Tag: 2021 week 11

Toxicity aside, Cowboys enjoy advanced stat edge over Raiders in Week 12

Who’s more toxic? That team from the desert might have a chance when it comes to the big play, but does Dallas win out overall? | From @ProfessorO_NFL

The Dallas Cowboys will host the Las Vegas Raiders Thursday afternoon as part of their annual NFL Thanksgiving showcase. The Cowboys all-time record on Thanksgiving sits at 31-21-1. Recent Thanksgiving games haven’t gone well for Dallas, with their last win happening in 2018 against the Washington Football Team.  The Cowboys and Raiders have played two times on Thanksgiving, 2009 and 2013, with Dallas winning both times.

The Cowboys enter this week with a 7-3 record after falling to the Kansas Chiefs in a 19-9 game that saw the offense struggle to move the ball consistently.  This will be the fourth and final game against the AFC West division, with the Cowboys currently holding a 1-2 record with a strong road win against the Los Angeles Chargers and two ugly losses against the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs.  The Cowboys are looking for their eighth win of the season and a winning record against the AFC, after beating New England in Week 6.

Quarterback Dak Prescott will be without one of his top weapons again with Amari Cooper missing his second game due to COVID-19.  They may be without CeeDee Lamb as well after Lamb suffered a concussion on Sunday against the Chiefs.

The Raiders will travel to Dallas with a 5-5 record on the season and a three-game losing streak. Adversity has been the keyword to the Raiders season after firing their Head Coach Jon Gruden and then their two first round picks (Henry Ruggs and Damon Arnette) from the 2020 draft due to off the field issues. Their offense has had difficulty scoring points as of late, averaging 14 points per game over the last three weeks.

The Cowboys and Raiders all-time record is squared up at 6-6.

Let’s open up the Advanced Stat Notebook to see how both teams have performed this season using advanced analytics. Here’s a review of four key metrics to see if DVOA, ANY/A, Toxicity and EPA give the Cowboys reasons to feel confident about picking up win No. 8 on the season.

3 Stars: Parsons, Kearse led inspired Cowboys defensive effort

The Cowboys had a bad effort as a club, but there were still a handful of standouts in the contest. | From @StarConscience

Week 11 did not go as planned for the Dallas Cowboys. Their matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs was seen as a litmus test of their season so far, and they failed. Offensively the Cowboys were awful, only producing nine points. 276 total yards were a season-low and the Cowboys were only five out of 15 on third down. Sprinkle in Dak Prescott’s inaccuracy, wide receivers dropping passes, the offensive line getting dominated, and three turnovers, it was a miracle they only lost 19-9.

The reason for that was because of the Cowboys’ defense. The 19 points the Chiefs scored were the fourth-lowest the Cowboys’ defense has allowed all season. Also, they forced two turnovers and logged three sacks.

It’s hard to find a lot of positives in a loss like this one, but these are three players that stood out for the Cowboys.

Micah Parsons lone bright spot from Cowboys’ rough outing

The Cowboys have a star on their hands, and it appears he’s only getting started. Parsons was a lightning bug in a dark outing on Sunday. | From @TimLettiero

In a game that went south quickly, the Dallas Cowboys fell to the Kansas City Chiefs in a Week 11 away bout. The offense struggled early and often, earning themselves no more than three field goals by the end of the game. Defensively, Dan Quinn’s unit was able to hold the elite Kansas City offense to only 19 points, an even greater feat considering how quickly they reached 16.

At the center of it all was the do-it-all rookie. Micah Parsons continued his white hot streak dating back to Week 8.

Parsons became the lynchpin of the Dallas pass-rush attack, lining up on the edge 97% of the time (56 of 58 defensive snaps, per NextGen Stats) and totaling what would become a career-high seven pressures on 33 pass-rush snaps. He get home two times for sacks while also making two tackles for a loss.

On one of his sacks on Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, Parsons burst past the right tackle on a curved pursuit line at a whopping 17 mph and forced a fumble. It was an outrageously athletic play from someone who is 6-foot-3, 245 pounds.

