Chiefs’ win over Cowboys was an atypical defensive battle

The Chiefs’ defense is back, and the Cowboys know it. Dallas’ defense was good in parts, but Chris Jones was too much to overcome.

We all expected this game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys to be an offensive show-on-turf, it was actually the exact opposite. Between both quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes and Dak Prescott, there wasn’t a single passing touchdown.

So, what happened? Neither team could really move the ball through the air.

Mahomes ended with a 71.9 passer rating, one interception and was sacked three times. Prescott had a 57.9 passer rating, two interceptions and was sacked five times.

Before Sunday, Prescott came into the game with a fantastic stat against the blitz; against five or more pass-rushers this season, he had 16 touchdown passes. When we look at the Chiefs blitz per Sports Info Solutions, on 100 opponent attempts, quarterbacks had completed 57 passes for 615 yards, 10 touchdowns, and one interception.

So, the Chiefs defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, drew up a perfect plan against Prescott and the Cowboys offense; they simply decided to stay away from the blitz. This forced Prescott to make more accurate reads down field in order to move the ball.

In the first half, the Chiefs came out on fire as they force a three-and-out on the Cowboys first offensive drive and get a sack-fumble on the next.

Since defensive tackle, Chris Jones, moved primarily back to the inside of the defensive line in Week 7, the Chiefs have rattled off four wins to just one loss. In the beginning of the year, the Chiefs moved Jones to the outside, but after coming back from his absence after a week 7 loss to Tennessee, the Chiefs began rotating him from the outside to the inside. In Weeks 7-10, Jones played 84 snaps outside, and 74 snaps inside.

As time was winding down in the first half, the Cowboys could only get a field goal on the board. The defense continued to make plays as their offense showed their inability to convert those take-a-ways to points. In the second quarter, Micah Parsons gets a strip sack and the Cowboys recover the ball at the Chiefs 42 yard-line.

After four plays and only moving 14 yards, Prescott ended up throwing an interception as the half came to a close.

Micah Parsons ended the game with two sacks, three QB hits and two tackles for loss. Parsons now has eight career sacks and is now tied with DeMarcus Ware for the most sacks by a Cowboys rookie.

Unfortunately, for the Cowboys, their offense couldn’t answer as their last four possessions end in a Punt, Field Goal, Punt and an Interception.

The Chiefs’ defense continued to dominate the entire game, even up until the very last opportunity the Cowboys had to score. With only one-minute left in the game, Jones got pressure from the inside, tipping Prescott’s pass, which led to L’Jarius Sneed’s game-clinching interception.

The Chiefs defense forced a total of six three-and-outs, and the Cowboys went 5-for-15 on third-downs. Prescott’s longest pass of the day was for only 19 yards. Chiefs defensive lineman, Jones, ends the game with a career high 3.5 sacks, two tackles for loss and three quarterback hits.

The Chiefs defense finally looks dominant once again as they now roll on from Week 11 with a four game win streak.