November 25, 2024 • 54 mins
London Fletcher and Bram Weinstein give a complete drive-by-drive of the craziest Dallas vs. Washington game in recent history. What went right, what went wrong, and how Jayden Daniels always keeps the Commanders in the game.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
On this edition of The Booth Review. Well, that was
the weirdest game ever.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
That's it. At the noows needs you to say it.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
We're going to review the whole thing, the start and
the wild finish on the Booth Review. Welcome to the
Booth Review, brought to you by Microsoft Surface Powering a
Better Game. I'm Bram Weinstein with Big Fletch London Fletcher
off of one of the toughest losses I could remember
(00:26):
in a while. It's the Cowboys. It was a marginalized Cowboys.
I think we thought it was a get right game
and then we had what was a sluggish, odd game
that turned into pure chaos by the end of it.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Yeah, when you when you look at the score and
you see what thirty six twenty eight the final score,
thirty four.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
To twenty six, thirty four, brains are scrammed, right.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
You see thirty four to twenty six at the final score,
you think, oh man, this was a shootout, had to
be an awesome game.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
That was not the case.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
It was a It was a sleeper in the in
the first half, three to three at half time. Really
disappointing loss given where we were and where we are
in our season where the Dallas Cowboys are in their season.
But I will say this, going into the game, you know,
you look at the records. We were seven and seven
and four going into that game. Cowboys were three and seven.
(01:19):
You cut, you throw records out of the window anytime
you're dealing with division opponents, things like that because of
crazy things happen. These teams are so familiar with each other.
I knew it would be a lot closer game. It
wouldn't be a lopsided game. But for us to come
away on the other side of a victory and with
(01:40):
the defeat extremely disappointed, it is I'll go.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Through it with you in a moment, but I just
this one feels a little different than the other two,
to be honest, absolutely like absolute Going into the Pittsburgh
Philly week, I think we both knew, and I think
the team is kind of acknowledged like they really could
have used the bye, like they really needed it. They
talked about how they hadn't really practiced as a group
(02:08):
together in weeks. The schedule just did not line up
very well for them. Those are two really good teams
that they were facing, and they were very close to
winning either one of them. But unfortunately they didn't. They
lost by a point to Pittsburgh. And similarly, like this one,
the Philadelphia and got chaotic in the middle of the
fourth quarter in a game that was actually very close
throughout most of it, and unfortunately they were just kind
(02:30):
of owing to it. I think you and I both
were like, they got the mini buye. They look like
they look and feel healthier. They're talking about how they practiced,
and I think that's what's surprising about this that I
think we were expecting a win differently than maybe the
other two, Like I don't ever expect them to lose,
but I knew that that was a real task. The
Pittsburgh in the Philly game, this one felt like, Okay,
(02:53):
we're gonna get right and everything's gonna get back on.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah, you definitely felt that way.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
The man everything was set up for as your playing
at home electric crowd. I mean, the energy of the
stadium was just outstanding. You got a wounded Cowboys team
that had lost five straight games, a lot of backup
there without their starting quarterback. There's two starting guards. One's
(03:22):
a pro bowler and one's an All Pro future Hall
of Famer, top tight end, top tight end, top corner
back Ey a lot of missing a lot of Yeah,
so they're missing a lot of pieces we had the
ten days we were healthier. You mentioned a bye week
and needing a buy and all those things. Prior to
(03:42):
this game, our offensive line was as healthy as it
had been in probably a couple of weeks. Jaden, you
can tell he would look healthier, look refreshed. He wasn't
running like he you know, in the two games prior.
He wasn't running with the same type of gist and
electricity like he was earlier this season. But in that
(04:05):
game he looked like he had fresh landers, look healthier,
and they come away.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
With the defeat. That was a huge loss.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Yeah, So I want to see how they respond one
more game before the bye, another under five hundred team
coming in here, who just won against a division leader.
So you know, take nothing for granted. I think that's certainly,
certainly you know what one of the lessons learned this week.
And I think to your point about this rivalry, there's
so many examples both sides where the team that did
(04:40):
not look like was going to win that day did,
like a one in fifteen Dallas team beat a Super
Bowl Redskins team in the past, a replacement team of
Redskins players went to Dallas and beat a team where
all their players crossed the picket line Clint Longley for
the old people on Thanksgiving the blocked by Troy Vincent.
