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By Bob Sturm 25m ago
North Texas framing stores were not expecting the lines Monday morning when they opened their stores, but that was what they faced as lines formed at numerous stores. Cowboys fans had mobilized with the rising sun. They all had a common goal: To frame that third quarter of the demolition of the Carolina Panthers for purposes of posterity.
Future generations should get a look at what was arguably the most dominant quarter in modern Dallas Cowboys history. And only a frame would suffice.
It was just that perfect.
First, keep in mind that most people made their bathroom and concession runs that halftime allows in an agitated state. The Cowboys went to the intermission behind and coupled with how they fell behind was setting up to continue this report-card affair the public has with the Dallas head coach, Mike McCarthy. In a sport where the head coach will make a dozen or two dozen key decisions every game, it appears that we will litigate every last one of them this season as the football intelligentsia has taken to over-analyze even the ones completely supported by analytics. Should he punt here? Why is he going for it so much? Two-point conversions with the lead? No timeout here? Timeout here? No decision is safe at this point. His track record indicates he knows what he is doing enough to be considered one of the most accomplished coaches in the NFL, yet we have taken to scoring his work like he twice failed 10th grade. I am sure he is certain that his 10 postseason wins since 2007 qualify him for this job — given that the franchise he tends over has eight since Jimmy Johnson was dismissed in the spring of 1994. Does that make him perfect? No. But, the nitpicking of whether or not he should decline a penalty or allow his defense to dial-up a third-and-12 defensive stop against the great Sam Darnold is approaching “unnecessary roughness” territory.
Oh well. In the end, I know McCarthy-bashing isn’t about him. It is about Barry Switzer, Chan Gailey, Dave Campo, Bill Parcells, Wade Phillips, and yes, an uninterrupted decade of Garrett. Much like Dak Prescott is answering for all that came between him and Troy Aikman, McCarthy carries the burden of trying to change 25 years in the wilderness since Jimmy. With that comes a nice contract, but also people getting distracted from winning streaks because they have issues with two-point decisions in the first half of games because apparently, “someday that might cost us a game.”
No kidding. It’s like saying someday that missed free throw might cost us a playoff series. There is a fair possibility that in the vague future, there will be a series lost that will contain a missed free throw. When that day comes, you will be able to say “I told you so” to all around you and feel great with your ability to forecast the future.
Until then, perhaps understand that accomplished coaches get accomplished because they routinely out-coach the guys across the field. They don’t do that by getting every decision right, they do it by winning most of the key moments in the decision battle over the other head coach. Which he certainly does. I realize this is the first time since 2006 or so that Dallas has had a strategic advantage most Sundays at “coach” or “coaching staff”, so it is sometimes difficult for many to fully recognize when it isn’t being pointed out. But, make no mistake, Dallas has won the head coach routinely in 2021 and expects that to continue.
One clear indicator of such a thing is to allow both sides to unload their week-long game planning and see where we are about halftime. That is where a staff can go to work and see what is happening on the field and how it may be exploited as the game unfolds.
This is why the framing stores are busy this morning.
The halftime score was Panthers 14, Cowboys 13, with Carolina receiving the second-half kickoff. It was vital for the Cowboys to mix in a stop right away and get a grip on the contest quickly.
This appeared unlikely when Darnold hit DJ Moore for 39 yards down the sideline and within one minute, the Panthers were already at the edge of field-goal range again.
But, the Cowboys started playing aggressively on defense after a first half when they played it pretty straight. Dan Quinn lined up his defense in a menacing posture on third-and-7. At the snap, they had a six-man pressure called with tight man coverage behind it. Micah Parsons shot the A-gap between the center and the left guard and Jayron Kearse was trailing him. The running back picked up Parsons pretty well, but that left nobody for Kearse who is all over Darnold as the quarterback tried to find Moore again. Moore is being trailed by Trevon Diggs and is never open. The ball falls harmlessly to the ground and a scheme QB pressure forces a long 54-yard field goal attempt which missed wide left.
They got their stop.
The first Dallas possession starts at the 44. We have talked for years about starting field position being an issue and we should take note of this third quarter in that regard.
Then Dallas begins to swing the hammer right at the Panthers’ run defense. Ezekiel Elliott for 11 yards on a sweet cutback run. Five more up the middle and then five more for Elliott on a twisting move that gets him past the sticks. Three runs for 21 yards have the Panthers on their heels.
First-and-10 from the Carolina 35. Tony Pollard is in for Elliott and the Panthers might be expecting more of the run. But, this is where Dallas decides to test new Panthers’ corner C.J. Henderson in the zone and send Amari Cooper on an out and up. Prescott needed Pollard and Zack Martin to both pick up blitzing linebackers and by the time Haason Reddick gets to Prescott, the ball is gone and will land perfectly in the Cooper bucket right inside the pylon for a perfect touchdown strike.
