Here’s how the Cowboys have the NFL’s best pass-rush defense in 2022

The Cowboys are at the bye week and while we concede that there is no longer a “halfway” point easily divisible by two (now that we have a 17th game), we will consider the week after the eighth game our opportunity to take a look at some things from a macro level.

When we do, we can answer the question that seemed absurd to ask just two months ago:

Do the Cowboys actually have the best pass rush in football?

Let that discussion wash over you and imagine how crazy it is that we can even ask it with a straight face. This team has not had an elite pass rush since Wade Phillips put his squad together that led the NFL in sacks in 2008.

Last year, based on sacks per attempt, Dallas was 15th. In 2020, they were 19th. In 2019, 19th again. Basically every year since 2014, Dallas has been between 15th and 20th. By the way, in 2014 — that dream season everyone talks about with a sigh of what might have been — the Cowboys were 28th in sack rate. They had two players who had more than 3 sacks the entire year. Jeremy Mincey led the team with 6 and Henry Melton had 5.

Yikes.

But, here we are in November and the Cowboys are No. 1 without any sort of contortion or qualification. They already have four players with more than 3 sacks though just eight games. Micah Parsons has 8 sacks, Dorance Armstrong has 5, DeMarcus Lawrence and Dante Fowler have 4 apiece. Three more players have multiple sacks in Donovan Wilson, Osa Odighizuwa and rookie Sam Williams.

This is a crew of destroyers. They have no mercy and do a nice job of taking shifts at this. One week, opponents can’t block Armstrong and Lawrence. One week they can’t figure out Williams and the blitzes. Another week, it is Fowler’s turn. And yes, Parsons is always a problem. It is beautiful and it almost feels recession-proof as the Cowboys can even afford to let a guy heal and let everyone else feed.

Dallas has 33 sacks and no other team has more than 26. That is a seven-sack lead where the league leaders average 4.1 sacks per game. If you ask me, that is substantial.

They also lead by quite a bit in sack percentage. That accounts for teams that never deal with pass plays versus teams that are constantly facing pass attempts, often as a result of playing with the lead or not (offense dependent). Zoom out and look at pressures and pressure rates from Pro Football Focus. Even in that more subjective judgment, the Cowboys are No. 1 and No. 1 and the teams chasing them are not particularly close.

How about the NFL Next Gen/ESPN metric that is another source of measurement that they call Pass Rush Win Rate or PRWR for short? There is Dallas at No. 1 (a slimmer lead, but still leading) and Pass Rush Wins at No. 1.

Basically, there are six accepted ways to discuss pass-rushing ensembles this season and Dallas is ranked No. 1 in all six of them. That is generally enough to impress even the biggest cynics.

Dallas is no longer “amongst” the league’s best pass rushers. They are the league’s best pass rushers. pic.twitter.com/DjdyN3u5YL

— Bob Sturm (@SportsSturm) October 31, 2022

And the best part is that it all snuck up on us.

We probably don’t talk about that part of this story enough because the teams that often have great pass rushes spent handsomely to acquire it. If Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney help Cleveland be a great pass-rushing team, we should expect it. They both were No. 1 overall picks. Von Miller and Bradley Chubb were great together? They should be for what Denver paid for them.

But, Dallas?

The Cowboys have a first-round run-and-hit linebacker they have discovered might be the best pass rusher in the sport. They also have a number of second-, third- and fourth-rounders in this group and added a 2015 top-5 pick as depth in Fowler. The group clearly knows what it is looking for because it (sort of) allowed one of the best pass rushers in the organization (Randy Gregory) to leave in the spring and is somehow objectively better.

In many ways, it doesn’t make sense.

Dallas has done a nice job in putting guys out there that fit its descriptions or templates. But, the Cowboys have also turned Armstrong into a legitimate pass rusher when the last staff could not. For Quinn to pull that off and then the job with Parsons — he will never be given enough credit. I think that must be talked about on a regular basis for everyone to hear. Many coaching staffs would not have experimented and messed with Parsons. The Cowboys knew he could be a great linebacker, but somehow had the vision that he is worth trying as an edge rusher and even find more value if they pull him back and forth as the matchups dictate.

How many coaches would have done the same?

Then, they targeted Williams, Odighizuwa and Chauncey Golston in drafts as pieces they thought could join their gang. They added all of it around the old alpha in Lawrence, whose own fan base did not always appreciate, despite Lawrence showing a well-rounded game for almost a decade.

Dallas blitzes less this year and takes fewer chances. It plays teams straight up and doesn’t have to weaken the pass coverage by strengthening the pass rush. The defense can often just dedicate four and destroy your pocket.

The Cowboys have had multiple sacks in every game and while sometimes they can’t get there more than twice, there are other times when the count is six. With each hit and each rushed play for the quarterback to get the ball out, you see the opportunities for big plays and turnovers.

What is Quinn feeding these guys and how is it working so well?

Well, here we are at the “if there is one thing you learn today from the Dan Quinn Report, make it this” part.

The Cowboys run more stunts than anyone in the NFL and it’s not really close — and they’re great at it.

What is a stunt?

One resource calls it: “A ‘stunt’, sometimes called a ‘twist’, is when two defensive players (typically defensive linemen) switch assignments or gaps, with one player crossing behind or in front of their nearby teammate. You can think of it as two football players running a pick and roll on an offensive lineman. One DL ‘sets the screen’ so to speak, the other curves behind it.”

Basically, you are trying to cause havoc and confusion without needing a blitzer or additional defenders.

