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DQ Report, Week 14 - Those Precious Takeaways
Cowboys force the Eagles into coughing up the rock and that wins them the game.
BOB STURM
DEC 13, 2023
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.
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.
TURNOVER MARGIN RECORDS, DALLAS ,2021-2023:
When +1 or better: 24-2, 92%
When Even: 5-4, 56%
When -1 or worse: 6-9, 40%
It is pretty clear, offense, you protect the ball. Defense, go get it. If you can get the ball just one more time than we give it away, the 92% win percentage is going to win trophies.
On Sunday, Dallas lost the ball once and gained it thrice. Plus-2? Put it in the win column. So, much like the team will do in the film room, let’s look at these three game-altering plays and give everyone a sticker for their helmet who helped win this game by getting that football out. Remember, the Eagles fumbled three times in Week 9 and three times in Week 14. They recovered their own fumbles in Week 9 all three times, but in this game, the ball bounced to a Cowboys defender.
This is how the football games are won more often than anyone wants to admit.
1Q - 5:50 - 1st and 20 - DAL 31 - J.Hurts left guard to DAL 20 for 11 yards (D.Wilson). FUMBLES (D.Wilson), RECOVERED by DAL-D.Wilson at DAL 21.
The Eagles first drive of the game was in business as Jalen Hurts was starting to look like he might be running the rock on this night. They already had four first downs and looked to have a fifth that was called back on an offensive pass interference. So here, on 1st-and-20, Jalen has a very nice gain of 11 yards as Lane Johnson takes Markquese Bell right out of the club. But, big play Donovan Wilson (No. 6) is there, sheds some beef coming right at him and he makes the tackle, gets the ball out, and then recovers it himself. This is why splash plays should be calculated. This play literally flipped the game on its ear.
These other two were as the Eagles were trying to get back in the game so we can debate whether they strongly affected the outcome, but nevertheless, they were big moments for sure. This one, right out of halftime:
3Q - 13:40 - 1st and 10 - PHI 49 - J.Hurts pass short left to A.Brown to DAL 44 for 7 yards (S.Gilmore). FUMBLES (S.Gilmore), RECOVERED by DAL-D.Clark at DAL 37.
Cowboys send pressure and Hurts hits AJ Brown nicely on a slant. But, the play of the last few games with Stephon Gilmore has been superb as he has gone after both the big fellas from Ole Miss. This time, he is able to rip that ball out of one of the strongest receivers in the league – just as him. What a moment and the ball is recovered by Damone Clark. That type of technique from Gilmore is the kind of thing that helped him win NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. Such a splash play machine.
4Q - 6:48 - 1st and 10 - DAL 35 - J.Hurts pass short left to D.Smith to DAL 13 for 22 yards (M.Bell, M.Hooker). FUMBLES (M.Bell), RECOVERED by DAL-M.Hooker at DAL 12.
This one is probably close to “garbage time” but DeVonta Smith is loose in the secondary. Markquese Bell has an awesome punch at the ball and Malik Hooker dives on it to end the excitement. A demoralizing way to end a rather demoralizing night for those Eagles. Quite a shame.
Ok, let’s check the data:
Lots of green! Just two field goals allowed and just three explosives against that team? Only one red zone trip?
Too good to be true. If I was the Eagles, I would have some real concerns about what this offense has been able to do recently.
NEXT GEN JALEN HURTS THROW CHART
There was one play in this game early when Hurts looked like he was going to be firing the ball into the heart of the Cowboys secondary. We figured they had looked at Seattle’s game plan and wanted to chase that. But, man, they played like a team that wanted the ball out quickly and not to try to protect against the pass rush. Not sure if they were still spooked by the San Francisco game or the previous Dallas game, but to be honest, the Eagles adventure on offense was extremely modest.
Now, let’s talk about Micah Parsons:
Perhaps you were as shocked as I was about this piece of factual trivia as I was. Parsons beat Lane Johnson for a mighty sack late in the 1st half and that pushed him over the 12-sack threshold.
Only two players ever have done this? Two?
So, I looked it up at Stathead and found the “first three seasons” comparison between the two fantastic defensive forces of nature.
Reggie White is on my Mount Rushmore. I am sure that anyone who knows my Green Bay leanings probably realizes that I believe that he is as responsible as anyone (with Brett Favre, Mike Holmgren, and Ron Wolf) for leading the Packers out of a 25-year wilderness of mediocrity in 1992.
He was there the first time I ever made it to Lambeau Field and after the game he circled the field as the last player who had not gone up the tunnel. It was Christmas Eve 1995 and it was lightly snowing and John Lennon’s “Happy Christmas (War is Over)” was playing and I was moved to sports tears. Yancey Thigpen dropped the surest touchdown of all time and we all had a Merry Christmas.
