DQ Report, Wk 14 - Those Precious Takeaways
Cowboys force the Eagles into coughing up the rock and that wins them the game.
I think the best way to discuss the Dallas Cowboys huge win over the Eagles from a defensive standpoint would be to circle back to what we wrote in Week 9. You see in Week 9, if you can bear to watch that loss in Philadelphia again, you would note a few things.
Dallas really defended well and held the Eagles under 300 yards of offense.
Dallas probably won the majority of snaps against Jalen Hurts and his crew.
But, Dallas did not generate those big play moments when they could.
So, as we look at the Week 14 results – where big plays were definitely made – we must use this small quote from five weeks ago:
“We must make big plays to win this big game.” - Everyone
It may sound like one of the most common clichés in football, because it is. But, it is also pretty important information.
In football, winning the majority of the snaps can be undone by a small sliver of snaps that go the other direction. To insure you get what you worked for, there will be a few snaps in the game that will either put you over the top or make all of your hard work feel meaningless.
And in Arlington on Sunday, Dan Quinn’s crew made the big plays at the big moments. The Eagles offensive drive chart will show you the important information in the blue squares:
Yes, there is more to it than just those plays, but it is also worth acknowledging that the Eagles had just one three-and-out drive the whole night. They had about six promising drives where they moved the chains and started feeling good about themselves.
But, two of them ended in field goals as the Cowboys stiffened at the moment of truth. One of them happened on a great fourth-down stop (which we will show you in detail below). And then the other three? The Cowboys defense got that football.
I am certainly not the most old-school football man you will ever meet. In fact, many of our subscribers have coaching backgrounds and adhere to the early tenets of this great game far more than I might. But, hopefully, people are well aware that no matter how much this game evolves, turnovers are still the number one statistic that correlates to winning.
And with Dallas during this era of wonderful success since Dan Quinn and Micah Parsons joined Mike McCarthy, a healed Dak Prescott, and young CeeDee Lamb, Dallas has demonstrated that in a clear and obvious manner.
Just look at the results in the turnover battle below for the last three seasons, including the playoffs.