#pass-rush

#pass-rush

Washington managed to keep its Week 17 contest much more competitive than anybody would have expected after it was announced that Josh Johnson would be getting the start at quarterback. The offensive supporting cast stepped up, but so did the Commanders' pass rush, sacking Dallas Cowboys signal-caller Dak Prescott six times. Three of those sacks belonged to second-year defensive tackle Johnny Newton, who had a wildly up-and-down day.

Booker's Week 15 tape against Minnesota looked as though he was a stabilizing force. In pass protection, the simplest stat tells the story: Dallas surrendered two sacks, but none were credited to Booker. As a run blocker, Booker had a tougher assignment but held up. Dallas still ran it 30 times for 138 yards, so there were lanes to be had, but a lot of those yards came through persistence rather than consistent movement at the point of attack.

Tom: Let's start with the low hanging fruit. Too often the defense has just lain down and given up big plays. For a few games it looked better, but against the Lions, they surrendered six plays of 20+ yards. One was a 35-yard run, but the rest were Jared Goff tearing it up through the air. The real culprit seemed to be the lack of a pass rush with just one sack of Goff. It's hard to see how this can be fixed.

The Cowboys run defense was one of the worst, if not the worst, in the league prior to the trade that brought Quinnen Williams to Dallas. His addition to their defensive line has been the catalyst that has dramatically improved the run defense for the better. Since Williams' arrival opponents have only rushed for 204 yards, averaging 68 yards per game. While it's definitely encouraging, they haven't faced a RB duo like Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.

The Washington Commanders signed Von Miller late into the summer. They had grave concerns about their edge rushing unit, so general manager Adam Peters acquired a future first ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer who could provide some short-term relief as a rotational presence. Miller has flashed moments of quality. He's not the dominant game-wrecker of previous years, but nobody expected him to be. And the fact that Washington is dealing with so many health problems in their pass-rushing unit isn't exactly helping matters either.

The Patriots want to extend their win streak and maintain their undefeated away record, but they'll likely be without some key contributors on offense, which will already be in for a tough day against a very dominant Tampa defensive line. Although they faced the league's best defense just two weeks ago vs. the Browns, the Bucs are not going to be any easier.

In fact, the former second-round pick has been a trade target since the preseason, although the Falcons haven't shown any desire to trade him up to this point. Fowler notes that Atlanta's front office will listen to offers on any players, leading the reporter to believe Ebiketie could be had for the right price. Ebiketie appeared to be a foundational piece as recently as last season.

The old question of "What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?" could not be better to describe the Dallas Cowboys week eight matchup versus the Denver Broncos. Through seven weeks, the Cowboys offense ranks second in EPA/play, ninth in success rate, third in dropback EPA, and fifth in rush EPA. In the same time frame, the Broncos defense ranks fourth in EPA/play, first in success rate, third in dropback EPA, and 17th in rush EPA.