Tag: 2022 Week 18

Cowboys hope to nail down CB roles in Week 18 before it’s too late

The Dallas Cowboys hope to nail down their cornerback roles for the postseason this week against Washington. If not… | From @ReidDHanson

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Week 18 may be a pointless contest for some teams but to the Dallas Cowboys, it’s important for multiple reasons. The first of which is to win. Should Philadelphia lose to the Giants, Dallas needs a win in Washington to take the division crown. The Cowboys can’t control what happens to the Eagles but they have to do all they can on their end to make home-field advantage a possibility.

The second reason Week 18 is so important is there is still an important roster issue that needs resolution. The cornerback position opposite Trevon Diggs has been in flux ever since Anthony Brown suffered a season-ending injury December 4.

Kelvin Joseph, the Cowboys second round pick in 2021, was the natural choice to replace Brown. That experiment ended quickly, leaving Joseph largely out of the mix and now positioned on the fringe of the roster.

With zero proven entities available, defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has been forced to reach into his bag for a solution. The top two candidates are DaRon Bland and Nahshon Wright. Both have seen action outside as of late and both should see plenty of snaps against Washington in Week 18.

Bland, Dallas’ top nickel corner, is preferred inside but will play the boundary if no other option is available.

Wright is a boundary-only player who is undeveloped and inconsistent. In Week 17, Wright gave up 105 yards on seven receptions playing outside. He also snagged an impressive interception that took all 6-foot-4 of him to get.

The Cowboys would prefer Wright to be the solution on the boundary because it would allow Bland to stay inside where he’s best. But it seems they won’t hesitate to move Bland outside to insure the best possible coverage.

With the postseason fast approaching, the time to find answers is now, which is why Dan Quinn wants to nail down roles for his cornerbacks on Sunday in Washington.

“As we’re moving forward, I’m starting to see what I needed to see in terms of how to feature the guys in their very best ways,” Quinn said of his cornerback situation. “But we have one more opportunity, so to speak, to nail down how we want to go because like I said, once we get to the postseason I really don’t want to do a lot of shifting of the deck.”

While Nahshon Wright and DeRon Bland remain the favorites to carve out that second boundary cornerback spot, Trayvon Mullen could steal a role with a good performance this week. If all else fails, the recently signed Xavier Rhodes could also factor into the equation in the postseason.

The Cowboys want to find clarity on Sunday to nail down the roles at cornerback for the postseason, so expect to see multiple looks in the secondary against Washington.

3 keys to Cowboys closing regular season with win over Commanders

The path to winning the NFC East still exists if the Cowboys can earn a win over the Washington Commanders in Week 18. @CDPiglet maps out how to do it.

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The Dallas Cowboys played on short rest last week, facing off against Tennessee in Week 17. With multiple starters unavailable, it turned into one of the ugliest games of the season. The teams combined for five turnovers and 159 penalty yards across 13 accepted infractions. While the Titans had 10 of them, the Cowboys accounted for three of the turnovers and had their own offensive woes to reflect on.

The Cowboys struggled running the ball, with Ezekiel Elliott missing his backfield mate Tony Pollard. Quarterback Dak Prescott threw two interceptions, again, one of which was a drop by a pass catcher, again.

While it wasn’t pretty, winning ugly put Dallas in position to not only win the division in Week 18, but the No. 1 seed is still in play. That will keep the starters in play while the game is still competitive, and make these three keys to victory more attainable.

Nothing is wrong with the Cowboys’ pass rush

The Cowboys haven’t been producing sacks at their usual rate the past four weeks but their pressure remains elite. | From @ReidDHanson

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The Dallas Cowboys started the 2022 season on a pass-rushing tear. Averaging four sacks per game through the first 12 contests, the defense led the entire NFL in the category. The combination of Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler seemed to be an unstoppable force, hell bent on taking Dallas to that elusive Promised Land.

Over the last four weeks, the situation has changed, production has tapered off and Dan Quinn’s once unstoppable force has been stonewalled, averaging less than one sack per game. This has caused a low-key panic to wash over the Cowboys fanbase. The identity that once defined the Dallas defense appears gone and the issues it once masked are getting exposed.

In the immortal words of Aaron Rodgers, “relaaaaaaax.”

The Cowboys undeniably have a number of issues facing their defense but the reality is none of those issues are the pass rush.

