When Sunday afternoon’s tilt between the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals obtained underway, you can not discover a greater distinction between two groups. The Cardinals entered play 0-2 on the season, with many questioning if Caleb Williams was already actual property within the Phoenix space.
In the meantime Dallas rolled into city as one of many remaining unbeaten groups within the league — topping our personal rankings of these 9 organizations — and looking out like among the finest groups in soccer, with maybe one of the best protection in soccer.
In spite of everything, the Cowboys shutout the New York Giants in Week 1, holding Daniel Jones to simply 104 yards passing and forcing a pair of interceptions. In Week 2 towards the New York Jets, Dallas held the guests to simply ten factors, grabbing three interceptions off Zach Wilson and forcing 4 turnovers total.
This was going to be a Dallas victory, proper?
What a distinction sixty minutes makes.
As a result of when the ultimate whistle blew, the Cardinals had their first win of the Jonathan Gannon Period, a 28-16 victory that raised lots of eyebrows across the league. Quarterback Joshua Dobbs secured his first NFL win as a starter, throwing for 189 yards and a landing. James Conner and Rondale Moore added landing runs, and Dallas errors helped seal the win for Arizona.
So what can we take from this recreation? Was it merely a letdown recreation from Dallas? Did the Cowboys make some errors to open the door for the Cardinals? Did Arizona do some artistic issues on offense that different groups may copy going ahead?
Maybe a bit of every, however right here, we’re going to deal with that third aspect.
Some creativity within the operating recreation
Arizona dialed up some artistic appears within the operating recreation, utilizing totally different schematic parts, formations, and personnel groupings to create alternatives for Conner, Moore, and even Dobbs within the dashing division.
The primary instance comes from early within the recreation, a 2nd and eight play close to the beginning of the primary quarter. Arizona comes out with 12 offensive personnel, placing each tight ends in a nub alignment into the boundary. With Conner within the backfield to the left aspect of the quarterback, presnap the protection may imagine Arizona goes to run him to the huge aspect of the sector.
That expectation solely will increase because the play begins. Arizona dials up a GT Counter, pulling each the left guard and left deal with in direction of the precise aspect, with Conner setting as much as take a handoff and observe that two-man convoy. There is only one twist coming.
That is GT Counter Learn.
Dobbs meets Conner on the mesh level and is studying an unblocked defender: Micah Parsons. Usually, leaving Parsons unblocked ends poorly for the offense. However right here, the Cardinals in a approach use his aggression towards him. Parsons crashes down on the anticipated handoff, and Dobbs — seeing that — pulls the ball and retains it in direction of the left edge. There, the 2 tight ends deal with the 2 defensive backs lurking, and the QB rips off a 44-yard achieve on the bottom:
Nevertheless, Arizona turned to a different counter design minutes later within the recreation, with Conner ripping off a 20-yard achieve to the left aspect following an unlikely lead blocker.
Rookie huge receiver Michael Wilson:
Conner begins his path aiming to the precise aspect, with Dobbs pulling out from beneath the middle and shifting that approach as effectively. However the operating again then bends his angle in direction of the left aspect, permitting Wilson to slip throughout the formation and lead him into the outlet. Wilson finds cornerback DaRon Bland in that gap and will get an excellent block on the DB, one which Conner cuts behind for a 20-yard achieve.
One in all Arizona’s most explosive performs, a 45-yard landing run from Moore, got here by an excellent use of personnel and formation. Dealing with a 2nd and a pair of early within the second quarter the Cardinals align with 01 personnel on the sector: No operating backs, one tight finish, and 4 huge receivers. They put Moore within the backfield, standing to the precise of Dobbs who’s within the shotgun.
Dallas counters with a 4-1-6 defensive bundle, utilizing 4 down linemen, one linebacker, and 6 defensive backs.
Take a look at the state of play earlier than the snap:
With three receivers in a bunch to the precise, and Moore offset to that aspect as effectively, Dallas has the majority of their protection slid that approach. Security Markquese Bell aligns in a linebacker’s alignment over the middle, the primary line of protection ought to Arizona run both inside, or to the left.
Effectively, having set this all up, the place do you suppose Arizona ran the ball with Moore?
Arizona sends Moore to the left aspect, and left guard Trystan Colon is ready to climb to the second degree and tackle Bell. Usually talking, a matchup between a guard and a security within the run recreation is one thing an offense will take each time, and that’s what occurs right here. Moore is untouched into the secondary, ripping off a 45-yard landing run.
