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By Bob Sturm
Dec 7, 2022
There is no question that fans of this organization have a hard time allowing themselves to feel good about the state of their football team. There have been too many times when they thought they were ready to take a step forward only to tip over and roll back down the hill.
Prosperity in Cowboys football has been rare for more than a generation. In times like these, it is often the loyalists who are last to realize the tide has turned.
The signs are starting to appear all around us. On Tuesday, we detailed the product the offense has turned out. The offense has shot to the top of many of the league’s important offensive metrics.
This is not the first time we’ve seen that.
What we haven’t seen is a defense that can match that strength with its own ability to stand tall and win games by itself. There have been good Cowboys defenses over the past decade or two. Have we seen anything like this?
The answer is increasingly clear.
No.
There was a time when Rod Marinelli was exactly what this team needed. Rob Ryan and then Monte Kiffin had tried to bring their defenses to Jason Garrett’s staff and failed badly from 2011 through 2013. They both tried their normal tricks that had worked at other stops, but in the end, their stays in Dallas went from bad (Ryan) to historically bad (Kiffin). It was ugly in that several times in 2013, the only real threat to opposing offenses appeared to be exhaustion from running to the end zone so many times. They were just awful in 2013 in a way that hardly seems real. Just to prove it, I offer you this stat line:
2013 Dallas Cowboys defensive rankings
Even the green one is not good. That is actually just the accounting of the stat that equates to the 31st best percentage. It’s all bad, although somewhat propped up by the takeaways to allow the Cowboys to get to 8-8.
Well, the team moved on to Marinelli from 2014-2019. This was a marked improvement from those earlier years, but it still was not a dominating defense in any way. It did a nice job of limiting the 50-point explosions, but overall, it never was a scary prospect for opposing powers. They just were solid.
The biggest issue, though, of all Rod Marinelli defenses in Dallas over six seasons was that they never got takeaways. They had a turnover allergy. In playing safe defense to take away big plays, short drives and lots of points, they also pretty much sat back and made sure nobody got behind them. They didn’t blitz because it was too risky. They didn’t play man coverage much because it was too risky. And they sure didn’t jump routes. Again, way too risky.
Unfortunately, no risk it, no biscuit as many wise men have told us about how defensive football works. Marinelli was surely under orders to make sure they do not flash back to 2013, so he kept doing what needed to be done.
But, in six seasons of Cowboys football, they ranked 28th in takeaways. They collected 119 in six years — right about 20 per season. And 20 per season is below league average. Some years they were barely below and some years they were well below. But, they never could figure out how to find those moments that turn games into laughers. They played safe defense.
As you can see, Dan Quinn doesn’t roll that way. Since he was hired in 2021 (and Micah Parsons was drafted, we could debate which is more important but the combination has changed everything about the way this organization plays defense), the Cowboys are the best takeaway team in the NFL.
They led the league in 2021 with 34 takeaways. They started 2022 with a very modest stretch and we wondered if they lost their mojo.
Now, as you look at the week-by-week takeaway production, you can see the blue games that denote multiple takeaways and also that the Cowboys yield is now No. 2 in the NFL (behind Philadelphia) and first in the league since Dak Prescott rejoined the roster. Why do I mention a QB when talking defense? If you have read the last few days, you know my working theory that when the Cowboys got Prescott back, they started playing differently on both sides of the ball. They went from trying to win carefully to trying to win aggressively. And it shows.
2022 Cowboys takeaways by week
| DATE | OPP | RESULT | TOT | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/4/22 | IND | W 54-19 | 309 | 5 |
| 11/24/22 | NYG | W 28-20 | 300 | 0 |
| 11/20/22 | MIN | W 40-3 | 183 | 1 |
| 11/13/22 | GNB | L 28-31 (OT) | 415 | 2 |
| 10/30/22 | CHI | W 49-29 | 371 | 1 |
| 10/23/22 | DET | W 24-6 | 312 | 5 |
| 10/16/22 | PHI | L 17-26 | 268 | 0 |
| 10/9/22 | LAR | W 22-10 | 323 | 3 |
| 10/2/22 | WAS | W 25-10 | 297 | 2 |
| 9/26/22 | NYG | W 23-16 | 336 | 1 |
| 9/18/22 | CIN | W 20-17 | 254 | 0 |
| 9/11/22 | TAM | L 3-19 | 347 | 1 |
The Cowboys have 55 takeaways in 29 games since Quinn/Parsons arrived. That leads the league by quite a bit. We also would like to point out that they are tied with Kansas City for the most wins in the NFL during this two-year sample.
