a mismatch for their smaller back 7.

I really think we can win this game.

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I think we win if we turn this into a ball control rushing attack.

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Sam over the deep middle with Gibbs heading to the short middle. Send JAMO on a deep and St. between them. Good luck Dallass!

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This team can beat anyone when the offensive line is rolling. Don’t get cute and pound the rock.

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