Despite the drop-off in sack production, the Dallas defense is doing just fine as a pass rush. Sacks are a notoriously unstable statistic which ebbs and flows regardless of how individual defensive players perform. It’s often as much a byproduct of the opposing offense as it is the defense; which happens to be the case at the moment.

Teams know the Cowboys are deadly rushing the passer so they’ve been spending less time in the pocket and more time dedicated to quick passes. The Cowboys are still getting home, passers are just releasing the ball faster.

Pressure rate is a far more stable statistic than sacks and the Cowboys happen to be leading the NFL in pressure rate. With a 41.5 percent pressure rate (Per Pro Football Focus) they are four percent higher than the second-place Eagles.

The unstable nature of sacks, combined with quick-strike passing attacks from recent opponents, perfectly explain the drop in recent sack production. Dallas’ league leading pressure rate is proof enough there is nothing wrong with the Cowboys pass-rush and sacks will inevitably reappear as quickly as they disappeared.

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Speaker McCarthy weighs in on upcoming vote; topics in house address

From the HoF to being open and honest about the fragility of NFL careers in response to Damar Hamlin’s injury.. words from Ware, Woodson, McCarthy and Prescott. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys are headed to Washington this week. While the nation pops their popcorn and settles in as political theatre plays out in the nation’s capital over the Speaker of the House vote, Thursday was another day of preparation for head coach Mike McCarthy and his team ahead of their Week 18 tilt against the Commanders.

McCarthy was among several press conferences speakers at The Star in Frisco, the house, err home of the Cowboys. Also appearing on Thursday were DeMarcus Ware and Darren Woodson, two of the 15 finalists for February’s vote for Hall of Fame induction. Here are some of the top quotes from everyone’s time behind the microphone.

Cowboys vs Commanders: 6 things to know about Week 18 opponent

The problems with the Washington offense aren’t in their skill position players. @BenGrimaldi covers this and much more to know ahead of Week 18.

The Dallas Cowboys have sewn up their primary goal, they’re in the playoffs. The only thing that can change there is seeding and there are a few different outcomes that change where the Cowboys finish. An NFC East crown is still in play entering the final week of the regular season.

To win the division, the Cowboys will first need to take care of business against the Washington Commanders in Week 18. A longshot, if Dallas gets help from the New York Giants and potentially the Arizona Cardinals, winning the division and the No. 1 seed are still attainable.

The Commanders were in position to make the postseason until losing last week, now only have pride to play for. Beating the Cowboys is always fun for a rival, and killing Dallas’ chances for a a division crown is motivation enough. Here’s what else there is to know about Washington in the season finale.

Cowboys desperately need second receiving option to step up

The Dallas Cowboys passing attack is boom or bust based on CeeDee Lamb and desperately need someone to step up beside him. | From @ReidDHanson

When the Dallas Cowboys bid adieu to Amari Cooper last March, they did so without a clear replacement in mind. They hoped their No. 2 man, CeeDee Lamb, would elevate up to the top role, but they were still down a legitimate starting option.

Factoring in the loss of Cedrick Wilson and the recovery timeline of Michael Gallup, the Cowboys had to start the 2022 season without three of their top four receivers from the season prior. Their main replacement pieces, Jalen Tolbert and James Washington, would be asked to pick up the slack.

A task both failed to do.

With only one game left to play this season, Tolbert and Washington have combined for 12 yards on two receptions. They’ve been so ineffective on offense, Tolbert has only logged 89 total snaps on offense and Washington has been released altogether.

Cowboys-Commanders, Eagles-Giants initial Week 18 injury reports

Micah Parsons and his club are no longer on the report, but 11 Commanders sat along with key Eagles and Giants. The NFC Roundup from @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys have a job to do, but that job won’t be enough to get them where they want to go. The NFL has shifted to late-season divisional matchups in recent years, and with the NFC East being the league’s surprise as the most competitive grouping, Week 18 is full of suspense. Not only is the division race still up for grabs in the season’s final week, three of the teams are already locked in the playoff picture and two clubs still have a chance at the No. 1 seed.

That would be your Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles. The New York Giants are locked in as the sixth seed with Washington being eliminated this past weekend. As Dallas travels to take on the Commanders, the Eagles will host the Giants who have nothing to play for. The Cowboys need to win and the Eagles lose in order to win the division, so how hard the Giants try is of great importance to Dallas.

