New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys: Cowboys on Defense

Let's check in to see what the Giants might expect on defense from this weekend's opponent.

Author:
Brandon Olsen
Publish date:
Sep 8, 2023 8:00 AM EDT

In this story:

The Dallas Cowboys defense is largely considered among the best in the NFL thanks to defensive coordinator Dan Quinn's aggressive schemes and play calling. But are there weaknesses on this unit the Giants can exploit?

Let's break it down.

Personnel

This current Cowboys roster has two "dudes" at the two most important positions on defense: edge and cornerback. In the front four, they have arguably the best defender in football in Micah Parsons, with DeMarcus Lawrence as his running mate.

Parsons can only be defined as a one-man wrecking crew. Despite being used in coverage on over 10% of his defensive snaps, Parsons led the NFL in pressures created with 90, tied with Nick Bosa, although Parsons had 50 fewer pass-rushing snaps than Bosa. A front-runner for "Defensive Player of the Year" this season, Parsons could cause problems for the Giants offense.

Lawrence has been playing second fiddle to Parsons, so his reputation has dropped as a force on the defensive line, but he’s still capable of causing some problems himself. Lawrence prides himself on being able to disrupt not only the passing game with his power-rushing ability but also his stout run defense on the edge.

On passing downs, expect to hear the name Dorance Armstrong quite a bit for Dallas. Armstrong had the third most pressures on the Cowboys in 2022 with 40, but he got home for a sack on nine of those.

In the secondary, the Cowboys traded for Stephon Gilmore from the Indianapolis Colts to give them a more reliable, albeit less explosive, cornerback opposite the ball-hawking Trevon Diggs. Diggs is the kind of cornerback who can change a game in the blink of an eye, whether intercepting a pass himself or pulling the ol’ Marcus Peters and biting in hard on a double move before being burnt down the field.

Diggs has improved in knowing when to pick and choose his time to try and jump a route, but in week one, I would expect to test him at some point. In 2022, Diggs was targeted 82 times in coverage, allowing 56 catches for a 68.3% completion percentage, 695 yards, five touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 99.4.

Stephon Gilmore has slowed slightly with age but is still one of the most dominant press cornerbacks on the planet. With potentially the best pass-rush Gilmore has ever had underneath, all he’ll have to do is maintain that press and coverage for 2.5 seconds before the whistle blows.

Scheme

A schematic staple of Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is to crowd the line of scrimmage on the interior by having four defensive linemen on the field while adding a stand-up defender on the line. That additional defender is usually lined up in a "mug look" on either side of the center.

For Quinn, this allows him to create the opportunity to get his defensive line more one-on-one reps against offensive linemen, and with players like Parsons and Lawrence on that defensive line, they’re going to win those reps a good amount of the time.

Last season, the Giants struggled when facing stunts by the defensive line, so the expectation should be for the Cowboys to test the Giants there this week. Quinn likes to create havoc schematically by crowding the line of scrimmage while also forcing offensive linemen to work against those stunts with that mug defender either dropping back into coverage or joining in on the rush.

On the back end, the most common coverages Giants fans should expect to see are Cover 1 and Cover 3. The Cowboys operate often with a single-high safety look and, more often than not, are playing the coverage they show pre-snap.

The Cowboys in 2022 played Cover 1 or Cover 3 on over 60% of their snaps. Expect that to lean more towards Cover 3 this week as the Cowboys will look to sit in zone to keep Daniel Jones in front of them while also taking away the deep ball.

What This Means for the Giants

First and foremost, the offensive line is being thrown into the fire in Week 1 against this pass-rush, but if it can just hold its own, even if it means keeping a sixth man in to pass-block, then this defense has its soft spots to attack.

The middle of the field will be an issue for the Cowboys all year. A Cover 3 heavy system with good but not great coverage linebackers means that the seams should be available for teams with good tight ends to attack. Luckily, the Giants have one great vertically-attacking tight end in Darren Waller and Daniel Bellinger, who impressed and showed promise in his rookie season.

The flats should also be an area that Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka frequently target, as the Cowboys will likely have Donovan Wilson patrolling there. He’s had issues with finishing tackles and putting himself in the proper position to even make a play on the ball carrier. If that means running wide with Saquon Barkley or finding a receiver in the flat for a catch-and-run opportunity, then so be it, but the flats should be easy completion and yards after.

While this might not be an ideal suggestion for a team that just gave their quarterback a sizable contract, Daniel Jones must be utilized as a runner against Dallas. With the Cowboys' aggressive front, Jones must identify when pressure is closing in and take off running.

Adding in the read option isn’t a bad idea either, as the Cowboys edge rushers, especially if Armstrong is on the field, will be aggressive, so the edge could be vulnerable.

Pre-snap motion should be used early and often as a way to help identify if the Cowboys will be in man or zone coverage since the pre-snap look will be the same more often than not on defense.

Final Thoughts

The expectation should be that in Week 1, the Cowboys will be able to generate consistent pressure on Daniel Jones if he doesn’t get the ball out quickly. Offensive lines are rarely in their best shape to start the year, so having to face Parsons and Lawrence spells disaster if you try to go vertical often.

The Cowboys have done their best to try and get Dan Quinn a defense that resembles his “Legion of Boom” Seahawks days, which is about as close as you can get. All that’s missing is the interior pass rush, which could come from rookie Mazi Smith.