Category: 2023 Playoffs

Cowboys’ Micah Parsons extra-motivated for playoffs: ‘I’m going to be phenomenal’

From @ToddBrock24f7: Snubbed for 2 All-Pro lists this week and now maybe losing his defensive coordinator, Parsons could take it out on the Packers this Sunday.

Cowboys fans tuning in this Sunday to see the team’s postseason journey begin might find themselves a little confused at first. The TV guide may say “Cowboys vs. Packers,” but what’s playing out on the screen could very well look like an episode of Wild Kingdom at AT&T Stadium.

Because Micah Parsons just might eat an opposing player right there on the field.

The third-year edge rusher certainly has no shortage of motivation as the team heads into the wild-card round. Any one of these factors all by itself is enough to put Green Bay’s offensive linemen on the endangered species list, but put them all together, and the lion is primed to feast.

First, consider the NFLPA All-Pro list, which came out Wednesday. This roster, voted on by the league’s players themselves, put Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby at edge rusher, despite the fact that Parsons had a higher overall grade, a higher pass rush grade, more quarterback hits, and more quarterback hurries than the Raiders great.

Parsons brushed off the slight, saying it didn’t bother him.

“If you look at some of the names on there, you can just tell people are just writing down names,” he explained. “So it’s not something that really matters, at least to players.”

Maybe. But then the job interview requests kept flooding in for his defensive coordinator. By midweek, Dan Quinn had the Panthers, Commanders, Chargers, and Titans officially courting him, and he was informally the leading candidate to take over in Seattle, where he spent several highly successful seasons a decade ago.

Parsons and Quinn came to Dallas within months of each other in 2021, with the first-round draft pick speaking of Quinn as almost a father figure more than a coach. So there’s extra urgency for Parsons to make this Cowboys postseason trip count, in case Quinn leaves.

“He means a lot to me because it’s not just about football,” Parsons said. “It could possibly be my last ride with Q. And if it is, we’re going to make sure it’s a damn good one.”

And now there’s the All-Pro Team. Friday saw the Associated Press release its list of 2023 honorees, and Parsons has missed making the first team for the first time in his short career. Garrett and T.J. Watt took those first-team edge rusher spots this year; Parsons and Crosby were relegated to the second team.

For the ultra-competitive Parsons, that likely won’t sit well. We’re talking about a guy who takes it as a personal affront when he’s not the best at anything, be it “Madden” or chess or locker-room hamper-basketball or sparring in the gym.

When Parsons showed up at the charity home run derby and found out the softball bats in the dugout were of the community-use variety, he famously sent someone to a nearby sporting goods store to buy him the best aluminum dinger-stick in stock.

He practically pulled something at the Pro Bowl in a 40-yard sprint-off with a casually coasting Tyreek Hill just for the bragging rights to say he beat The Cheetah.

Parsons can say none of it bothers him. Sure, Jan.

Or is it more likely that he’ll take the field this Sunday feeling like he still has plenty to prove to a few people?

Former Cowboys wide receiver and current Hanging’ With the Boys host Jesse Holley thinks it may start with Packers left tackle Rasheed Walker.

“He has no anchor. He’s not a nasty left tackle,” Holley said during the show this week. “Micah Parsons is going to abuse him.”

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]

If that’s what it takes to throw a few more sacks on the 14 Parsons amassed during the regular schedule, so be it. Because all those stats and everything it took just to get into the dance are one thing, but after a year where Parsons watched part-time mentor DeMarcus Ware attain football immortality in both the Hall of Fame and the Cowboys Ring of Honor, Parsons has more on his mind than regular-season accomplishments.

“The regular season is cute. But this is legacy. … ‘Be phenomenal or be forgotten.'”

That’s what Parsons said following the Week 18 game.

Now, snubbed for two different all-star squads, faced with possibly losing his defensive mentor, and on the precipice of Wild Card Weekend, he’s calling his shot.

