The Cowboys have built a defense that should terrify the rest of the NFL

Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Trevon Diggs and Micah Parsons are just parts of a scary defense under Dan Quinn in Dallas

Dan Quinn has built one of the NFL’s best defenses.

While that was evident before Sunday, that defense was on full display in the Dallas Cowboys’ blowout victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

Through the first two weeks of the season, the Cowboys’ defense ranked fourth in the NFL in Expected Points Allowed per Play, behind the New England Patriots, the Denver Broncos, and the Philadelphia Eagles. They ranked fourth in EPA/Dropback as well, behind the same three teams.

They were also one of the teams best at pressuring the opposing quarterback, as they entered Sunday’s game against the Vikings with 35 sacks on the season to lead the NFL.

Those numbers have only improved since Sunday afternoon. Thanks to an incredible performance — frankly on both sides of the football — the Cowboys’ defense is now third in the NFL in EPA/play, behind the Patriots and the Broncos. And their seven-sack performance sees them maintain their place atop the league, with 42 sacks on the season. Dallas was dominant on defense against the Vikings, holding Minnesota to just 73 rushing yards, 159 passing yards, and allowing the Vikings to convert just 1 of 11 third-down opportunities.

How did Quinn’s unit pull off this performance? By working in perfect concert, and playing great team defense.

The first big play came early in the contest, on one of those third-down opportunities. With the Vikings facing a 3rd and 3, they dial up a mesh concept for Kirk Cousins. Dallas shows pressure up front, but they drop off and put seven in coverage, rushing only four. Watch as the underneath coverage takes away the two shallow crossers underneath, creating time for Micah Parsons to win off the edge with effort:

Dallas would open the scoring on their ensuing possession, with a 27-yard field goal from Brett Maher.

Early in the second quarter, the Vikings faced another 3rd and 3. This time it would be Dorance Armstrong getting to the quarterback, but again you will see team defense create the opportunity. The Cowboys drop into Cover 4, or Quarters, coverage on this play, while the Vikings run a levels concept, with a pair of dig routes from tight end T.J. Hockenson, and wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

As this play unfolds, pay attention to the two underneath defenders — linebackers Damone Clark and Leighton Vander Esch — as well as safety Jayron Kearse. These three work in perfect harmony, taking away the two dig routes. That forces Cousins to try and look elsewhere, but as he holds onto the football, Armstrong gets home for the sack:

Two 3rd and 3 situations, and two resulting punts.

Later in the second quarter, the Vikings trailed by only ten, but turned to one of everybody’s favorite passing concepts to try and spark a big play. Kevin O’Connell dialed up a leak concept, with Cousins faking a handoff and rolling to his right, before looking for Hockenson “leaking” back across the formation to the other side of the field.

This time, instead of coverage leading to a sack, pressure leads to an incompletion. Cousins comes out of his fake to set up in the pocket, but rookie Sam Williams bursts through the line, forcing the quarterback to pull the football down. He tries a late throw along the left sideline to Hockenson, which falls incomplete:

To his credit, cornerback Anthony Brown does a tremendous job tracking Hockenson across the field. Take another look at this play, paying attention to the cornerback who fights through traffic to break on the tight end, keeping him in position to make a play on the football.

Again, team defense. We talked about this last week with the Patriots, and how Bill Belichick believes you need both pass rush, and pass coverage, to succeed in the NFL. While New England is an example of this, so too are the Cowboys.

Of course, having great players makes the job of building that team defense a bit easier on a defensive coordinator, and Quinn has some great players at his disposal. At the top of that list is Parsons. The second-year pass rusher has established himself as one of the game’s best players, and that was also on display Sunday. On this sack, working against left tackle Blake Brandel after starter Christian Darrisaw left the game due to injury, you can see an example of a great pass-rushing plan.

Parsons pushes upfield after the snap, threatening the outside shoulder and edge of Brandel. As the tackle responds to that threat, Parsons attacks to the inside, with a powerful dip-and-rip move through Brandel’s right shoulder and arm.

The result? Another sack of Cousins:

Perhaps Parsons passed on this information to his teammate DeMarcus Lawrence? Because later in the game, Lawrence gets past Brandel on a move to the inside for another sack of Cousins:

But there is another notable aspect to this play. Take a look at the Cowboys’ defensive alignment before the snap, put yourself into the mind of Cousins, and try to ascertain the coverage. This looks like man coverage to you, right? Cornerbacks are pressed over receivers, there are ten defenders in the box, and there is a single safety deep. This screams Cover 1.

Now press play, and watch the rotation in the secondary. The Cowboys spin this into a Cover 2 zone as the play unfolds. Cousins turns his back on the defense to carry out a play-action fake. And even if he had time to throw, he would need to work through his read of the defense to make a decision on where to go with the football. This is a great job by the Dallas defense of spinning at the snap, constricting the quarterback’s decision-making window.

Again, team defense.

The last play we will look at offers another example of the great players Quinn has to build this team defense with, cornerback Trevon Diggs. On this play from midway through the third quarter, with the Cowboys up 37-3, the Vikings run a two-man concept to the left side of the field with Jefferson on a deep out route, and Hockenson releasing to the flat.

The idea is to high-low the curl/flat defender, read where he goes, and throw away from his break. With the Cowboys dropping into Cover 2, Diggs will be that defender.

As this play unfolds, watch his movement. Diggs drops a few steps down towards the line, reacting to the flat route from the tight end. But as he does so, he keeps his eyes on Cousins, and when he reads that the QB is going to throw the deeper route, he breaks in that direction:

This is a great example of how “spot-dropping” can create opportunities for veteran defenders to make plays. With more teams relying on match-based coverages, whether man-match coverages or zone-match coverages, there is a move away from the traditional spot-drop zone coverage schemes, where defenders drop into their zone, get to a landmark on the field, and react to the play.

Dallas spot-drops into Cover 2 here, but this gives Diggs the opportunity to read Cousins’ eyes and react to his decision. He takes a few steps down towards the tight end’s flat route, which is enough for Cousins to try and squeeze the deeper out route over his head. But because Diggs has eyes on the QB, he can react to the throw, and then use his athleticism to prevent the completion.

Team defense. The Cowboys have built it in Dallas this season, putting them atop the league in many defensive categories. Quinn has talented players to build around, and the pass rush is working in concert with the coverage to limit opportunities for opposing quarterbacks.

That is usually a winning recipe, and it is one that Quinn and the Cowboys are cooking to perfection right now.