Greg Cosell’s Week 6 analysis: How the Cowboys beat the Seahawks
The foundation of the Dallas Cowboys this season is their running game, with a fantastic offensive line and running back DeMarco Murray.
That was the key to the Cowboys’ 30-23 upset win at the Seattle Seahawks, but it wasn’t the only reason. The Cowboys had a great plan and executed it very well.
The Seahawks tried a lot of different looks, and nothing worked. They played snaps of “Cover 2 trap” – the same defense that Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo threw a devastating interception against last season when Dallas lost to Green Bay – and they couldn’t bait Romo. Seattle had some snaps of a soft “quarters Tampa 2” zone on third downs, which does not fit the Seahawks’ aggressive mentality, and the Cowboys had some success against it, particularly on an 18-yard catch by Lance Dunbar on a third and 14 in the second quarter. Dallas scored a touchdown on that drive. The Cowboys featured some misdirection plays in the run game that the Seahawks had trouble recognizing.
The Seahawks defense looked more reactive than proactive against Dallas, especially in the run game. That doesn’t happen often with Seattle.
The Cowboys have a very balanced and versatile running game. They don’t have a one-dimensional running game, but every run game has staples. Two of Dallas’ staples are outside zone and counter trap, which they have started to use a lot this season too. Counter trap is a great run because it creates angles for blockers and options for the runner. Both worked well against Seattle. Dallas’ zone run game got the Seahawks’ defensive front playing laterally, which is exactly what you don’t want to do versus zone runs; you have to penetrate upfield.
The Cowboys’ final drive had an example of both runs, which were tremendously blocked and that Murray executed well.
Murray gained 25 yards from a trap play on the game-winning drive out of “22” personnel (two backs and two tight ends). Right tackle Doug Free (68) and tight end James Hanna (84) had great angles to block defensive tackle Tony McDaniel and they stacked linebacker K.J. Wright. Tight end Jason Witten (82) had an outstanding one-on-one block on defensive end Cliff Avril. Right guard Zack Martin (70) was clean to pull and get cornerback Marcus Burley, who was a primary run defender in the closed formation. Fullback Tyler Clutts (44) had a clean block on strong safety Kam Chancellor.
Simply put, it was about as well blocked as it gets.
The Cowboys ran the same play the next down and Murray got 6 yards. That was a theme in this game. The Cowboys would repeat plays often and have success, showing how well they had game-planned and executed.
The game-winning score was another well-blocked play. Center Travis Frederick, left guard Ronald Leary and left tackle Tyron Smith had excellent blocks. Leary and Smith did an outstanding job cutting and sealing the back side. Murray has been very decisive with his downhill cuts and has run with natural power on zone runs all season, and he did so on the 15-yard touchdown.
One other aspect stood out, and that was Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant against Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman. Sherman shadowed Bryant most of the game after cornerback Byron Maxwell left the game with an injury, something Sherman doesn’t often do. I thought it was a good matchup. People always remember the catches, but it was pretty even. It was a matchup of two really good players. If you go against a really good receiver like Bryant in man-to-man coverage, the receiver is going to win some. And he won a couple times on Sunday, including on one 16-yard catch on the game-winning drive.
It came on a third and five. The Cowboys came out in a 3-by-1 set with Bryant as the “X iso” to the boundary against Sherman. The Seahawks rotated from a two-safety shell to “Cover 3,” with Sherman a boundary lock on Bryant. Romo threw a back shoulder fade and Bryant went up and attacked the ball.
Even though the Cowboys are committed to the run game (it was telling they had 35 called runs, not including a fumbled bad snap and a kneel down, compared to 34 called passes against the best run defense in the NFL), with players like Romo, Bryant, Witten and Terrance Williams they still have the ability to get explosive plays in the passing game.
But the offensive line starred in this game. It’s a really good line. The linemen consistently got to the second level in the run game. They won at the point of attack. In the pass game, the Seahawks were not able to generate any consistent pressure on Romo. Frederick continues to stand out for his ability to reach block in run game. Guards Martin and Leary had excellent games, especially run blocking. Martin showed excellent movement and athleticism.
This team is built now on running the football. It controls the pace and tempo of the game, and it shortens games and it helps their defense. What they did up front against the Seahawks’ defense on Sunday was pretty impressive.
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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.