Sunday was a magnificent example of how this looked in one football game. The Colts started the night feeling pretty good about themselves and then Quinn got the pass rush and third-down defense going, the hits on Matt Ryan started mounting, and by the fourth quarter, the Colts were ready to get out of town.
Here is the drive chart and note the five takeaways:
It was an impressive onslaught and a 2-point game entering the fourth quarter ended up being a 35-point win.
The objective has been clear. Play sound defense where you punish and offense. You attack them as much as they attack you. Then, when available go get that ball.
While we may not have Quinn for much longer — how much more can he do to show he is ready to be a head coach again? — let’s hope everyone is taking careful notes about how to keep what he has built intact. He can’t take Parsons or his friends with him.
Weekly data box: Week 13, Indianapolis
We could build this entire report out of green ink. The Colts had two explosive plays. Two! And turned the ball over five times with splash plays everywhere.
I have said it before and I will say it again: Show me a team that is top 10 in offense and defense and you have a real contender. Over the past two months, Dallas has probably been top 5 across the board in this league. Here are the season-long rankings.
2022 Cowboys defensive rankings
Again, let’s visit those two red columns. The first one shows the rushing defense which I continue to say is a feature and not a bug most weeks. Teams need points to keep up with the Cowboys offense and the Cowboys almost don’t seem to care if you want five yards on the ground. Have fun running the clock out on your own rally attempt. Dallas is hunting sacks and big plays and getting them. It is not worried about the ground game in almost every case (yes, there is an exception that might haunt them in the playoffs late in a game, but as a general rule, that doesn’t apply to this bigger picture).
The other red column is actually 10th best (that is a chart issue that I have not fixed). So, no concerns there except for my ability to handle this computer.
Next Gen throw chart: Matt Ryan
Matt Ryan has had a very bad year. At its core is the turnover issue and if your QB is coughing up the ball at the league’s highest volume, there is no way to play winning football. One of the reasons you would go get a veteran like Ryan is to get QB play that avoids mistakes, but he looks like old Drew Bledsoe and there doesn’t appear to be much in his game that even flirts with average. He can make a couple of big-time throws, but it is largely surrounded by poor play. The Colts are back at the drawing board for 2023. Bleak times.
The Cowboys pass rush is awesome and has been all year. But, the timing of the blitz package was on display Sunday. Twice in the first half, the Colts were driving and twice third-down pressures got them sacks. They are a well-coordinated machine.
Splash plays: Week 13
Thirty-four splash plays! The chart accounts for 33 and Malik Hooker gets a bonus splash for his TD return. Look at young DaRon Bland!
2022 Cowboys splash play leaderboard
| PLAYER | SNAPS | TOTAL SPLASH PLAYS |
|---|---|---|
 Micah Parsons | 617 | 40 |
 DeMarcus Lawrence | 471 | 33 |
 Donovan Wilson | 668 | 22 |
 Trevon Diggs | 748 | 20 |
 Dorance Armstrong | 376 | 19 |
 Osa Odighizuwa | 404 | 19 |
 Leighton Vander Esch | 651 | 19 |
 Sam Williams | 185 | 18 |
 Jayron Kearse | 483 | 17 |
 Dante Fowler | 243 | 16 |
 Anthony Brown | 695 | 13 |
 Anthony Barr | 343 | 11 |
 DaRon Bland | 295 | 10 |
 Malik Hooker | 564 | 10 |
This leaderboard welcomes Bland this week after his massive performance.
Coming Friday: How the Cowboys will overcome the loss of Anthony Brown.