This is what we are talking about with Prescott understanding what a blitz-happy team wants to do to him and he knows exactly what to do and where to go with the ball.
20-14.
Chauncey Golston (Tim Heitman / USA Today)
The Panthers take over and face another third-and-7 on their second possession from the 28-yard line. Dan Quinn dials up another five-man pressure. Keep in mind, the Cowboys sent only four pressures in 19 attempts in the first half (21 percent). The Cowboys decided that this plan needed to be adjusted and sent blitzes on 7 of 10 pass attempts (70 percent) in the third quarter. Almost all of them rattled Darnold’s cage. This one had Parsons attracting the most attention, allowing rookies Chauncey Golston and Osa Odighizuwa to meet at the quarterback for the team’s fourth sack of the day. Three rookies joined Randy Gregory and Tarell Basham to form a formidable pass rush Sunday. Remarkable work and a three-and-out.
Dallas gets the ball back at its 34 with 9:10 left in the quarter.
Prescott completed two short passes to CeeDee Lamb — the young weapon had a pretty quiet day. Then, on first-and-10, Elliott burst through a hole in 12 personnel where he picks the gap between Dalton Schultz — who is pushing big Brian Burns to the inside — and Blake Jarwin. Jarwin got enough of Jeremy Chinn to allow Elliott free access to the secondary. From there, Elliott was off to the races. Elliott looked as explosive as he has looked in a long time and Schultz is surely going to get a contract soon because the Cowboys use him in every situation. If I had to predict, Schultz’s blocking is something they won’t let expire. Elliott gained 47 yards on the run, which set up the finishing move in this drive, a quick pass to Schultz — a play-action free release to the flat for a walk-in touchdown.
26-14.
Dalton Schultz (Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
The Panthers badly need a drive because they are now taking on water. They moved the chains with a speed sweep on fourth down to Moore for six yards. But, in the next sequence, Kearse has a beautiful tackle for loss that sets up third-and-5.
Quinn has been sending blitzes continuously, so you can understand the Panthers’ disposition when they see linebackers “double-mugging the A-gaps.” This, of course, is a disguise, because at the snap, Parsons and Leighton Vander Esch are both going to their zone spot drops and there are only four rushers coming. Darnold is expecting man coverage and gets zone, which explains how he never imagined Diggs standing right where Robby Anderson is headed in what might be an over-route. The pass and the route don’t sync up and the Cowboys intercepted the ball with the guy who is always doing it — Diggs returns it to the Carolina 37 with 3:37 to go.
From there, two Pollard runs set up a second-and-10 from the Panthers’ 23.
The Panthers are blitzing again and expect the hot-read to go to Schultz in the flat. They are so sure of this elementary counter from Prescott — they —have been playing a lot of quarterbacks who have been making the elementary reads — that Prescott pumps them all to Schultz and leaving Cedrick Wilson wide open at the 7-yard line. One spin of his body in space loses free safety Jeremy Chinn and he waltzes into the end zone for the second time in two weeks.
33-14.
Trevon Diggs (Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
The Panthers are now drowning and would suffer one more indignity on third-and-3 with 1:28 left. The Cowboys again dial up a blitz and again base it on Parsons right over the center. Darnold is now guessing and with the pocket closing, he wants the quick three-step drop to Moore again. Diggs is playing off and trying to bait Darnold and at this point, it doesn’t take much coaxing. Darnold wanders right into the trap and Diggs makes a playmaking special interception to grab his second takeaway in two minutes and give Dallas another short field.
Dallas settles for a field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter, but this game is done in 15 minutes of perfection.
36-14.
The complementary football of the offense and defense attacking in similar ways suggests that McCarthy has everyone on his staff on the same page. The Cowboys faced a short week against an upstart team full of confidence and beat them with their own weapon — the blitz. They were perfectly prepared with how to deal with it and then perfectly designed to feed Darnold his own medicine.
It was another master class of tactical football that offered a third quarter that was 23-0. Touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, field goal for Dallas. Missed field goal, punt, interception, interception for Carolina.
One team flexed its muscles and the other team made people wonder if they had been snowed by the early schedule and small sample sizes.
Dallas hasn’t had everything cooking like this in a strategic fit of a perfect puzzle in a long time. We said on Friday that this is a letdown game that Dallas usually messed around with in previous years. Perhaps we are starting to see a “next man up” and “next opponent up” mentality that McCarthy’s teams often had up north.
Now, a perfect opportunity to sweep through a three-game home-stand awaits next Sunday when the Giants visit AT&T Stadium.
