The Dallas offensive line protected Cooper Rush and opened holes for the run game, but the Commanders’ D-line is their team’s main strength. | From @ToddBrock24f7
The Cowboys utilized their run game to great success in Week 3, with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard each logging over 13 carries and both topping 70 yards in their 23-16 divisional win.
But if the Dallas ground attack is to keep churning, it’ll have to get over a pretty sizable speed bump when the Commanders come to AT&T Stadium on Sunday.
Washington gave up 123 rushing yards to Jacksonville in their season opener, allowing 6.8 yards per carry. But they’ve tightened up considerably in the weeks since then; last Sunday’s outing saw them hold the Eagles to just a 2.4-yard-per-attempt average.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones knows that could translate to an afternoon of tough sledding for his dynamic backfield duo.
“The thing that worries me,” Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan, “is the general defensive front. It is outstanding. They have as good of personnel as I’ve ever seen put together. That’s a challenge. Our guys- especially our offensive line- and our blocking schemes, get[ting] our run going the way we had it going the other night so we can balance it out and give us a chance passing-wise. All of that is going to be a challenge against this team. That’s their strength.”
Analyst Bucky Brooks agrees. In a column spotlighting the Commanders’ eight best players, he argues that three of them play along the defensive line. (It would no doubt be four if superstar edge rusher Chase Young weren’t on injured reserve.)
Daron Payne leads Washington’s linemen in total snaps this season. He “owns the line of scrimmage as a heavy-handed defender,” Brooks notes, “with the size, strength, and power to throw blockers around. If opponents fail to pay extra attention to No. 94 at the point of attack, the veteran will wreck the shop and ruin a game plan.”
Fellow defensive tackle Jonathan Allen “possesses the size, length, and athleticism to create chaos,” according to Brooks, who adds that his “technical savvy and non-stop motor make him difficult to control at the point of attack.”
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy this week called Payne and Allen “two forces in the middle.” But then there’s their still-ascending defensive end Montez Sweat. Much like the Cowboys’ Micah Parsons, Sweat has become the disruptor that offenses need to key on before each snap.
“Really, the guy that’s facing a little bit more has been Montez in terms of the way the protections are rigged, and you see a concerted effort to pay attention to where he is,” Washington coach Ron Rivera said this week. “You know, as we look at the things that we want to try and do, we’re trying to put him in a position where they’ve got identify him, but then once they do and they do something different, the other guys have to step up.”
The Commanders’ other D-linemen have been doing just that, even with several of their regular contributors out last week due to injury. James Smith-Williams, Casey Toohill, and Daniel Wise are all looking to return to active duty Sunday in Dallas.
Against Philadelphia, end Efe Obada logged three total tackles, a sack, and two QB hits versus the Eagles. Shaka Toney had four tackles, including one for a loss. Both of them played over 30 snaps in Week 3, but William Bradley-King and even Cowboys draft pick John Ridgeway got involved on 24 and 20 plays, respectively.
To combat what is sure to be an active rotation up front, the Cowboys will look for their offensive front five to turn in an encore to Monday night’s performance, when they didn’t allow a single sack and helped spring Elliott for 4.9 yards per carry and Pollard for 8.1.
The Cowboys are clearly putting extra emphasis on the O-line this week. McCarthy has been putting a new assistant coach in front of the entire team during the lead-up to each game in 2022; the so-called “General of the Week” this week was assistant line coach Jeff Blasko.
But it will still come down to the men on the field. And while rookie Tyler Smith has impressed in his first three outings and Zack Martin continues his All-Pro excellence, the line got an immediate boost in the Meadowlands when newly-added Jason Peters stepped in at left guard for his Cowboys debut.
On Peters’s very first play, he and Smith blew apart the left side of the Giants’ line, paving the way for Pollard’s 46-yard run. The nine-time Pro Bowler played just 14 snaps on the night (compared to Matt Farniok’s 50), but McCarthy said Peters could be in line for a larger share this week as he continues to ramp up from his September signing.
“The biggest thing is the connection, the communication, playing next to the same guy,” McCarthy said in his Friday press conference. “This isn’t a matter of if he can play or not; we all know he can play. It’s getting in tune, getting the physical part right because he didn’t go though training camp. We’re looking at all those things to determine a play count.”
If ever there were a week when the Cowboys needed their “best five” on the offensive line, it may be this week with a worrisome Washington D-line paying what figures to be a not-so-friendly visit.
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