He appeared on our radio show once and his early death saddened me greatly. Some day, maybe I will write an entire essay on Reggie White and what he means to my sports life, but not today. But, to find out that Reggie and Micah are the only two to ever do this – have 12 sacks in each of their first three NFL seasons – is wild.
Two footnotes about this:
SPLASH PLAYS - WEEK 14
SEASON TOTALS
FILM STUDY
Ok, aside from those takeaways, let’s look at a few clips and move on to Buffalo.1Q - 6:41 - 3rd and 16 - PHI 49 - J.Hurts pass deep middle to D.Smith to DAL 21 for 30 yards
Here is the best play of the game for Hurts and the Eagles offense, in my opinion. First drive, just before the fumble. They are facing a 3rd-and-16 and Dallas plays a bit more conservatively with a Tampa-2 snap, it appears with Damone Clark getting deep middle. The Eagles run the dagger concept out of a bunch (a vertical with a dig behind it in the vacated middle) and free up Smith well past the sticks. Hurts stepping up in the pocket and then throwing on the run was high quality stuff. That was a great concept against the split safeties.
But, that is about the only snap all night that would get you concerned on this side of the ball.
2Q - 15:00 - 3rd and 2 - PHI 33 - J.Hurts pass incomplete deep left to D.Smith (M.Hooker).
This was the play right before the fake punt. I thought it demonstrated a great job of range from Malik Hooker who is there to break up the pass to Smith. You can spy Hooker way over at the far hash and he reacts to Smith in a hurry and gets his hand in there. I seldom am worried about the deep safety situation with this talented dude back there.
2Q - 14:03 - 1st and 10 - DAL 39 - D.Swift left tackle to DAL 43 for -4 yards (O.Odighizuwa).
Here is a special snap from Osa against big Landon Dickerson. Just look at how quick Odighizuwa is on the inside and he meets the RB right at the hand-off. Interior quickness is going to get him a very nice contract somewhere after 2024. I hope it is here. I have always found him to be terribly underrated.
2Q - 2:00 - 2nd and 11 - Dal 19 - J.Hurts sacked at DAL 26 for -7 yards (M.Parsons).
Speaking of special and contracts, here is the Micah Parsons snap of the week. This is Lane Johnson, the 1st team All-Pro right tackle in 2022. He has been charged with three sacks in three years. One to Dorance Armstrong in Week 9, one to KC’s Chris Jones in Week 11, and this one. Since 2020! He doesn’t lose very often and Micah just decides to go right through him for this sack. We didn’t know he was an edge rusher out of Penn State. Then we figured if he was, it has to be all speed. Nope. Most of Micah’s best work is when this small-ish edge just decides to bull guys right into their QB. Reggie White would be proud of that.
3Q - 1:25 - 3rd and 11 - DAL 33 - J.Hurts pass short right to A.Brown to DAL 30 for 3 yards (S.Gilmore).
Our last two plays are back to back snaps where Stephon Gilmore had enough of the Eagles offense. Third-and-long and Hurts gets the ball to AJ Brown. Gilmore is a physical corner who loves to tackle and here it shows. There is no getting away and trust us, AJ Brown has made a living this year in turning 3 yards into 23 yards because some corner cannot get him to the ground.
3Q - 0:32 - 4th and 8 - DAL 30 - J.Hurts pass short left to D.Smith to DAL 29 for 1 yard (S.Gilmore).
The very next snap, here is a 4th and 8. Of course, if you have Smith vs Gilmore, you want a crosser. Hurts on his back foot with a poor throw slows down Smith, but Gilmore always had the angle and was heat-seeking this whole moment. This is at a point where it is a 27-13 lead and they are at the Dallas 30. If the Eagles get a touchdown, there is an entire 4th Quarter left to play. This is a premium stop and another splash for Gilmore.
Excellent job from this defense who needed a big night against a big opponent as badly as anyone else did.
Now, they must go play outdoors, in the cold, and against one of the best QBs in the game who wants to run and challenge you physically and mentally. He will gunsling it and you might get a few chances to turn him over. But, Josh Allen will keep attacking you all night. Dallas better bring their “A-game” on defense. This one is going to be a great challenge.
Cowboys force the Eagles into coughing up the rock and that wins them the game.
BOB STURM
DEC 13, 2023
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.
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.
