Commanders struggled to pick up Cowboys pressure scheme
Breaking down a specific pressure scheme the Cowboys designed to attack one of the Commanders core protection schemes
The Commanders had a lot of issues with their offense in the loss to the Cowboys this week, but one of the most prominent issues was in pass protection. Pass protection has been a point of emphasis for the Commanders this year in order to try and keep rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels as comfortable as possible. As such, they’ve found ways to shut down some of the best pass rushers in the league, including the likes of Myles Garrett, Trey Hendrickson and T.J. Watt. That trio have combined for just one sack against Washington this season.
They’ve largely used the same plan to handle each one of those edge rushers, I went into detail on how they shut down Myles Garrett earlier this season if you want a more detailed breakdown, but in short, the Commanders committed to chipping on the edge.
Here are three examples in various games from earlier this season. On all three plays, the Commanders are in an empty backfield and use a combination of a receiver and a tight end or running back to chip both edge rushers on either side of the line in order to slow them down and provide as much help as possible to the offensive tackles. This has been very effective in helping slow down the games elite rushers, as seen in these clips and by the fact that Garrett, Hendrickson and Watt have just one sack between them against the Commanders this year.
It does come with its drawbacks though. The Steelers game showed that. By having two eligible receivers chip on the edge, both of those players are prevented from running proper routes. Instead, they have to run some form of late checkdown underneath, typically in the flat. That limits the number of routes being run down the field, which the Steelers took advantage of. But the Commanders have largely been fine with that trade off to ensure Daniels gets protected, which is the top priority and a wise plan to take.
So it would be easy to assume the Commanders, facing another elite edge rusher in Micah Parsons this weekend, would deploy the same tactic and have similar success. Well, they did try the same tactic, but the Cowboys were prepared for it and had answers.
On the Commanders third drive of the game, they faced a third and seven situation. They went to their default protection plan, using an empty formation with running back Austin Ekeler chipping to the left side and tight end Zach Ertz chipping to the right. The problem for the Commanders is that Micah Parsons is so versatile and can line up in just about any spot. The Cowboys make great use of this and shift him inside to defensive tackle on this play. They knew the Commanders would try and chip on both edges to ensure help on either side, so instead of letting Parsons get chipped and have to work through it, they just moved him inside, knowing the Commanders weren’t likely to try and run the ball on third and long.
But the Cowboys didn’t stop there. The interior of the Commanders offensive line have been very strong so far this season, but in these situations they typically face some form of three-on-two, where center Tyler Biadasz can slide one way or the other to help out either guard if needed. So the Cowboys add another layer onto this plan. To ensure Parsons still gets a one-on-one, they add a linebacker to the blitz inside and use a stunt to try and confuse things further for the interior offensive lineman.
At the snap of the ball, you can see Biadasz initially works to his right and looks at Parsons, ready to help right guard Sam Cosmi pick him up. However, Biadasz then spots the linebacker blitzing from the second level and has to account for him. The linebacker attacks the left side, taking Biadasz away from Cosmi to ensure a one-on-one. Cosmi has developed into a very good guard capable of some high quality reps, but even he will struggle one-on-one against a rusher like Parsons. He oversets to the edge, clearly expecting help from Biadasz inside that never arrives. Parsons stunts inside and bursts past Cosmi on his way into the backfield. Daniels is forced to take off scrambling and Parsons chases him down to the sideline, where Daniels just throws the ball away at the last second to avoid the sack.
It was a very well thought out and designed rush plan from the Cowboys that took advantage of a scheme that has been a real strength for Washington this season. Every time the Commanders got into a third and long situation in the first half, the Cowboys used a similar plan.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Bullock's Film Room to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.