(05:01):
That game was wild. So there's a million examples of this,
but this one, it doesn't change the fact that this
one really hurts.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Really hurts.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
And we'll dig into why we came out on the
side of defeat because there is a lot of things
that happened, especially in the first half of that ball game,
to where that game could have been over at halftimect.
You give the Dallas Cowboys, a team that, as I mentioned,
coming in wounded on a four game losing, five game
(05:34):
losing streak. There was enough things that we could have
done to have them pack it in at halftime. But
we then take advantage of a lot of opportunities, a
lot of great field position, and when you look at
it and when.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
You up peel it back, we had nobody to blame
but us.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
I agree like the Dallas coming in not only was
on the losing streak, but with all the differfferent players
and all the different replacements that were happening. They had
like comedy of errors in the games leading into us.
And actually, if you watched the Philly game was actually
close until halftime and then it spiraled. And the Houston game,
(06:15):
Houston game got up on them, but they hung around
and then it spiraled. It was these kind of laughable
turnovers that kind of flipped the game upside down on them.
That stuff happened early in this game. On them. They
go down the field. I want to credit the special
teams early. They blocked the field goal, gave Washington great
field position. Washington kicks a field goal. Could they have
(06:38):
done better there, sure, but they cashed in on it,
cashed in. Dallas gets the ball back, goes down the
field again, hits the upright. You caught break number two.
Decent field position, and this is where I think you're
getting to your point. Washington needed to get a lead,
sustain a lead, and I think Dallas would have pass in
(07:00):
and going home. But that's not the game they ended
up in.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Yeah, that was.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
You mentioned the block field goal, get extra get excellent
field goal positions.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, you would love to get seven. Didn't get seven.
We got three.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
So momentums in our favor, and it was after Dallas
started the game off moving the football against us moving
then we you know, we we buckled down in the
red area or tightened down a.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Little bit as you know, higher high red area, or as.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
They got closer to our end zone, we're able to
force that field goal block field goal, which was outstanding
scheme by special teams coach Larry Izzo, outstanding execution.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
By Kwan Martin and Michael Walker.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Knowing seeing some things on tape that the Cowboys showed
how we can we can get get some penetration and
being able to get that block and setting us up
in great field position.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Dallas. The missfield goal you mentioned, it.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Was the one, the one that really out to me
that we didn't take advantage of Bobby Wagner and Johnny Newton.
They forced a fumble. Yep, excellent field goal, I mean
excellent field position.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Again, this was after Washington had missed after.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Miss, after we missed the fifty one yard after we
decided not to go for it on fourth and two.
We can get into that, you know, we can get
into that as well, mister field goal, I mean we
get the fumble. We went three plays in an hour yep,
that right there, you're able to get points. So let's
(08:34):
say we get three, we get seven, I mean you're
up six zero, six nothing or potentially ten nothing for
a team that has lost five in a row.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
They're they're like, you know what, same old story.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Let's let's just get out of DC healthy, you know,
and move on to the Thanksgiving Day. But when we
didn't take advantage of those those opportunities, you let a
team that's struggling, you let them stick around, hole, stand
in the game, stay in the game, stay in the game.
Right before the half, we're up three nothing, give up
(09:12):
an explosive play to the Cowboys against double coverage, and
you know this, this is what happened. Give up an
explosive play. Now instead of being up three nothing at halftime,
they kidd a kick a field goal. It's a three
to three game. The that first half could have been
(09:34):
totally different, totally different. Let them stick around, let a
bad team get confidence, and we lose the game.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
So the game's three three. Dallas had a block field
goal and missed field goal of fumble and a block punt.
Yeah it's three three. This game wasn't lost late, it
was lost early. It was lost early. Absolutely one hundred
percent agree with that. Hundred percent agree. So I want
to go back to what you mentioned, the decision to
(10:05):
not go for it on a fourth and two when
they tried a fifty one yard field goal. Austin Seibert
had missed a couple of weeks with the hittory A what.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Yard line where we are on a thirty.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Thirty four yard They'd been aggressive in the past with
going for it on these fourth and shorts. I believe
they threw on the third and I remember.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Surprised.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
I was a little surprised by that. I mean, this
is a team that's run the ball very effectively this year.
