Cowboys at Falcons: Dallas defense will face its biggest test
So far this 2018 season the Dallas Cowboys defense has been outstanding, but this Sunday they will face their biggest test against the Atlanta Falcons.
Over the course of the past few years, the Dallas Cowboys Achilles heel has always been their defense. The team has battled in high scoring affairs regularly and has fallen short plenty of times because their defense could not get one final stop.
If you have followed the Cowboys at all this season you know this is a completely opposite case, and the Dallas defense has been the most impressive part of their team. The Cowboys come into this week giving up only 19.0 points per game (ppg), third best in the entire NFL and have held their opponents to an average of 328.6 yards, seventh best in the league.
There is no denying that the Cowboys have had one of the best defenses in the National Football League so far this year, but on Sunday they will face a test like no other they have yet this season. Dallas travels to Atlanta to take on the Falcons who possess one of the most explosive offenses in the league.
The Falcons put up 27.0 ppg which is eighth in the NFL, throwing for 319 yards a game which is second in the NFL, and have scored more than 30 points in a game fives times already this season.
Matt Ryan the Falcons quarterback is playing at an MVP caliber level, throwing for an outstanding 21 touchdowns to just three interceptions on the year. Atlanta also has tons of weapons on the outside including All-Pro receiver Julio Jones, first-round pick Calvin Ridley, and big bodied Mohamed Sanu.
Jones is already over 1,000 yards receiving on the year, and Ridley and Sanu have combined for 10 touchdown receptions between the two. The Falcons do this on offense with practically no running game to speak off which makes it even more impressive what they are able to do.
As stated before Dallas has been extremely impressive on defense this season, but this Atlanta offensive attack they will face Sunday will bring out the true colors of this Cowboys defense. Dallas has not faced a quarterback that is as talented throwing the football or playing as well as Ryan and has not faced a wide receiver, who is playing with a quarterback that can get him the football, that can take the top off the defense as Jones can.
The Cowboys will be tested like never before this Sunday and stars DeMarcus Lawrence and Byron Jones will be pivotal to Dallas’s success on the defensive side of the ball. My biggest question for this game is can the Cowboys secondary matchup with all the weapons the Falcons have on offense.
Chidobe Awuize and Anthony Brown will have extremely tough matchups covering Ridley and Sanu, and I haven’t even mentioned Austin Hooper the Falcons tight end who has 46 catches for over 400 yards on the season.
With Atlanta’s inability to run the football, linebackers Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith will likely be able to help more in the passing game, but in my opinion, the key to a Dallas victory this Sunday is pass rush. The Falcons have given up 24 sacks on the year which is around NFL league average, but if the Cowboys have a healthy defensive line coming into the game and can get pressure on Ryan it will help their secondary out tremendously.
The health of defensive tackle David Irving will be a huge factor in this game, and if he is able to play it will give the Dallas defense a huge boost. Simply put this is going to be a put up or shut up game for the Cowboys defense. If they want to make a true leap into the conversation as one of the best defenses in the NFL they need to show up big time this Sunday.
Watch for cornerback Byron Jones, defensive tackle David Irving, and defensive back Anthony Brown to be the three Cowboys that will tell how this game will go on Sunday. What are your thoughts on Sunday’s game? Tweet me @matt_holleran8 your final prediction and what Cowboy defender will have the biggest game Sunday.