Over the weekend, first-year Giants head coach Brian Daboll indicated he would not be resting his starters going into the playoffs. Meanwhile Washington appears to want to get a glimpse of young talent on the NFL field, which means the Cowboys’ path to 13 wins could be a bit easier than the Eagles’ path to 14. On Wednesday, all four teams had their initial practice sessions of the week and with that a first glimpse into the injury status of key players. Here’s a breakdown of each team’s Wednesday report.

 

Cowboys, Eagles, 49ers to play at same time in crucial Week 18 games

The NFL has released the Week 18 time slots. Here’s how they break down. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The NFL has released the Week 18 time slots, as fans of multiple organizations waited with bated breath after the conclusion of the Sunday games. The NFC’s No. 1 and No. 7 seeds are still up for grabs, with jockeying going on for all but two slots. With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sitting at 8-8 and clinching the NFC South, they are the only NFC team with no impact on the remaining races. The New York Giants are locked into No. 6, but because who they play, their game time mattered as well.

The Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers will all play their respective games at 3:25 pm Central, so none of the competitors with a shot at the No. 1 seed in the conference has an opportunity to pull back because their future was already decided.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy faces one Giant dilemma in Week 18

If the Giants don’t rest their starters against the Eagles, the Cowboys would be compelled to give full effort in Week 18. | From @ReidDHanson

For the second consecutive week, the Philadelphia Eagles lost. Now, suddenly, that once-farfetched notion the Cowboys could still win the NFC East doesn’t seem quite so farfetched. Once down three games with only three games left to go, the dream is still alive.

Now just one game behind the Eagles, Dallas has the potential to leapfrog their division rival and claim the division crown in back-to-back seasons. It seems plans to rest a few key starters in Week 18 were a bit premature. All the Cowboys need to make these dreams come true is for Philadelphia to lose and for Dallas to win.

No problem, right?

The problem is the Eagles might not lose, making attempts to go all-in for Dallas somewhat futile. Philadelphia faces the New York Giants this coming weekend and the Giants are officially locked into their playoff spot, the No. 6 seed. With nothing to gain, it’s quite possible the Giants mail it in for Week 18, gift wrapping a win for Philadelphia, and ensuring the Eagles claim the NFC East crown.

Hence the giant dilemma.

Clearly, if something can be gained in Week 18, the Cowboys absolutely must do all they can to win. They can’t just assume Week 18 will be a cakewalk for the Eagles and waste this opportunity they’re extremely lucky to have.

At the same time, Dallas can’t charge in with reckless abandon and ignore the looming postseason staring them in the face. Mike McCarthy has a somewhat notorious reputation for being ultra-cautious with his players’ health. If a player needs time, he’ll give him time. But there’s a difference between “beat up” and being “injured.”

McCarthy isn’t going to sit players for a game that could mean something simply because they’re beat up. Everyone’s beat up this time of year. Yet, dents and dings add up, and players like Micah Parsons are looking noticeably different than they did earlier in the season.

If resting Parsons means he comes back able to play more snaps at a more productive rate in the postseason, maybe sitting out a game is worth it. The same reasoning can be applied to anyone on the Cowboys roster.

The Cowboys aren’t going to give up and rest all their key starters in Week 18. Not when the game has the potential to mean something. But that doesn’t mean some sort of middle ground can’t be found and concessions can’t be made either.

It’s a situation that will be watched closely this week with some decisions likely to come down to the wire.

Cowboys defense may end season facing run of backup QBs before playoffs

The Cowboys have played nothing but original starting QBs all season, that may be about to change in a major way down the stretch. | From @KDDrummondNFL

For those who want their team to be tested while firing on all cylinders as they enter the playoffs, they appear to be getting more fodder for sowing doubt. The Dallas Cowboys’ defense has struggled in the last half of the season. After only allowing one of their first seven opponents to score 20 points or more, they’ve only held one of their last seven under the mark.

This includes a couple of overtime losses, but the facts remain the unit isn’t performing as well as their record-setting pace to start the season. Injuries are certainly a major factor; two of three starting corners are out for the year while the defensive line’s depth has been impacted as well. But fans would love to see the return of a strong unit. That may happen over the final three games, but it may be fool’s gold.