It's a bad run defense. If you are thinking four
down territory and they've been a very aggressive team, you
would have thought run on third down. But whatever, that's
just second guessing and right to not go either way.
I think you were surprised that was a long field goal,
that was not a chip shot field goal. To not
(10:52):
go for it on fourth and two, what did you
make of that?
Speaker 2 (10:55):
I was surprised. But then.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
When anytime you have a sitch situation where you're thirty
two and you throw the football, maybe you're thinking, hey,
this is four down territory. You've told the offensive coordinator, hey,
you got two downs to pick up the first down.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Obviously that wasn't the case.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
I don't Coach Quinney mentioned going into the game they
felt like, hey, this is this is kind of the
target area for for Cyber. We feel pretty good about
him kicking you know, fifty one fifty two yard field goal. Still, yeah,
again as aggressive as as we had been I think
leading to the going into the game we were eleven
(11:36):
for thirteen for fourth thousand.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
I mean one of the non conversions was the famous
bad spot on zach Ertz against Pittsburgh NAT conversion.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
To right and then one of Philadelphia, which.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
That's the one where I wanted him to.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Hey, so that that's probably like, Man, I can't win
for losing what you guys, But I'll say this. I'll
say that you're never gonna make us happy, But I'll
say this, how much of what part of the b
Rob injury played a part in not running the football
in that scenario on third and two, Dallas is are.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Run offense has not been you know, up to snuff.
It wasn't.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
It wasn't what we were growing accustomer from the running
backs the last several games. In that game, Jaden was
the leading rusher seven rushs seven carriage for seventy four yards.
The running backs they didn't have a lot of success,
be Rob getting injured, so you don't have him at
full strength. Did they feel comfortable enough running the football
(12:50):
on that third and two? You don't get it. That's
why you throw it and in at fourth and two?
Are we gonna run it again? Or you know, do
we have a play down up that we gotta have
and we can convert. I think we need to talk
about the offense here, just in general.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
At this point, So Dallas, I thought it was a
little overrated the way people were talking about their defense
coming in as it being really poor, like as previously mentioned,
like they have a lot of injuries, and if you
watch them, they'd actually been very competitive, extremely but these
turnovers by their offense was spiraling games on them, and
(13:29):
all of a sudden, the score looks really bad. Meantime,
their defense, Micah Parsons looks like Michaeh Parsons. Like the
last few weeks, he looks like Micah Parsons. This guy
overshown has really started to flash for them. They've gotten better.
This is about our offense, not them, really. And I'll
tell you the thing that really stood out to me was,
(13:51):
and this is a trend. Do we start talking about
this few weeks ago the Giants, who actually don't bring
a lot of pressure packages did against Washington. Pittsburgh, who
does it bring up a lot of pressure packages did
against Washington. Philadelphia not as much, but we're winning with
four and Jalen Carter Dallas not surprised, but they brought
(14:13):
sometimes six, not just five, six free rushers coming off
the opposite Edgeward Parsons was where all the help's going
to be. Jayden was vacating and all of a sudden
there were corners waiting for him. This is troublesome, Like
what's going on with the offense is It's clearly this
(14:34):
is more than a trend. These teams are bringing pressure
packages consistently, often because Washington has not had answers for
them over the last few weeks.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Yeah. No, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
And when you're game planning for a particular opponent, whether
you're game planing, you put your defensive game plan and
you're putt your offensive game planning and you're watching let's
call it the previous four games, and you're looking at
things that have caused that opponent problems, and as you
(15:04):
deal with us in our offense, something that has caused
us problems, especially lately has been teams bringing you know,
five six rushers the extra rusher, and we haven't been
able to have answers to those to that pressure, whether
it be wide receivers now you know, guy's not getting
open quick enough, the protection not being exactly what it
(15:28):
needs to be, whether it's you know, the protection going
the wrong way, you guys losing their blocks, losing one
on one matchups. There's been an accumulation of a lot
of different things. It's not one thing that when you're
not performing well, it's that you just can't pinpoint and say, hey,
this is it, because if it was, we can fix that.
