Daniel Jones gave Cowboys defense a learning opportunity for Eagles
By Reid Hanson
From early in the offseason to now, the Philadelphia Eagles have been the trendy pick to win the NFC East. Not only has it been over a decade since a team was repeat champions of the East, but the Eagles loaded up at a time the Cowboys were stripping down.
Philly overtly surrounded their QB1 with as many weapons as possible while the Dallas Cowboys executed a plan of the opposite variety. Looking at the schedule it was clear, Philly had a cake walk this season. As long as Jalen Hurts was the right side of decent, they would have a clear path to the playoffs.
Hurts has always been intriguing as a prospect. Elite athleticism and leadership traits made coaches salivate over his potential. His problems manifested when he was forced out of his comfort zone – something that always doomed him but opponents haven’t been able to do to him this season.
Hurts’ number one resource when things get tough is to use his legs. That’s no slight to him because it’s a weapon – why not use it? The Eagles have running plays built into their attack. They don’t want to ask him to do be something he’s not and want to avoid making him a pocket passer as much as possible.
The Cowboys have to get more disciplined up front against running quarterbacks or they have no shot at beating the Eagles this season.
Monday night offered the Dan Quinn and the Cowboys defense a taste of what they will find against Philly. Daniel Jones may not be a good QB, but he’s shockingly athletic and not afraid to run the ball if the opportunity presents itself.
His .93 expected points/rush was higher than any rusher on either team and his success rate when running was 100 percent.
Against the Cowboys defense, Jones ran for 79 yards on just nine carries. He converted third downs and extended drives all on his own and made the Cowboys defense look pretty foolish in the process. His .93 expected points/rush was higher than any rusher on either team and his success rate when running was 100 percent.
The ridiculous amount of success he found was inexcusable for a smart defense, and it served as a harsh reminder the Cowboys strongest unit has a long ways to go before they can really feel good about themselves.
If Jones could have found any success passing, these runs could have been disastrous to Dallas. Luckily the Giants offense was inept and these drive extending plays didn’t manifest into too many additional points. That WILL NOT be the case against Philly.
The Cowboys might be the defending champs of the NFC East but they aren’t the favorites. The Eagles are the better team with a simple schedule. The Cowboys biggest advantage over them is Jalen Hurts’ limitations as a passer. It’s imperative they fill the holes on their defense and take away the ability for opposing QBs to run up the middle on them or they won’t have much hope at stopping the Eagles later in the season.
Daniel Jones was a fantastic learning opportunity for Dan Quinn and his defense. It exposed a potentially fatal flaw that they will need to fix.
Dallas took weapons away, stripped payroll, and basically cleared the deck for 2023. Philly focused on 2022.