TURNOVER MARGIN RECORDS, DALLAS ,2021-2023:
When +1 or better: 24-2, 92%
When Even: 5-4, 56%
When -1 or worse: 6-9, 40%
It is pretty clear, offense, you protect the ball. Defense, go get it. If you can get the ball just one more time than we give it away, the 92% win percentage is going to win trophies.
On Sunday, Dallas lost the ball once and gained it thrice. Plus-2? Put it in the win column. So, much like the team will do in the film room, let’s look at these three game-altering plays and give everyone a sticker for their helmet who helped win this game by getting that football out. Remember, the Eagles fumbled three times in Week 9 and three times in Week 14. They recovered their own fumbles in Week 9 all three times, but in this game, the ball bounced to a Cowboys defender.
This is how the football games are won more often than anyone wants to admit.
1Q - 5:50 - 1st and 20 - DAL 31 - J.Hurts left guard to DAL 20 for 11 yards (D.Wilson). FUMBLES (D.Wilson), RECOVERED by DAL-D.Wilson at DAL 21.
The Eagles first drive of the game was in business as Jalen Hurts was starting to look like he might be running the rock on this night. They already had four first downs and looked to have a fifth that was called back on an offensive pass interference. So here, on 1st-and-20, Jalen has a very nice gain of 11 yards as Lane Johnson takes Markquese Bell right out of the club. But, big play Donovan Wilson (No. 6) is there, sheds some beef coming right at him and he makes the tackle, gets the ball out, and then recovers it himself. This is why splash plays should be calculated. This play literally flipped the game on its ear.
These other two were as the Eagles were trying to get back in the game so we can debate whether they strongly affected the outcome, but nevertheless, they were big moments for sure. This one, right out of halftime:
3Q - 13:40 - 1st and 10 - PHI 49 - J.Hurts pass short left to A.Brown to DAL 44 for 7 yards (S.Gilmore). FUMBLES (S.Gilmore), RECOVERED by DAL-D.Clark at DAL 37.
Cowboys send pressure and Hurts hits AJ Brown nicely on a slant. But, the play of the last few games with Stephon Gilmore has been superb as he has gone after both the big fellas from Ole Miss. This time, he is able to rip that ball out of one of the strongest receivers in the league – just as him. What a moment and the ball is recovered by Damone Clark. That type of technique from Gilmore is the kind of thing that helped him win NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. Such a splash play machine.
4Q - 6:48 - 1st and 10 - DAL 35 - J.Hurts pass short left to D.Smith to DAL 13 for 22 yards (M.Bell, M.Hooker). FUMBLES (M.Bell), RECOVERED by DAL-M.Hooker at DAL 12.
This one is probably close to “garbage time” but DeVonta Smith is loose in the secondary. Markquese Bell has an awesome punch at the ball and Malik Hooker dives on it to end the excitement. A demoralizing way to end a rather demoralizing night for those Eagles. Quite a shame.
Ok, let’s check the data:
Lots of green! Just two field goals allowed and just three explosives against that team? Only one red zone trip?
Too good to be true. If I was the Eagles, I would have some real concerns about what this offense has been able to do recently.
NEXT GEN JALEN HURTS THROW CHART
There was one play in this game early when Hurts looked like he was going to be firing the ball into the heart of the Cowboys secondary. We figured they had looked at Seattle’s game plan and wanted to chase that. But, man, they played like a team that wanted the ball out quickly and not to try to protect against the pass rush. Not sure if they were still spooked by the San Francisco game or the previous Dallas game, but to be honest, the Eagles adventure on offense was extremely modest.
Now, let’s talk about Micah Parsons:
Perhaps you were as shocked as I was about this piece of factual trivia as I was. Parsons beat Lane Johnson for a mighty sack late in the 1st half and that pushed him over the 12-sack threshold.
Only two players ever have done this? Two?
So, I looked it up at Stathead and found the “first three seasons” comparison between the two fantastic defensive forces of nature.
Reggie White is on my Mount Rushmore. I am sure that anyone who knows my Green Bay leanings probably realizes that I believe that he is as responsible as anyone (with Brett Favre, Mike Holmgren, and Ron Wolf) for leading the Packers out of a 25-year wilderness of mediocrity in 1992.
He was there the first time I ever made it to Lambeau Field and after the game he circled the field as the last player who had not gone up the tunnel. It was Christmas Eve 1995 and it was lightly snowing and John Lennon’s “Happy Christmas (War is Over)” was playing and I was moved to sports tears. Yancey Thigpen dropped the surest touchdown of all time and we all had a Merry Christmas.
He appeared on our radio show once and his early death saddened me greatly. Some day, maybe I will write an entire essay on Reggie White and what he means to my sports life, but not today. But, to find out that Reggie and Micah are the only two to ever do this – have 12 sacks in each of their first three NFL seasons – is wild.