“I’m going to be phenomenal,” he said. “[Expletive] phenomenal.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[mm-video type=video id=01hkwfh8ja5prqzbdjqs playlist_id=01eqbwens7sctqdrqg player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01hkwfh8ja5prqzbdjqs/01hkwfh8ja5prqzbdjqs-87033cf08b4855388b3e0515664b6752.jpg]

[lawrence-newsletter]

Here’s where the Cowboys’ defense thrives most, coverage or pass rush

How the Cowboys do rushing three, four, five or six+ pass rushers and does it make sense to populate coverage heading into the playoffs? | From @ReidDHanson

The NFL is an ever-evolving beast. One day the Tampa 2 defense is ruling the day, the next day the Seattle single high is the defensive de jour. In 2023, it’s versions of 2-high coverage (Cover 2, 4, 6) that’s captivating defensive coordinators.

The Vic Fangio discipline has smothered scoring league-wide in recent seasons. 10 QBs passed for 30 or more touchdowns in 2020. Nine passed for 30 or more in 2021. In 2022 and 2023, only four passers in each season hit the 30-mark, and in 2023 specifically, only the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott passed for over 32.

The Cowboys have generally resisted the trend of bend-but-don’t-break coverage. Dan Quinn has preferred to do what he knows best, and that’s Cover 1. Dallas led the NFL in Cover 1 usage in 2023 and doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to change that as they enter the postseason. Together with his amoeba-like front, Quinn is free to send three, four or even five rushers after the passer without any major disruptions in coverage.

While everyone else in the NFL is aggressively packing secondaries to limit chunk plays and make intermediate windows narrow, the Cowboys are still embracing the risk-reward nature of Cover 1.

With his favorite coverage to lean on, Dallas has been happy to mix up the pass rush. Notoriously not one to be blitz-happy, Quinn has taken on a more aggressive attitude of late, blitzing 28.5% of the time in 2023. This blitz rate ranks the Cowboys 13th in the league and has made the Dallas pass rush one of the NFL’s most feared units in the NFL.

Oddly enough, where the Cowboys have drawn the most criticism isn’t in their stubborn refusal to accept current NFL trends in coverage, it’s in their less aggressive defensive fronts. When Dallas doesn’t prioritize pressure and drops extra players into coverage, their defense has looked downright terrible at times. Is that a matter of the oft-unreliable “eye test” or do the number back it up?

Since the definition of blitz varies from outlet to outlet, let’s look at the actual numbers of pass rushers sent and the impact on EPA (numbers curtesy of Sumer Sports):

In standard four-man pass rushes, which Dallas uses 66.3% of the time, the Cowboys are producing a pressure rate of 30.5% and a -0.02 EPA/play. In five-man rushes, which the Cowboys use 27.6% of the time, they produce a pressure rate of 39.5% and an EPA/play of -0.12 (the more negative the number the better). In rushes of six or more, which Dallas deploys 3.9% of the time, the Cowboys produce a pressure rate of 40.9% and an EPA/play of -0.93.

Not surprisingly, more rushers have produced more pressure, and more pressure has produced better EPA results. Why? Because the secondary can handle it. But what about packing the secondary and sending three or less pass rushers?

While these situations haven’t happened often, the results have been pretty telling. In these situations, Dallas has produced a pressure rate of 23.1% and an EPA/play of +0.59. At just 2.3% of plays, it’s a small sample size but important to take note of nonetheless.

The Cowboys’ coverage scheme is built with pressure in mind. Ballhawks fly freely in the secondary and thrive with man coverage and nervous QBs. Stephon Gilmore is holding passers to a CPOE of -5.9 when targeted while DaRon Bland holds them to a dismal -12.0% CPOE. The Cowboys are essentially built to pressure passers and lean on their man-coverage CBs, and sometimes that means blitzing.

The Cowboys aren’t conforming to league trends and it’s working to their advantage. In a season in which big plays are hard to come by, the Cowboys are prone to give one here and there, but over the course of the season their style has served them well and they intend to lean on that style as they embark on the postseason.

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Cowboys vs Packers: 6 things to know about wild card opponent

A hot team with a plethora of young weapons are among the things to know about the Packers ahead of the wild-card round. | From @BenGrimaldi

The regular season is over and now the real fun begins for the Dallas Cowboys! Their goal of ending a quarter-century championship drought begins on wild-card weekend when the Cowboys host the Green Bay Packers.