Parsons fell into the lap of Dallas after a traceback in April’s NFL Draft and it seems to be going as good as it can be. In the past four weeks, he’s accounted for 5.5 sacks on eight QB hits, 31 tackles with 10 for a loss and two forced fumbles. With Defensive Rookie of the Year practically in his possession already, should he keep this pace up Defensive Player of the Year should not be too far away.

Parsons is in elite company not just in the past four weeks but on the season as a whole. With reigning DPOY Aaron Donald not even close it looks like a race between three elite young pass rushers and the rookie defensive weapon, Micah Parsons. A campaign like this is unheralded and this recognition will certainly be the icing on the cake to what has been a great season thus far for the Penn State product.

[listicle id=686659][lawrence-newsletter]

Good, Bad, Ugly: Big Uglies earn nickname wrong way as Cowboys’ offense collapses

The Dallas Cowboys had an awful offensive performance, which trumped their defense standing tall in the 19-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. | From @BenGrimaldi

What was anticipated as the game of the year turned out to be a game to forget for the Dallas Cowboys, who were man handled 19-9 by the Kansas City Chiefs. It was the worst performance of the season for the Cowboys on offense as they failed to score a touchdown or gain 300 yards.

The offense was missing some of its pieces, but the Cowboys still had quarterback Dak Prescott under center and that usually gives them a good shot at winning. It wasn’t to be in this contest as Prescott and the offense were off schedule from the very first play and never got in sync.

The Cowboys wouldn’t have beaten many teams Sunday and after a second stinker in three games, it’s far to wonder just how good Dallas is. With a short week coming up, the Cowboys need to rebound quickly.

Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly from a lethargic loss in Week 11.

Report Card, Snap Counts Week 11: Undermanned Cowboys underwhelm vs Chiefs

Dallas had another chance to match up against the league’s best, but bombed their big test. Find out snap counts and position grades here. | From @Zeke_Barrera

The Cowboys bombed their big midterm against the Kansas City Chiefs in what could’ve been a statement game heading into the season’s final stretch. It was their second dud in the past three weeks, a still concerning development despite Dallas playing shorthanded and without many of their key players.

Luckily for the Cowboys, they have a chance to redeem themselves with a final AFC West test fast approaching, as they host Las Vegas in their annual Thanksgiving Day game in mere days. They can’t linger on this loss too much, with still plenty of football left to be played.

Here’s how the Cowboys graded out in Week 11, along with the playtime percentage breakdown.

6 Takeaways: Cowboys’ defense couldn’t save day, but could be sign of things to come

Missed opportunity, not up for a playoff environment, blocking and play calling held hands down a fiery slide… so many takeaways. so little time. | From @KDDrummondNFL

For the majority of the season, the Dallas Cowboys’ offense has been charged with carrying the burden for the 2021 season. They were unable to come through on those promises on Sunday, as the offense was inept at basically every level and every position in their 19-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. So in a disheartening loss, why should there be any belief that things will be ok?

The loss dropped Dallas’ record on the season to 7-3, as they still enjoy a 2.5 game lead over the suddenly competitive Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC East’s automatic berth into the playoffs. The Cowboys have a far way to fall before that comes into question, but they did miss out on a golden opportunity in the conference playoff race. With just three days of rest between now and the next game —taking on the Las Vegas Raiders Thursday on Thanksgiving — one might want to move past this contest. However here are some takeaways from the failed midterm.

Cowboys full of blunder, fall to Chiefs 19-9

The Cowboys looked to start a new winning streak but found themselves unequipped to deal with their opponent on Sunday.

Winning an NFL football game on the road seems easier so far in 2021, but that wasn’t the case at all for the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Traveling into Arrowhead Stadium in Week 11, the Cowboys were looking to capitalize on the momentum from one of the most complete performances they’ve had in a long time. Dallas throttled Atlanta 43-3 in a game they took their foot off the gas at halftime. Meanwhile their opponents this Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs, entered the contest back in the lead in the AFC West courtesy of a three-game winning streak.