Two footnotes about this:
- Reggie had 52 sacks in 41 games which is beyond bonkers. Micah’s sack total of 39 in 46 games is very special – especially considering all the games he wasn’t an edge rusher in 2021, but I am not sure I have ever seen someone that far over the “sack per game” barrier. Wow.
- Reggie White was not really a full rookie when he was a rookie. Micah was barely 22 years old and Reggie was already a few years into his pro career and was 24. He had played 36 games with the USFL Memphis Showboats in ‘84 and ‘85. I guess he played in the spring in Memphis, the league collapsed, and then the fall in Philadelphia.
SPLASH PLAYS - WEEK 14
SEASON TOTALS
FILM STUDY
Ok, aside from those takeaways, let’s look at a few clips and move on to Buffalo.1Q - 6:41 - 3rd and 16 - PHI 49 - J.Hurts pass deep middle to D.Smith to DAL 21 for 30 yards
Here is the best play of the game for Hurts and the Eagles offense, in my opinion. First drive, just before the fumble. They are facing a 3rd-and-16 and Dallas plays a bit more conservatively with a Tampa-2 snap, it appears with Damone Clark getting deep middle. The Eagles run the dagger concept out of a bunch (a vertical with a dig behind it in the vacated middle) and free up Smith well past the sticks. Hurts stepping up in the pocket and then throwing on the run was high quality stuff. That was a great concept against the split safeties.
But, that is about the only snap all night that would get you concerned on this side of the ball.
2Q - 15:00 - 3rd and 2 - PHI 33 - J.Hurts pass incomplete deep left to D.Smith (M.Hooker).
This was the play right before the fake punt. I thought it demonstrated a great job of range from Malik Hooker who is there to break up the pass to Smith. You can spy Hooker way over at the far hash and he reacts to Smith in a hurry and gets his hand in there. I seldom am worried about the deep safety situation with this talented dude back there.
2Q - 14:03 - 1st and 10 - DAL 39 - D.Swift left tackle to DAL 43 for -4 yards (O.Odighizuwa).
Here is a special snap from Osa against big Landon Dickerson. Just look at how quick Odighizuwa is on the inside and he meets the RB right at the hand-off. Interior quickness is going to get him a very nice contract somewhere after 2024. I hope it is here. I have always found him to be terribly underrated.
2Q - 2:00 - 2nd and 11 - Dal 19 - J.Hurts sacked at DAL 26 for -7 yards (M.Parsons).
Speaking of special and contracts, here is the Micah Parsons snap of the week. This is Lane Johnson, the 1st team All-Pro right tackle in 2022. He has been charged with three sacks in three years. One to Dorance Armstrong in Week 9, one to KC’s Chris Jones in Week 11, and this one. Since 2020! He doesn’t lose very often and Micah just decides to go right through him for this sack. We didn’t know he was an edge rusher out of Penn State. Then we figured if he was, it has to be all speed. Nope. Most of Micah’s best work is when this small-ish edge just decides to bull guys right into their QB. Reggie White would be proud of that.
3Q - 1:25 - 3rd and 11 - DAL 33 - J.Hurts pass short right to A.Brown to DAL 30 for 3 yards (S.Gilmore).
Our last two plays are back to back snaps where Stephon Gilmore had enough of the Eagles offense. Third-and-long and Hurts gets the ball to AJ Brown. Gilmore is a physical corner who loves to tackle and here it shows. There is no getting away and trust us, AJ Brown has made a living this year in turning 3 yards into 23 yards because some corner cannot get him to the ground.
3Q - 0:32 - 4th and 8 - DAL 30 - J.Hurts pass short left to D.Smith to DAL 29 for 1 yard (S.Gilmore).
The very next snap, here is a 4th and 8. Of course, if you have Smith vs Gilmore, you want a crosser. Hurts on his back foot with a poor throw slows down Smith, but Gilmore always had the angle and was heat-seeking this whole moment. This is at a point where it is a 27-13 lead and they are at the Dallas 30. If the Eagles get a touchdown, there is an entire 4th Quarter left to play. This is a premium stop and another splash for Gilmore.
Excellent job from this defense who needed a big night against a big opponent as badly as anyone else did.
Now, they must go play outdoors, in the cold, and against one of the best QBs in the game who wants to run and challenge you physically and mentally. He will gunsling it and you might get a few chances to turn him over. But, Josh Allen will keep attacking you all night. Dallas better bring their “A-game” on defense. This one is going to be a great challenge.