This play additionally occurred at a reasonably vital second, because the Cowboys had simply kicked a area aim to chop the Arizona result in 9-3. In a flash, it was 15-3 Cardinals.
These run recreation parts mixed personnel, formation, and creativity to create alternatives for Arizona to the run recreation, even utilizing the aggression of gamers like Parsons towards them. An amazing effort from Arizona.
However that is simply half the story.
Rhythm Nation starring Joshua Dobbs
Now we are able to discuss in regards to the QB who simply obtained his first win as a starter.
Whereas Dobbs didn’t put up enormous numbers, this was a formidable efficiency towards a protection many thought-about among the finest within the league coming into Sunday. To be honest, Dallas was dealt a giant blow on Thursday once they misplaced Trevon Diggs for the season with a knee harm. Time will inform if what we noticed Sunday will linger for Dallas, however let’s dive into the efficiency from Dobbs.
Early within the recreation, Arizona used some pre-snap motion and eye sweet to get the Dallas protection pondering, earlier than giving Dobbs the publish/over mixture we see each week within the NFL. Right here, Dobbs does an excellent job at shifting and sliding within the pocket, holding his eyes downfield within the face of strain earlier than hitting the open over path to Wilson:
Presnap, Arizona shifts Moore into the backfield from his alignment on the precise. Because the play begins, Dobbs first fakes to him aiming left, earlier than executing one other faux to Conner. All this eye sweet works to attract the eyes of the protection, and Wilson slips open on the over route.
Dobbs, going through a bit strain within the pocket, does an excellent job of shifting to create area, earlier than discovering Wilson for a 17-yard achieve.
Close to the tip of the third quarter Dobbs makes a really sensible learn and choice. The Cardinals face Third and 4, and dial up a Mesh idea with crossing routes beneath. That is perfect towards man protection, however on this play, Dallas drops into zone whereas bringing a defensive again strain off the left aspect.
Dobbs sees this, and figuring out the cornerback to the left aspect has no assist excessive, and any beneath presence is now coming after him as an alternative of lurking within the throwing lane, the QB will get his eyes to the out route on that aspect of the sector, making a timing-and-rhythm throw to Marquise Brown transfer the chains:
These two linked up simply earlier than halftime, on one other throw relying closely on timing from the QB:
Dobbs does depart this throw a bit excessive, however that’s okay, on condition that he has a looping Parsons bearing down on him, and that the timing of the throw has given Brown a great deal of separation to snare this reception.
This play additionally began a drive that started with simply 25 seconds left within the half, and ended with a area aim to provide Arizona a 21-10 lead on the break.
Within the second half, Dobbs ripped maybe his two greatest throws of the sport. First this vertical ball to Brown alongside the precise aspect of the sector, placing this throw in an ideal spot to transform a Third-and-long state of affairs:
This drive ultimately stalled, and Dallas took over trailing by eight with practically your entire fourth quarter left to play. However the Cowboys, on the finish of lengthy drive that lined over 50 yards and took over 5 minutes off the clock, selected 4th and aim on the Arizona 8-yard line to kick a area aim, reducing the Arizona result in 21-16.
That gave Dobbs and firm an opportunity for a TD drive to maybe put the sport away. Which they did, with the large play this completion from Dobbs to Wilson on a wonderfully designed throwback aspect:
Moore is available in movement from right-to-left, and after Dobbs carries out a run faux to Conner, he rolls in direction of the left aspect. With Moore releasing vertically up the left sideline, Brown operating a deep publish working from right-to-left, and tight finish Geoff Swaim blocking then releasing to the left flat, every part screams “three-level learn on the left aspect” to the Dallas protection.
However Wilson runs a publish route figuring out of the slot and from the left aspect to the precise, working towards the circulation of the play. The Dallas secondary loses him alongside the way in which, however Dobbs doesn’t.
69 yards later, the Cardinals are already going through 1st and aim.
They’d punch it in on a brief landing from Dobbs to Brown, to take a 28-16 lead halfway by the fourth. Arizona would seal the win with an interception of Dak Prescott in the long run zone, capping off one of many day’s extra surprising outcomes.
However because of creativity, personnel, formation, and execution, the Cardinals’ offense gave Dallas suits on Sunday.
And gave the remainder of the league some issues to consider going ahead.