Circled on the schedule in the offseason as a potential shootout, it was nothing of the sort. Dallas’ defense did a tremendous job of keeping the Chiefs offense corralled, allowing just three points over the last 44 minutes of the contest. However an endless barrage of mistakes on top of porous pass blocking kept Dallas from being able to put together any meaningful assault. Dallas was lackluster on offense all game and ended up on the short end of a 19-9 defeat.

The loss dropped Dallas to 7-3 on the season with a short week ahead of their annual Thanksgiving game at AT&T Stadium.

The Cowboys’ offense would start to mount drives but they routinely fizzled once they got the ball inside the Kansas City 40-yard line. It was a frustrating day to say the least.

Dallas’ injury concerns grew in the contest. Already down left tackle Tyron Smith and wideout Amari Cooper, the Cowboys lost CeeDee Lamb to a head injury at the end of the first half. Without him, the offense struggled against man coverage as an inaccurate Dak Prescott was also betrayed by several receiver drops. Noah Brown and Cedrick Wilson both dropped two passes each, while Michael Gallup also flubbed one.

Throw in a myriad of penalties at inopportune times and its the recipe for a lethargic performance. The club was finally put out of their misery on a late drive when Chris Jones – who had 3.5 of the Chiefs’ five sacks – tipped a pass that was intercepted by L’Jarius Sneed to seal the deal.

It was Prescott’s second interception and third turnover of the game.

Dallas will now prepare to face the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday.

Injury Update: Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb out with head injury

A head injury will keep the Cowboys’ best receiver out the rest of the game.

Things haven’t been going great for the Dallas Cowboys through one half of football in Kansas City. The Chiefs came out firing and Dallas came out misfiring, and a 16-3 deficit is the result. Numerous drops, oft-target passes, fumbles and interceptions along with penalties were the culprit as Dak Prescott and the Cowboys were never able to get themselves in a rhythm thanks to a relentless amount of pressure by the Chiefs’ front.

Things look like they might be even more difficult in the second half as WR CeeDee Lamb didn’t join the team out of the locker room to start the third quarter. Lamb was seen being gingerly escorted off the field going into the break.

Erin Andrews on the broadcast revealed that it is a head injury, likely suffered on a late interception on a pass intended for him in the end zone. The back of Lamb’s head slammed into the turf on the play.

Dallas is already without Amari Cooper, on the COVID list, and now the Cowboys are down another top receiver in addition to missing LT Tyron Smith and defensive ends DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory.

Cowboys-Chiefs Inactives: Tyron Smith, both rookie CBs to sit in Week 11 matchup

A look at the Week 11 inactives list for Cowboys-Chiefs.

The Dallas Cowboys will be down two cornerbacks for the late afternoon matchup with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Already missing their two starting pass rusher in DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory — both on IR — the defense will be further hindered by the loss of their depth in the secondary. Second-round rookie Kelvin Joseph will miss the contest with a personal issue. Meanwhile Nahshon Wright will miss the contest with a hamstring injury.

On offense, despite ramping up in practice throughout the week, Dallas will be without left tackle Tyron Smith. His ankle injury has not healed enough for him to test it in the game, leading to another start at the position by swing tackle Terence Steele. The Cowboys’ offense will also be without Amari Cooper, who was placed on COVID reserve earlier in the week.

Meanwhile on the opposite sideline, the Chiefs will be without starting RT Lucas Niang.

Here’s a look at the two teams full inactives list.

 

Cowboys Keys to Victory: Parsons’, Diggs’ defensive playmaking, Prescott’s precision

For the Cowboys to escape Arrowhead Stadium victorious, the stars are going to have to pick up the slack for the missing pieces. | Froom @StarConscience

The Dallas Cowboys got back to their winning ways with a 43-3 beatdown of the Atlanta Falcons last week. In Week 11, however, they face a different challenge with the Kansas City Chiefs. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is coming off a 400-yard performance with five touchdown passes against the Las Vegas Raiders, and the Chiefs defense has forced five turnovers during their three-game win streak.

Dallas has performed well away from AT&T Stadium this season, posting a 3-1 record and with their lone loss a close defeat at the hands of the defending Super Bowl champions on coronation night. The Cowboys can make a huge statement going into Arrowhead Stadium and picking up a win, and here are three players who will be key in making that a reality.