Decoding McCarthy/Zimmer Report, Wk 10
Consolidating the Xs and Os from the Week 10 Eagles Game as the season slips away.
Tuesdays – since about 2008 – have been my day to evaluate the offense in this space. However, due to circumstances beyond the Cowboys control, evidently, we have modified this space from now through the end of the regular season as the games themselves have become less compelling. Therefore, we will attempt to combine the offensive and defensive reviews as best we can and that will leave us room for an additional piece in days to come. This week, that will be on the last days of the Mike McCarthy era and what we might learn from this.
Our objectives today:
The Offensive Overview vs the Eagles
The Defensive Overview vs the Eagles
Those who played well
Those who did not play well enough
10 plays that defined this game - Xs and Os breakdown
Let’s get busy:
The Offensive Overview vs the Eagles
When discussing the offense on Sunday, there's no question that it provided some very depressing football to analyze. The offense was absolutely awful in nearly every regard, beginning with the inability to move the ball down the field at all via passing.
The more a smart and talented opponent realizes you are unlikely to threaten them with a pass play, the more they tighten the screws on your alternatives. With Cooper Rush in the game, it quickly became evident that he had no intention of throwing the ball downfield—because when he did, it appeared to be a throw lacking conviction and velocity, seemingly waiting to be intercepted.
All parties understood what was happening very early, and the Cowboys and Rush quickly switched to an offense they thought might have a small chance—running the football and quickly throwing the ball underneath to the edge (which serves as a variation of the run game). This approach might have been competitive if it weren’t for five turnovers.
Considering how conservative the offense was and that they still gave the ball away five times, it boggles the mind that many are targeting the offensive scheme, saying it needs to offer more aggressive shots. The comparison to Malik Willis and the game plan Matt LaFleur provided for him to secure multiple wins from a backup QB up north fails to recognize that the Packers have built a loaded offense with diverse weapons and a consistent ground attack. This offense has failed to reach 300 yards even with its QB1, so the idea that a QB2 would be able to move the ball at all was always a pipe dream. I’d offer LaFleur a camp with these 11 starters to see what he could come up with. I’m not defending the scheme, because it clearly isn’t good enough, but this offensive line, the 31st-ranked running game, and these limited weapons outside of CeeDee just aren’t conducive to plugging in Cooper Rush and expecting victory.
Here is the passing chart, where we find just one completion beyond five yards downfield, in what would have to be called one of the most feeble passing games we can remember since the Dave Campo era. I’m not saying that many reading this could have replicated this passing day, but I am confident we could find at least a few who could.
Below, Kevin Utz put the categories in red if they are failing grades. I think he could have kept going, but it is worth noting that they actually were not in horrible shape on 3rd downs because 6.4 to go is a very strong average. 146 yards is historically awful and 2.6 yards per play means that anyone who watched this game should be given some reward from the franchise for “outstanding loyalty during organizational crisis.”
Five giveaways with zero explosive plays of 20 yards is also a comically inept statistic. And let us also not overlook the impossibly poor 16% passing success rate. The Cowboys actually reached the red zone twice, though this is somewhat misleading given that one of the drives started at Philadelphia's 6-yard line. The Cowboys ran almost no play-action because all 11 Eagles would have pointed and laughed at that concept with the level of QB play Dallas offered.
I was going to peruse the archives to see how 146 yards of offense compares to the "worst offensive days in Cowboys history." The truth is, it doesn’t even crack the 10 worst. However, you’ll see that the only other game since the Campo era comparable to this one was Andy Dalton’s rough day in Washington in 2020 (Dallas heads to Washington in 12 days).
It will surprise nobody to find out that Dallas is 0-13 lifetime with 146 yards or less of offense. Of course, 146 yards and 5 giveaways is roughly as bad as it gets if we go back about 60 years.
But, wait, it gets worse. Because as poor as the offense was in the 1st half, they were even worse in the 2nd:
In a game where it was hard to believe how rough the first half was—including the dreaded fumble into the end zone by Ezekiel Elliott—they somehow lowered the bar in the second half. I don’t think there’s a huge demand to see more of Trey Lance, as he managed the day’s only interception, and the entire Cowboys offense in the second half achieved just three first downs in six possessions.
They had 22 snaps in the second half and 42 yards of offense, averaging 1.9 yards per snap in a game where the Eagles' defense had become disinterested. Words cannot express how sad that truly is. But this might:
Here are the 10 biggest plays for the Cowboys. Zero explosives and in the modern NFL, if your 10 biggest plays feature a 6-yard run and six rushing plays, you probably were blown out in this game.
Check. The Rico Dowdle game was strong, but that is roughly all we have to say about the offensive performance. It best reminds us of John McKay’s immortalized NFL Films quote:
“What do you think of your team’s execution coach?”
To which McKay replied, “I’m in favor of it.”