This used to be a favorite of Rod Marinelli and then it went away in 2020 when Mike Nolan clearly didn’t believe in movement from your pass rush as he was more of a “stay in your lane, bro” kind of guy. Marinelli had his guys stunting a ton, but he may not have had the troops for it all the time. When Quinn returned, it became obvious that is what he wanted to be about.

Since the beginning of 2021, Quinn’s defenses have stunted 437 times (41 percent of the time). The league stunts about 24 percent of the time, so you see this is a wild departure. Heck, Philadelphia is also a very good pass-rushing team and it almost never stunts its rushers and is dead last under Jonathan Gannon at 13 percent. But, Dallas loves to interchange its paths and to stress an offensive line on the simple question of what everyone’s assignment will be post-snap.

Dallas runs it more than anyone and therefore continues to get better and better at it. Does it have downsides? Sure. Opponents can catch the Cowboys in one and gash them for a big run if you call a run into a stunt. This might explain the Cowboys’ occasional run-defense issues. That also might explain why teams hesitate to do too much of this on early downs.

But, moving things to passing situations like third down? Dallas cranks up its third-down stunt rates to 60 percent and the entire league average is 40 percent or so. But, in fairness to the truth, Dallas stunts at 32 percent on first down under Quinn and nobody else in the league is even 20 percent (the Rams). The Eagles stunt on first down just 7 percent of the time.

You might have known this intuitively, but I never was able to look into it until today and this confirms it. Dallas does something very few other teams do, but I am sure if they continue to break the league metrics for success, the league will copy this more and more.

If that is true then Dallas is now a tactical trendsetter again!

It’s been a minute on that front.

Weekly data box, Week 8: Chicago

I realize I haven’t done much on this game, but from a defensive standpoint, it didn’t feel super compelling. The defense must have enjoyed a day when it didn’t feel the game was about them. The offense did so much good that the defense could sort of coast for much of the day.

I know everyone wants to talk about the dual-threat QB, but in this instance, I don’t find the alarms going off like some do. I think the Cowboys will need to monitor it because Jalen Hurts and Kyler Murray may both be ahead, but I am not sure I would call it a major issue on my board.

I don’t have much to say here, but the Bears really need to figure out a passing game fast. Of course, we have been saying that since the 1950s so I am not holding my breath. I believe Justin Fields is a nice player, but a 200-yard passing day is a stop-the-press event in Chicago.

Splash plays: Week 8

That’s 29 splash plays with three more added from the third quarter. Anthony Brown drew a holding penalty and so did Parsons, who also got another one for the touchdown return.

The season leaderboard includes all who average at least one splash per game.

Film studies

I spent a lot of time on that essay above, so let’s whip through the film study. Since we are in a good mood, let’s do four sacks and a Parsons touchdown and call it a bye week.

Second quarter – 10:21 – second-and-9 – CHI 26 – J. Fields sacked at CHI 20 for -6 yards (O. Odighizuwa).

This first one is straightforward. The Cowboys have new DT Johnathan Hankins (95) inside with Odighizuwa (97). The banana stand reveals that Hankins took a bit of a body slam from his guy, but that allowed Odighizuwa to get through the A-gap and easily beat Teven Jenkins for a free run on Fields. I am such a fan of No. 97 and love his future.

Third quarter – 3 – 6:51 – first-and-10 – CHI 25 – J. Fields sacked at CHI 14 for -11 yards (D. Fowler).

The Bears have all kinds of boots and backside attacks with Fields. Why wouldn’t you want to get him in space? Quinn had the Cowboys sitting on it a few times and here Fowler (56) charges at Fields and Jayron Kearse (27) has contained. This is a beautiful way to make sure the Bears cannot isolate your edge and leave no gray area for Fowler on his assignment. Go to the outside shoulder of the QB and finish him. Fowler does and you can see that twitch that cannot be taught. Look at all the defenders sitting on this play to the right.

Third quarter – 5:17 – third-and-16 – CHI 19 – J. Fields pass short middle to D. Montgomery to CHI 32 for 13 yards (L. Vander Esch). FUMBLES (L.Vander Esch), RECOVERED by DAL-M.Parsons at CHI 36. M.Parsons for 36 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

This is just wild. Watch Parsons (11) run around like a madman. Don’t tell me he is lucky because the ball always comes to him. He always goes and finds the ball because he never stops running. He ran nearly 100 yards on this play. Fields probably should touch him when he is down, but you know when Parsons is voted Defensive Player of the Year, there is a chance these plays against Detroit and Chicago will both be used, even though neither were sacks.

Fourth quarter – 8:34 – second-and-10 – DAL 29 – J. Fields sacked at DAL 35 for -6 yards (D. Lawrence).

Hey look, Damone Clark (33) is not only active, but he is rushing off the edge and almost gets in on the fun. Wow, that is quite a development for the LSU kid who just had spinal fusion surgery. Did they find another edge? Lawrence finishes off this sack and is having another huge year.

Fourth quarter – 6:08 – second-and-9 – DAL 16 – J. Fields sacked at DAL 18 for -2 yards (J. Kearse).

I think we mentioned this already, but watch Kearse (27) when the bootleg hits. Look at how everyone knows how to handle it and he just needs to heat seek Fields and end the play. The Cowboys seem like they have worked through the issues that the Eagles presented. This is what coaching looks like.

Well, that’s plenty. Report cards next week for each player, but I am going to have a bye weekend of my own. Enjoy 6-2. Winter is coming.

(Top photo of Dante Fowler and Justin Fields: Wesley Hitt / Getty Images)