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Dallas Cowboys: 3 Keys to beating the Atlanta Falcons

By Adithya Prabakaran

Nov 7, 2021; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) gestures after throwing a touchdown pass in the third quarter against the New Orleans Saints at the Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 7, 2021; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) gestures after throwing a touchdown pass in the third quarter against the New Orleans Saints at the Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 2: Abuse Play Action

Over the last four weeks, the Falcons haven’t allowed a feature back to carry the ball for over 4 yards per carry. Their commitment to making teams one-dimensional has been effective. This strategy has also been effective against teams with Sam Darnold, Jacoby Brissett, Zach Wilson, and Trevor Siemian as their quarterbacks. With all due respect to these quarterbacks, none of them are a healthy Dak Prescott. (Stop me if you know where this is going)

Last week, Vic Fangio said at his weekly press conference that he wanted to stop the Cowboys from rushing as effectively as they had done all season. Cowboys fans laughed at this expecting the Cowboys to win through the air. To their dismay, it never materialized as such because the Broncos were able to generate pressure by attacking Terrence Steele on the left.

Another week without Tyron Smith and it looks like the Cowboys might have to repeat this experiment once again. The flashbacks to 2017 are in full effect and the Cowboys are facing a Dean Pees led defense, often known for being aggressive in their pass rush.

The Falcons are committed to stopping the run and likely could present the same problems the Broncos did a week ago with their multiple fronts. Only this time, the Falcons might blitz more?

The best way to offset this would be to use play action. The play-action buys time for the Cowboys’ receivers to get downfield while also giving Dak the ability to move around or buy time in the pocket so he can complete passes past the sticks. The balance of dropback and play-action passes will be imperative, much like it was against the Buccaneers. The Cowboys can’t expect Terrence Steele to hold his own on the left side again much like how the Cowboys couldn’t expect Connor McGovern to hold his own against Vita Vea in week one.

Also, incorporating more play-action is great against this group of linebackers because Deion Jones and Foye Oluokun can be tricked easily into overpursuing their run fits. The Dallas offense should expect something similar to last week; hopefully, the Dallas offense doesn’t operate like it did last week.

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