(15:51):
Hey we gotta we got to get somebody in there differently,
or this is you know, how we how we combat
what they're doing.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
There was also so the pressure practice.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
The Dallas they blitzed seventeen times out of the forty
four pass attempts, seventeen and probably it would have been
higher except late in the game they were playing a
little bit will not prevent defense, but they were playing
a little bit safer defense on the back end covers
keeping wanting to keep everything in front of in front
(16:22):
of them Seventeen times out of forty five, that is
a high value of pressure practice. It was almost thirty
nine percent for a team that coming into that game
they were more about thirty one percent.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Yep, blitz blitz Ray So yes, because they have.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
A star pass rusher on one side who wins more
than anybody but one other player in the NFL. He
gets a pressure rate of like twenty one percent on
his own. They don't need to do this is often.
But this is why it goes back to the Giants
didn't do it like this. Pittsburgh didn't do it like this.
Now Dallas didn't do it like this. All of a sudden,
they're looking at Washington. Guess what this is on Washington
(16:59):
to figure out answer to this.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
That's what Brown.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
Tennessee's probably gonna do it like that, And I don't
I even looked at Tennessee. I don't know what they
what they're blitz rate is prior to this game. If
it's high, it's gonna stay high and may even go
higher and if it's low, they're gonna they're gonna bring it.
I'll say this is about partss man. The thing that
Dallas does great with him, and we do some of
this with Frankie, is they put him, Oh, they move
(17:25):
him around on the line of scrimmage. You can't you
just don't see him lined up against tackles where you
can chip him with a running back, chip him with
a tight end, where you constantly know where he's at.
They put him up over, They'll put him over guards,
both guards, and he caused problems with both of our guards.
He they'll rush him up through the a gaps. He
(17:47):
was a nightmare scenario because of his quickness, his speed.
You know, you're not used to that type of speed
coming at you from from the that that interior pass
rusher and he even when we didn't get sacks and
they and you know Dallas got four. The amount of
pressure that he was able to generate. Guys may have
(18:10):
been open, but Jaden didn't have time to stand in
the pocket and you know find those open guys because
of the amount of pressure that him in particular, what's
causing him being parsonals.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
I want to go back to this one thing that
just became noticeable with the pressure packages where Jaden leaves
the pocket quickly. Yeah, listen, they're outnumbered. There was a
couple of times free rushers were coming at him. So
he makes the right decision. He leaves and he goes
to his right. There's been a tendency for him. All
of a sudden, here they are bringing five or six.
Why is that cornerback not covering anybody. He's standing there
(18:44):
waiting for him.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
They were man.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
Probably fire zones or trap cover So you know, there's
teams where you can bring five, there's coverages where pressures
where you can bring five, and you can play trap
coverage and what not. Being mean by trap coverage, you'll
have your corners playing the flats and.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
You still play too deep underneath.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
They're trapping any like outside, breaking white, any quick throws,
things like that.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
So that's a trap coverage.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
It's a fire zone mentality, bring pressure, play zone behind
it got vision on the quarterback, so you got guys
in position to make make plays on the football. If
the balls in the air, you don't have to worry about,
you know, having to play a lot of man and
man coverage. Things like that now that he also did
play a lot of man and man coverage too, and
(19:35):
we didn't win consistently enough in those situations either.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Yes, so, all right, so this isn't a different tendency
because these defensive backs were waiting for him leave the
pocket and run to that right side. They were literally
this is the difference from what we saw at the
beginning of the year, where he'd vacate all this open
grass in front of him and he makes this play.
That's not what Dallas did yesterday. These guys were up
(20:01):
on the line of scrimmage almost inviting him to run
over to them.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
It's a great scheme, great great defensive game played by
Mike Zammer. He's you know, he's one of the great
defensive coordinators in this game, and he has been for
a number of years. And it's smart by him because
think about how Jaden has heard a lot of teams
who have pressured us in the past. You bring pressure,
he escapes, he finds a crease, and you got everybody
(20:26):
playing man and man. Their eyes their back is to
the quarterback and he's running for thirty forty fifty yards
or whatever the case may be. What's the way to
combat that or good, you know, change up, bring pressure,
plays all behind it smart.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
So let's talk about the receivers then, because let's go
back to they need to win a little bit more
one on one. Let me just start with Terry McLaury.
So he has one hundred yard game. Eighty six comes
on the play at the end of the game, right,
So three catches fifteen yards off of what happened in Philadelphia,
one catch, ten yards, whatever it was, It's just not
going to cut it for the number one receiver on
(21:02):
the team. Dallas, on the other hand, I hate to
do the comparison, but they're missing primary targets. Jake Ferguson's
not playing, Brandon Cooks isn't playing. Their running game is
not something that scares people. Cede Lamb's the player you
need to remove, but teams can't do that against him.
