Cowboys defense lifts Cooper Rush to his fifth straight win

The Dallas Cowboys stayed red hot Sunday, silencing the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams 22-10 in a game where they closed as 5-point underdogs. In a game where Cooper Rush could barely muster up 100 passing yards, the defense continued to stand tall, not allowing more than 10 points for the second week in a row. The formula has been simple for the Cowboys:

The Cowboys don’t overcomplicate things

These last four weeks have been the result of excellent game planning from the Cowboys staff. They haven’t asked too much of Cooper Rush, keeping the playbook simple and spreading the weight of running an entire offense onto others.

The distribution of run to pass has been a dramatic shift from week one to now. Against, the Buccaneers, the Cowboys had 16 total rushing attempts, 10 going to Ezekiel Elliott and six going to Tony Pollard. In Sunday’s game, they had 30 with 22 going to Elliott and eight going to Pollard. While the distribution in week one was partially due to game script, the Cowboys have not gone below 20 attempts total since.

This strategy has been clearly effective even against a fantastic defensive line like the Rams, and is one that should continue to be employed even when Prescott returns. It’s clear the Cowboys have an effective one-two punch when Zeke is 100% healthy and they should continue to lean upon it.

The burst I saw from Elliott when punching through the hole, even in the 4th quarter was something I had not seen since 2019. Not to mention Tony Pollard breaking out for another massive rushing TD. Makes Rush’s life real simple.

The defense was the real story today, and if you started them in fantasy like myself, you’re very pleased. A quick list of stats from that unit today: five sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles, and one touchdown. Wow. Not much more you can ask from a defense, especially against a team like the Rams.

Stafford frankly looked lost on offense, other than the long TD to Cooper Kupp and the 54 yard TuTu Atwell reception, the Rams had no other plays of 20+ yards. Amassing 11 QB Hits the opposing quarterbacks continue to look uncomfortable and Cam Akers only got himself 33 rushing yards.

After an absence from the sack department Micah Parsons made a statement with 2 sacks and that was all on a groin injury. When defense assistant George Edwards asked Parsons if he was good to go, Parsons responded with “George, as long I’m alive I can go.” Safe to say Parsons could in fact, “go.”

After a scare in week one, the Cowboys have punched upwards and exceeded expectations. They are currently one of four teams in the NFC with at least four wins and they play on primetime next Sunday to face the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles.

Over the last five years the Dallas Cowboys are 7-3 against these divisional foes with the most recent defeat coming in November of 2020. Granted, this is a much different Eagles squad compared to even 2021 but this coaching staff knows how to attack this unit.

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This is going to be another “prove it” game for the Cowboys and just like Sunday, they will be fully up to the task.