In Week 1’s second look at the tape, an examination revealed how Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore used a very balanced 12 personnel set, a one RB, two TE, two WR formation to stretch Tampa Bay’s stacked defensive fronts and isolate Amari Cooper on linebackers and safeties.
In Week 2, Dallas faced a very different style of defense and Moore adjusted his approach, boding well for Dallas’ ability to attack each opponent throughout the course of the 2021 season.
Brandon Staley’s Chargers unit is based on the defense he learned from Broncos HC Vic Fangio when the two worked together in Chicago. It’s become the scheme of the moment, a two-deep heavy protection. Staley’s and Fangio’s teams have used the most two-deep secondary looks of NFL defenses by far the past few years.
The run-defense component of each is a “light box” a six-man front that dares opposing offenses to check into runs on 1st and second downs. Staley figures his front can win battles, hold these runs to modest gains and set up 2nd and 3rd-and-long situations that play into his pass defensive calls.
Heading into the game, many people figured that Dallas would either take Staley’s bait, hammer Ezekiel Elliott on 1st-and-10 and either win big or get stuck in L.A.’s trap.
Another option for Moore would be to try and bait the Chargers himself, using move pieces to make a six-man box even lighter. The Packers had used this strategy in their playoff win over Staley’s Rams defense last January.
Green Bay had opened in a two-RB set, and used one to motion into space. This pulled the Rams middle linebacker in their 5-1 front to the perimeter of the scrimmage box, leaving five Rams defenders on five Green Bay offensive linemen. The Packers then hammered at this super light front with great success.
The Rams were forced to bring one of their two safeties up to restore a six man box and the Packers at this point threw deep over a now-depleted defensive secondary shell.
Here’s how Moore and the Cowboys attacked it in Week 2.