They move him around here. He has as many targets
in the slot as he does on the outside. He's
(21:23):
got thirteen, fourteen, fifteen carries this year. I'm not saying
make Terry Cede Lamb, but the point is Dallas seems
to try to find an active way to get the
ball in his hands as often as possible. And that's
not happening here for Terry McLaurin.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
That's not there.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
That's not our schame, our system, And I don't know
how much of it, you know as a byproduct of
us using the no huddle so much so you don't
want you want to be able to get to the
line of scrimmage as quick as possible. So that's why
you know Terry primarily lines up on the left side
of the of the football field. You know he's because
they want to go fast. Hey, run your route, get
(21:58):
lined up. Do it again. Now, if there are there times,
could you add more to Terry's up plate and bring
him in the slot more, put him in motion, do
some different things on the on the eighty six yard touchdown,
first time he lined up to the right side, they
ran a will wheel route from him. He lined up
(22:18):
inside and ran that wheel against a Cover three defense
against the Cowboys, and they find a find a shot.
So you have to there has to be some adjustments
made to where Terry's two goods only have three catches
for fifteen yards and going in the fourth quarter. That's
(22:41):
I mean you talk about go back to the game
against Philadelphia, quiny Mitchell good good ricky cornerback, but he
ain't good enough to hold Tel the one catch for
ten yards. Well, he needs to be tested here testing,
so you know that that has to be And I
know they'll go to self scout during the bye week,
(23:03):
but these is like, that's figured out ways to get
Terry the football more often, get him engaged defense. If
you see if we going and we see that you
are making a concerted effort to get him the ball.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Now we have to adjust. Now we have to change
some things out.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Now that's going to open up opportunities for the other
guys because now they're like, hey, where's Terry at Terry's
Terry's line up to the right side.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Now, Terry's in the slot, Terry's.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Going in motion, Terry's in the backfield, you know, running
Texas rols. I mean, ceedee Lamb lined up at every
single position in that field yesterday and he has all year. Yeah,
and they run a jet sweeps with it. They're getting
him the football and the multitude of ways.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
I mean, interestingly, go look at his stats. It was
like seven catchers for forty yards. He didn't have any big,
huge impact plays, but the point is he's a focal
point of their offense. They naked a focal point. They
move him around consistently, and.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
He had nine He had nine targets in the first
half the trade and how many catchs. I knew he
had five or six to what probably eleven two touches
to reverses in the first half if memory searched me correctly.
He finished with thirteen targets in that game. And that
actually was a down game for I said on the
(24:29):
booth on the on the broadcast, I say, I thought
he was going to have eighteen to twenty targets, yes,
in that game. And they you know, they end up
getting their run game going, so that probably you know,
they didn't have to throw it to him as much.
And you know, so tight End also made a few
plays here and there for them. So yeah, credit to
them and their creativity. I know this is our system,
(24:51):
but just from my perspective as a defensive guy, when
we have to account for a guy being in a
bunch of differ so we used to call it. Speaking
of Dallas when we played the Cowboys, we would always
wonder where's Witt, You say, where's Waldough? So to speak,
like where's Waldough, Like you needed to know where he's
(25:14):
lined up because that will dictate, you know, coverage adjustments,
all those types of things.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
All, Right, secondary targets, we haven't seen much with Alami
DA's a kiss. We haven't seen almost anything with Luke McCaffrey,
at least target wise, it's been very minimal over the
last few weeks. So I know they hit Diami Brown
for a couple of shots yesterday. He's been targeted a
couple of times. Noah Brown's become the number two target
at least as a wide receiver relatively consistent. Yes, he did.
(25:46):
But like this goes back to the larger point of Okay,
like if this is what teams are going to do,
it's become consistent that this is what they're going to do.
What are the answers? And I don't know that it's
those secondary targets, but I do know they're not really
finding much room or much space in the game plan
as it is right now.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Yeah, it's you know, you talked about the teams pressure
more than they have in the past, and some teams
playing man and man, some teams playing a little zone.