It was hard to imagine the team hosting a playoff game at AT&T Stadium a few weeks ago, but a late season swoon by the Philadelphia Eagles made it possible. Dallas is notably undefeated at home this year and is riding a 16-game winning streak playing in “Jerry World,” so they’re very comfortable hosting the seventh-seeded Packers.

The Cowboys have said this year is about more than just getting to the postseason, the urgency is there to make a run at a championship. The time for talk is over, now it’s time for action. Here are six things to know about their weekend opponent.

Jourdan Lewis has regained form at a critical time for the Cowboys

Jourdan Lewis had a long and hard road back from injury but entering the postseason, he’s playing at peak levels and key to Cowboys success, finds @ReidDHanson

Jourdan Lewis’ 2023 season, in many ways, had been a season to forget for the 28-year-old veteran. After suffering a potentially career-ending foot injury roughly 15 months ago, 2023 marked a year of recovery, rehab, and grueling training for the Cowboys nickel CB.

Up until the injury, Lewis had been an ironman of sorts. He played 15 or more games in each of the five seasons prior and wasn’t familiar with the rigors of overcoming serious injury. Listed as a Lisfranc but described as something far more catastrophic, Lewis had to start at square one. It wasn’t just physically taxing but it was mentally difficult as well.

“There was doubt at the beginning that he would ever play again,” Britt Brown, Dallas longtime athletic trainer said of Lewis. “This was not a normal foot injury. This was like a car crash, where you crush your foot and it’s never the same.”

Lewis didn’t just need to get his foot back in football shape, but he essentially needed to learn to walk again with his surgically repaired foot. The laborious process understandably trickled into the new season, landing Lewis on the Cowboys PUP (physically unable to perform) list heading into training camp and buying the veteran time in his bid for a fantastic comeback.

At a cost of $6,137,244 against the cap, Lewis was Dallas’ tenth-largest cap cost in 2023. That’s a lot of money dedicated to a player who registered no higher than CB4 on the depth chart. But the Cowboys believed in Lewis. They saw how injuries in the secondary can sink an otherwise stellar defense and valued his ability to add depth across the ranks.

As fate would have it, a season-ending ACL injury to Trevon Diggs bumped DaRon Bland up to a boundary role opposite Stephon Gilmore, and vacated the nickel spot for Lewis to reclaim. As one could expect, Lewis did not exactly hit the ground running in his historic comeback bid. 2023 graded as his second-worst season as a pro as he struggled to regain form.

“I wouldn’t say I’m back to 100, but I understand how to manage my foot and what helps me perform better,” Lewis said in a January 5 interview with Nick Eatman. “Just getting my rehab in and keeping my diet and making sure I can perform at my best. I’m just in a better routine than I was earlier in the season. Just in a better place right now. I’m glad I’m able to get out there and contribute to the team.”

Announced as the Cowboys 2023 winner of the Ed Block Courage Award, Lewis is starting to see all of that hard work pay off. His Week 17 performance against the Lions and Week 18 performance against the Commanders marked his best games of the season. He showed intelligence in coverage, savvy in his playmaking and grit in his run defense. He’s playing at peak levels and he’s doing it with preparedness, discipline and toughness.

Playing in the slot is an almost impossible task in the NFL. Without the benefit of the sideline, nickel CBs are susceptible to a 180-degree release. Separation is almost unavoidable and oftentimes nickel CB is about keeping windows as narrow as possible and limiting damage more than it is about denying passes.

Lewis has shown throughout the season, nothing will come easy against him and while passes may be completed, he’s going to contest everything possible. His toughness and demeaner has been instrumental in the Cowboys ability to hold up against the run and his character embodies the spirit of a championship level defense.

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

LaCanfora: ‘I’d be shocked’ if Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy survives wild-card loss

From @ToddBrock24f7: One NFL GM says Sunday’s playoff opener is a must-win game for McCarthy, since the Cowboys’ “next man up is already there.”

