Despite showing some improvement last week against the Washington Commanders, the Dallas Cowboys defense is still dead last in the league in total defense, yielding 401.6 yards per game. They also currently rank last in the league in passing yards per game (260.3) and are also currently 30th in the league in both rushing yards allowed per game (141.3) and points allowed per game (29.4).
It’s encouraging we saw Matt Eberflus’ defensive unit show signs of improvement last week against the Commanders though. They played much more man-to-man coverage last week and it seemed to pay off. Not only did they have plenty more stops to get the ball back in the hands of the offense, but the also had four QB sacks and two turnovers, including DaRon Bland’s sixth pick-six of his career.
Dallas’ defense took a step in the right direction last week, but now will face a Denver Broncos offense who are coming off a game in which they dropped 33 points in the fourth quarter last week to beat the New York Giants. The Broncos offense is one of the better well-rounded units this year, and will be more of a true measuring stick as to just how much improvement the Cowboys defense has made.
Under Sean Payton’s tutelage this year, the Broncos offense is a Top 15 unit nearly every category. They currently rank 11th in the league in yards per game (347), sixth in rushing yards per game (131.9), 15th in passing yards per game (215.1), and 17th in points per game (17.3). This is a good, not great, offense who could help better determine exactly where Dallas’ defense stands right now, for better or worse.
Unlike last week when Washington was out their top two receivers (Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel), the Broncos will have all of their offensive weapons at their disposal and this isn’t a group to scoff at. RB J.K. Dobbins is currently seventh in the league with 523 rushing yards and could be a problem for Dallas’ run defense, and WR Courtland Sutton could very much give their secondary all they can handle.
The Cowboys defense versus the Broncos offense could very well be the matchup that helps determine the outcome of the game this week. Hopefully for the Cowboys sake, Matt Eberflus and his defensive unit continues to take a step in the right direction and builds upon what they were able to accomplish last week in their victory over their division rival.
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