'High Level!' Dallas Cowboys' Schottenheimer Scouts Patriots Defense, Christian Gonzalez
Many felt the Dallas Cowboys had a cupcake on the schedule when they were tasked with visiting the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3. Instead, they crumbled in embarrassing fashion, 28-16.
Regardless of why Dallas fell short, from injuries to play calling and everything in between, losing to Arizona and falling to 2-1 puts increased importance on their next matchup. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, that’s a date with the greatest head coach of all time.
Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots will visit Dallas on Sunday in running back Ezekiel Elliott’s return to Texas. He brings with him a defense that ranks fifth in success rate (39.4%).
Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer spoke about the challenges New England presents.
“They’re playing really well,” Schottenheimer said. “They’re very physical, one of the most fundamentally-sound teams you’ll see. They don’t make a lot of mistakes, very gap-conscious in the run game, do a really good job from a coverage standpoint”
Belichick’s modus operandi is taking away his opponent’s top weapon. For Dallas, that’s receiver CeeDee Lamb, who after posting 220 yards through two weeks, struggled to make an impact against the Cardinals. He may have a tough time getting back on track, as he’ll be facing first-round cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
CeeDee Lamb hauls in an impressive catch against the New England Patriots.
Brian Fluharty/USA Today
“If there’s a better young corner in the league than Gonzalez, he’d be hard-pressed to find,” Schottenheimer said. “He’s playing at a really high level. They matched him on Tyreek [Hill] a couple of weeks ago, Garrett Wilson yesterday … another really good challenge for us.”
He wasn’t exaggerating. Gonzalez has been an instant difference maker in Belichick’s defense, in part due to elite athleticism and a strong knack for man coverage.
According to Pro Football Focus, Gonzalez ranks third amongst all cornerbacks who have played a significant amount of snaps (about 100 through three weeks) with a grade of 84.4. He’s logged an interception and two pass breakups in his first stretch of NFL action.
Gonzalez could very well follow Lamb around the field, making life difficult for him and quarterback Dak Prescott. Finding ways to use that traveling against New England is a task both for Schottenheimer and the weapons Dallas still has at its disposal, whether it be via running back Tony Pollard or receivers Brandin Cooks and Michael Gallup.
Unless Lamb wins the day himself, it will take a team effort to take down the highly-touted Patriots' defense.