You know, Dallas played a lot of his own against it. Yes, today,
but part of part of bringing pressure. If you're bringing five,
you're bringing six. Especially if you're bringing six, you're bringing six,
(26:26):
you're playing man and man on the on the back end,
like it's it's man and man across the board. Do
you feel like their receivers can beat you win one
on one matchups and defensive coordinators are saying, hey, we
don't we feel like over you know, in the course
(26:47):
of a game for four quarters, they're not going to
win consistent enough to keep us and prevent us from
bringing a bunch of five six man pressures where we're
having to play man and man behind it. That's just
the reality. That's how defensive stink. That's how defensive coordinators think.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Can they win?
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Do they have to represent requisite talent at these positions
to win? Now, guys may have won, but again, quarterback
may not have had enough time, the pressure may have
gotten to him.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
So yeah, guys open.
Speaker 3 (27:20):
There was a time where Jack Hurts got he got
opened on one of the one of the blisters that
the Dallas brought, but Jaden didn't have enough time. He
had to bail on the pocket before like he was
wide open and he had to he had to vacate.
So that's that's that's also a part of if you
(27:41):
move Terry around, motioning him, lining them up in different places,
doing different things to where now, as a defense, we
going to this game saying Terry McCain is their number
one guy on offense, that we gotta stop you getting
matched up against a lot you you know, just just
(28:02):
pre staff. You'll think somewhere flashed like from a defense light,
Oh shoot, why is he right here? What's the adjustment
we got to make? That's called free Other guys, though, how.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
About the running game, which I've obviously we're very concerned
about this week. Brian Robinson hurt his ankle, didn't play
in the second half. Austin Ekeler, that was scary play
at the end of the game, and I just hope
he's okay at this point. But overall, the run game,
to your point, has not been nearly as effective. And granted,
(28:34):
the week after week two hundred yard rushing days, we're
probably not going to continue like that. Had to kind
of come back to earth a little bit like that
was extraordinary what was happening early in the season, especially
on the ground, But this one isn't that anymore? So
what are you seeing with the run game right now?
Speaker 3 (28:53):
I think the games against the Steelers and the Eagles
you can attribute to struggles to the the run game.
First one, b Rod missed the game against the Steelers,
so you don't have him.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
That's a health issue.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
But then also our offensive line had been healthy, like
we had well it was wildly missing the game because
of injury. Brandon Coleman has been dealing with injuries, you know,
Beiadis has been dealing with.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
I think three different injuries.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
So the health of the offensive line and b Rob
missing the game against the Steelers, I think that was
a part of.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
The run game. And also Jade not being being.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
Healthy part of our oppotent offense and what really opens
up the running game for the running backs. This is
the threat that you have to worry about Jaden keeping
that football If you know that, you know, especially when
you're running the reaid options and that defensive end has
a decision to make, Hey, I can't crash down because
(29:53):
Jaden may pull that and take off around the edge. Well, Steelers,
they had a great grain plan, not no b robbing
that game. Our again, their game plan was to force
Jayden and had the ball off tj Y Heigh Smiths.
All those guys they were they weren't doing anything, they
weren't reading anything. They was going directly at Jayde like
(30:14):
you're gonna have this ball off and we'll deal with
your running backs.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Not having b Rob being in there, big back.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
Falling four for three, four extra yards, putting you in,
keeping you ahead of the change where instead of being
in second and seven, you're in second and five, you're
in second and four. So in that game that that
definitely hurt you. Jalen Carter was the boster of that
game was against us, and offensive line was health. The
game against the Cowboys, we were fairly healthy from the
(30:46):
offensive line. We had we had ten days off. Dallas
defensive front they just they they want them, they wanted
they wanted the trenches.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Oh Diggy Zoo had a terrific game against them. Partial
is a monster to deal Bobby Smith.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
They won.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
They they want the trenches, and you know that was
that's that was disappointed. That was disappointed, especially you mentioned
the Cowboys being well giving up one hundred and fifty
on the ground.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
That's the one thing that carried over like they like
They were a turnover machine with Dan Quinn and Joe
Witt very good pass defense. He was, you know, throwing
against them with either whether it was Deron Bland or
Trayvon Diggs breaking records, you know. But you could run
the ball on them, like over the last couple of years,
you could run the ball on them, and that's been
a carry over here. Now they're marginalized with the people missing.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
And let me let me ask you this, Brown, how
much do you think b Rob getting injured in that
game early changed the mindset of you know, hey, we're
going to go into this game wanting to run the
football on Dallas.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
But now maybe a pivot.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
I mean, I think only Cliff can answer that really,
but maybe that that is part of it. And then
but then all of a sudden, you're just kind of
leading into what has become the issue that they have
if you're going to become pass heavy. The teams are
bringing this pressure packages and Washington doesn't have answers for
them yet. The other part of the field, it seems
(32:15):
interesting to me, and we'll get to the second half
because there was a you know, the fumble was a
big turning point in the middle of the field is
they don't seem to be exploiting the middle of the
field the way that they were early in the season.