The Cowboys’ postseason opener is obviously a must-win game if Dallas is to make a run at a sixth Lombardi Trophy to put in the lobby of The Star. But this Sunday’s wild-card showdown could also be a make-or-break moment for the Cowboys coaching staff.

Head coach Mike McCarthy has led the team to a third straight 12-win finish, something no one else in franchise history has done. But that still may not be enough to guarantee his return for the 2024 season, according to one NFL insider and the league execs he’s spoken to.

On Thursday, the Washington Post‘s Jason LaCanfora framed the McCarthy situation in the simplest possible terms:

“I’d be shocked if he kept his job should the Cowboys … lose on Sunday at home.”

Firing a coach who has a Super Bowl title on his résumé, a .627 record since coming to town, and a year remaining on his current contract might seem a wee bit drastic to those who feel just reaching the playoffs is enough. For the Cowboys faithful who have been clamoring for a return to championship glory for longer than most of the team’s current players have been alive, though, the wait has been long enough.

Same goes for 81-year-old owner Jerry Jones, writes LaCanfora:

“Jones believes he has a Super Bowl roster, again, while McCarthy’s past foibles winning big games and managing high-tension situations remain front of mind. He won the NFC East despite going just 2-2 down the stretch, due largely to [the Eagles’] epic collapse, and good luck finding a personnel executive or coach around the league who doesn’t believe that if Jones needed a head coach, he would do whatever it takes to hire defensive coordinator Dan Quinn after Quinn pulled out of head coaching consideration elsewhere a year ago to stay in Dallas.”

Quinn, of course, is a popular name once again for the 2024 hiring cycle, with the Panthers, Commanders, Chargers, and Titans all having formally requested an interview with him for their open head coach positions.

And that list doesn’t even include the Seahawks job. Quinn was immediately seen by most as the obvious front-runner to take over for Pete Carroll, given Quinn’s rise to prominence in creating Seattle’ famed Legion of Boom defense over a decade ago.

But Jones was able to retain Quinn on-staff in Dallas the past two offeseasons, with plenty of observers interpreting it as a way to keep Quinn in-house… in the event of a housecleaning.

One NFL exec LaCanfora spoke with under the condition of anonymity agreed.

“Mike needs to win this game, and everybody on that staff knows it,” said the unnamed GM. “The next man up is already there.”

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]

Per league rules, Quinn would not be allowed to meet in-person with another club before the conclusion of the divisional round of the playoffs. But if LaCanfora and his sources are to be believed, things in Cowboys Nation may have already blown up by then.

Even if the Cowboys handle their business as favorites over Green Bay in the wild-card round, McCarthy’s job status will be a rinse-and-repeat hypothetical question a week later. And then again if they advance to the conference championship; don’t think getting mopped by San Francisco in the NFC title game would be seen as any sort of improvement by the decision-makers in the organization.

It’s win or go home for the Cowboys from here on out. And just maybe for their head coach, too.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[mm-video type=video id=01hkwfh8ja5prqzbdjqs playlist_id=01eqbwens7sctqdrqg player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01hkwfh8ja5prqzbdjqs/01hkwfh8ja5prqzbdjqs-87033cf08b4855388b3e0515664b6752.jpg]

[lawrence-newsletter]

Key Matchup: Cowboys pass rush, Packers OL pits strength against strength

The Cowboys are No. 1 in PRWR while the Packers are No. 2 PBWR; matching strength against strength in the wild-card round of the playoffs. | From @ReidDHanson

The Dallas Cowboys upcoming wild-card matchup against the Packers is more than just a grudge match between Mike McCarthy and the team that once fired him. It’s a game that pits strength against strength, which could ultimately decide which team advances to the divisional round and which team advances to the offseason.

The Cowboys are loaded in the pass-rusher department, and it shows. Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Dante Fowler, Dorance Armstrong, Osa Odighizuwa and Sam Williams make up arguably the best group of pressure players in the NFL. The Packers just so happen to be equally as proficient in stopping the pass-rush.

What Dallas may lack in sack totals (13th in NFL), they make up for pass rush win rate. With a 59 percent success rate, the Cowboys are No. 1 in the NFL in pass rush win rate and effective at pressuring QBs even without a blitz.