In fact, when you see pass plays, not only was
Dallas waiting for Jaden to run to certain spots, but
he had to kind of feather a couple of throws.
One went over zach Ertz's head, but he was thrown
(32:37):
between three Cowboys jerseys. So they're waiting for balls at
around the numbers or outside the numbers, which also reads
to me they don't expect Washington to try much in
the middle of the field, and so there's an adjustment
there too that the middle of the field's being vacated
by the defense because they don't see a tendency of
Washington to use the field that way.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
And those teams, you know, you get your hit charts
of where the balls are going, where the targets are going.
I'm sure if you look at our hit chart over
the last few games, it's gonna be a whole lot
of you know, targets outside the hashes, even outside the numbers,
things like that.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Going back to the run game, and.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
Now we'll say this, in the second half, the start
of the third quarter, they went heavy tight end personnel,
three tight ends, thirteen personnel.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
Some people call it tray. They run the football, end
up scoring a touchdown. Yep, they ran the ball a
little bit more in the second half. Is that something
that you got to look forward look at, you know,
moving forward, like, you know what, Hey, we're gonna have
(33:51):
to get in bigger personnel, get in three tight ends ats.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
Yeah, we don't know what they have. Health of our
running backs gonna be this week with Eckler b rob
you know, I can imagine you know, I don't know,
maybe trying to sign Chris Rodriguez Bak or some other
back Michael Wiley. See, yeah, you know, so that's yet
to be remindined to be seen. But you have to
(34:16):
You can't just ask Jayden to in this office to
throw a forty five times. It's just not that's not
our rest bill. Yeah, that's not our recipe for success.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
I mean at the end of the camp, I think
we talked about this a lot ago. Look at the
profile of the team and the personnelity team. They're actually
very physical receivers on the outside. They're a run team.
Like realistically they're a run They're a fifty to fifty
run team, and when they have been they've actually been
very successful. Like earlier in the season when they were
like at about a fifty to fifty clip and they
(34:48):
were rushing the ball really effectively, they were getting about
five point eight yards per play, which was among best
in the NFL. Last few weeks, they've either gotten away
from it or haven't run the ball as effect or
maybe yesterday maybe got a little too far away from
it with the b Rob injury. They're around four yards
per play. It is a massive difference in time of possession,
(35:09):
in extending drives, in how many times you're gonna punt,
in how many third and long situations you're in. So
there's been a shift here. Yeah, and another thing about
the run game. A lot of times it's more about
the volume too. And yeah, you want to be you
want to get four four yards a clip, but that
doesn't always happen.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
One thing about the run game is, especially from.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
When you got volume, it wears a defense now, especially
a defense that wants to pass rush.
Speaker 2 (35:39):
That was Cowboys.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
You look at Okay, how did they get to what
three and seven coming into this to this game. Part
of it is the Cowboys are built to play with
the lead. From a defensive standpoint, they want to pin
their areas back rush to pass her.
Speaker 2 (35:58):
That's why they we But their offense was hurting them.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
They were turning the ball over at a high clip
twenty twenty turnovers coming into that game most of the time.
For most of the NFL, they weren't able to play
with the lead. So now teams can run the football,
run the football. Running football teams are running for rushing
the ball thirty forty times against them, and that would
wear a defense down. That's gonna slow down your pass rush.