Green Bay finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in ESPN’s pass block win rate and are well equipped to stop even the most relentless of pass rushes. On Sunday, somethings gotta give.

The Cowboys have a couple items working in their favor:

  1. The speed in which they apply pressure.
  2. The multiple areas they can attack with pressure.

Best Dallas Cowboys 2023 NFC East Champs, playoff gear

Gear up, Cowboys fans, with 2023 NFC East Champs gear

The Dallas Cowboys are playoff bound.

Are you ready?

The Cowboys capped off the 2023 regular season with a 12-5 overall record and an NFC East title.

Their efforts were good enough to lock in the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a meeting with the Green Bay Packers in the upcoming Wild-Card round.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Cowboys playoff gear” link=”https://fanatics.93n6tx.net/anGLzQ”]

While we wait and see how far the Cowboys will go now, it’s still the perfect time to show your Dallas pride.

Get ready and gear up for the Cowboys’ upcoming postseason run by checking out some of best playoff shirts, hats and more below.

Dallas Cowboys 2023 playoff gear:

Cowboys 53-man roster, practice squad for wild-card vs Packers

A look at the team’s roster as the playoffs begin. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys will soon be locked in to preparations for the tournament. The regular season is an exciting 18-week journey, but it’s all a preparation for the single-elimination battle to reign supreme over the land. Dallas’ path starts with the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon, and fortunately they will be relatively healthy to start their week of practice.

A big concern was seemingly avoided when cornerback Stephon Gilmore’s dislocated shoulder wasn’t more severe. The passing game rules and the team is already without Trevon Diggs for the season. Meanwhile, they welcomed back nose tackle Johnathan Hankins and the one remaining key question is the plantar fascia foot of left guard Tyler Smith. As such, here’s a look at the 53-man roster for the wild-card round, along with the practice squad and their call-up availability, pending any moves.

T.J. Bass, Brock Hoffman give Cowboys crucial interior depth for playoff run

For most of the year it seemed the Cowboys were an injury away from disaster on their O-line, but the emergence of two OGs changes that. | From @ReidDHanson

Over the 2023 offseason, the Cowboys did a spectacular job of filling in holes and building up depth across the roster. They retained their top free agents, signed a few veterans, and conducted a needs-based draft. The result was a championship-level roster capable of withstanding the unavoidable injury here or there. Except for one position group it seemed.

After a full offseason, the Cowboys offensive line was still disturbingly fragile. Dallas failed to select an offensive lineman over the first two days of the draft and did little to instill confidence they could survive a loss to anyone in their starting five.

Throughout the 2023 season their depth would be tested. Injuries at LT, RG and RG gave opportunities to Chuma Edoga, T.J. Bass and Brock Hoffman. While none of them where spectacular in their fill-ins, Bass and Hoffman showed they might have some promise in the NFL. Bass played 344 snaps throughout the season while Hoffman logged 222. The two undrafted interior linemen appeared to develop as the season progressed and finished in Week 18 with their best performances to-date.

It took until the final regular season game of the year, but the Cowboys may have finally discovered they have decent depth on the offensive line after all.

In all fairness, the tackle positions still hold a significant amount of concern. If Smith misses time at LT, Edoga represents an enormous step down in the starting lineup. And since Terence Steele is still struggling mightily in pass protection, there often aren’t enough extra resources available to keep pass rushers at bay.

But the viability of Bass and Hoffman in the interior is comforting regardless. They are on the up-swing in their development and have enough snaps under their belts to seemingly hit the ground running should something happen this postseason.

A final piece of credit is also due to the Cowboys coaching staff and Dak Prescott’s internal clock. With replacements on the field, the Cowboys haven’t just charged on with that “next man up” attitude of old. They’ve often adjusted for the circumstance.

When both starting guards were out last week, the Cowboys sped up the offense and kept responsibilities reasonable. Throughout the season, Prescott has averaged 2.69 seconds to throw. With Bass and Hoffman starting, they dropped that number to 2.4 seconds. Mike McCarthy and Prescott likely understood the limitations and adjusted. It’s a smart move not all teams are willing to do.

It’s been a group effort, and it took until the last week of the season to truly feel it, but the Cowboys have finally found depth on their offensive line.

Dallas expects to have both starting guards back against Green Bay in Round 1 of the playoffs, but it’s good to know the Cowboys could survive a hit to their interior ranks and still survive.

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Cowboys’ punt-block prowess could force Packers to pick 4th-down poison

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys had one-third of the league’s punt blocks this season. That will give Green Bay just a little more to think about this Sunday.

There were just six blocked punts in the NFL during the 2023 regular season. The Cowboys were responsible for two of them, and they nearly had a third.

Special teams coordinator John Fassel hopes that will give the Packers just one more thing to think about when punter Daniel Whelan comes on to try to flip the field for Green Bay this Sunday at AT&T Stadium.

“There is a yin and yang on the rush and return, kind of working together,” Fassel told reporters at The Star this week.

Tight end Peyton Hendershot was the beneficiary this past Sunday, busting through the line of scrimmage on a Washington third-quarter fourth-down to block Tress Way’s punt and give the offense possession at the Commanders’ 9-yard-line. Dallas would add their fifth touchdown of the afternoon moments later.

It’s about creating mismatches, obviously. And if the Cowboys’ opponent is too focused on keeping their punter upright by adding a blocker at the line, it could mean giving speedy punt return man KaVontae Turpin extra room to maneuver forty-some yards downfield.

The Packers are already susceptible to a strong return game. Whelan is averaging a lackluster 46.2 yards per punt, a mark that places him 24th in the league. But factor in punt returns, and his per-punt net average drops to 39.4 yards, or 31st place.

So Green Bay will face a real decision on every fourth down.

“Some of those things do open up, potentially, the return game because there’s more of a focus on protection,” Fassel explained. “Having Turp back there, there’s a clearer emphasis on other teams trying to cover, so sometimes that opens up an opportunity to rush.”

Fassel is more than happy to make opponents pick their poison, especially with players on both ends of the equation able to turn any given punt into a huge momentum swing.

“There are some typical known rushers,” Fassel noted of his 2023 crew. “Dorance Armstrong is probably pretty well-known as a rusher. Even Sam [Williams] is well-known. For Peyton to get an opportunity to make a move and get a punt block was fantastic.”

As Fassel points out, Cowboys opponents have more than one capable rusher to contend with. It was Hendershot this past weekend; back in Week 8, it was defensive end Sam Williams, tacking two points onto the scoreboard with his block.

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]

Williams has developed a knack for the technique this season while playing on over two-thirds of Dallas’s special teams plays. He very nearly recorded a second blocked punt in the Week 15 loss to Buffalo. While he misjudged his leap (he arguably shouldn’t have left his feet at all) and was subsequently called for roughing, he came within inches of a game-changing play.

That miscue came to mind for Fassel on Sunday as he watched Hendershot’s block versus Washington, remembering a similar learning moment the tight end had in 2022.

“Hendershot, last year, we played the Bears,” Fassel recalled. “And it was probably the third quarter. He got cut loose on a punt rush and whiffed, almost like Sam did against Buffalo a couple weeks ago. And that has stuck with myself and Hendershot for, now, over a year. And we worked on how to finish, kind of like we’ve been working on with Sam. It was the exact same thing, you know; Peyton missed his just like Sam missed his. So we work on these things, on how to finish when you get through. So for him to just boom, all of a sudden- it was really a return call with a one-man rush, kind of deja vu. For him to get through and finish, man, that’s sometimes the hardest part.”

The hardest part for Green Bay this coming weekend in the wild-card round may be deciding whether to roll the dice against the electrifying Turpin… or defend against one of the best punt-blocking squads in football.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[mm-video type=video id=01hkqn1dr3s0kyvmknzm playlist_id=01eqbwens7sctqdrqg player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01hkqn1dr3s0kyvmknzm/01hkqn1dr3s0kyvmknzm-1cfd28eac936920f2e62b6738ca8ae9f.jpg]

[lawrence-newsletter]