(36:22):
That's going to allow you to play action pass. Play
action pass is not just about getting linebackers and safeties
to suck up for the run and creating windows over
the middle of the field and.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
On the second level.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
It's also to slow down the pass rush because as
a defensive end or defensive tackle, I put that ball
in that running backs belly. You have to You can't
be running up the field thinking it's a pass. You
have to slow it down and then all of a
sudden I pull it. That allows you know, another second
(36:57):
for your receivers to get downfield. Allowed shots take place
deep over to develop down a field. So that's why
you need you need a higher volume, higher amount of runs,
even if you're not per se getting four yards of clip.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
You know, I know that the staff likes the idea
of fifty five what they would call successful plays, which
is either rushes or completions, and that's balanced. Yesterday at
halftime they'd only run thirty plays. They had the ball
six times, but they only ran thirty plays. So do
the math on that and how successful the drives were
(37:33):
and how often they controlled the clock, Like, that's not
a recipe to getting where they need to be.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
It's not. It's not.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
And you know when you when they look at the film,
they'll say, Okay, why why did we only have thirty plays?
It's a execution here, it's a not sustaining a block here,
not you know, being off target maybe on a on
a rough play. There was a couple of times where,
especially on the Rose to zach Ertz down the field
(38:04):
where Jaden I think felt like Jack was gonna keep
it higher and more run more of a kind of
a corner route, and Zach read it coming a little
bit flatter, So that say, you know, maybe them not
seeing it the same way, and so that's that's something
I don't I don't know the answer to in terms
of what what they're telling those guys, But it was
(38:26):
a couple where they just weren't on the same page totally.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Because there were big plays to be had there.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
But one guy may have read it, you know, run
ham'm and be a little bit flatter. You know, Jade's thinking, hey,
take it a little bit higher, take it, take it
a little bit, you know, come out a little bit
higher on your route.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
And it didn't happen.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
So they came out in the second half, they scored
the touchdown, missed the extra point, Dallas turned around and
walked down the field. That was the jail and Tolbert
touchdown pass, got the lead back, then kicked a field goal,
and then what I think was the turning point. Turning
point was the Bates fumble, Like in the middle of
the field on that play, going back to they hadn't
really done a lot in the middle of the field.
(39:05):
They finally found something the offense had really in the
second half had really kind of turned a corner and
we removing the ball. Yeah, that fumble was tough. The
touchdown on the other end was blown coverage. With scoon Maker.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
Right.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
I've seen that a couple of times now in the
past few weeks as well. Suddenly it was twenty to nine.
It had spiraled in Philadelphia and the team wasn't able
to recover from it. In this case, this was different.
I will give them credit here. They turned around and
walked back down the field and scored again.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Yeah, and you mentioned the fumble.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
You know, up to that time, it was a one
score game the whole time, you know, the mainly a
field goal game. That was when up thirteen to nine,
they had just got a field goal, it's what eight
minutes eleven seconds left. It was a nice play call
that the that cliff and offense died up. Actually, it
(39:59):
was a play that Dallas hurt us with earlier in
the game where they faked a toss and uh, the
tight end school Maker got got down the field and
they had a big play. So, hey, what do we do.
We had that in our game plan. Faked the toss,
hit base down the field. And I'll say this that
that kid think was Donovan Wilson. Yeah, he's he made
(40:21):
He made an outstanding play. He made an outstanding play
punching that ball out of a base's hand like he had.
Speaker 2 (40:27):
He had it, you know, covered up.
Speaker 3 (40:29):
He didn't have two hands on it, but he had
a tight close to his body and he's running. And
Donovan Wilson did he He he make a made a
heck of a play, punched that ball out.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
He and overshown have been terrific. Wilson's been tremendous in
these kind of like he fills holes. He's a sneaky blitzer.
They used him in a lot of really good ways.
He made this play reminded me when Kwan hit the
ball out on Dallas Goddard the week before. Had we
fallen on that right, even a different outcome in Philadelphia,
had we gotten the baseball back in some way, might
(41:03):
have been a different outcome again.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
And the thing was we because of the formation to play,
we didn't have a lot of our guys around bas
around the fumble. Dallas had I think maybe three guys
around it, where you know, we just had baits yep.
Speaker 1 (41:17):
So so Dallas scores that touchdown. I felt like, and
this is where things went crazy. Right now we get
to crazy chaos, right, chaos town, like crazy town. Maybe
the most unusual fourth quarter I can remember that this
rivalry has ever had. I don't remember anything like this
that went from there. Washington goes down the field, gets
(41:38):
the Ertz touchdown, gets two point conversion. Right, nakes to
twenty to seventeen games completely.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Back that two point conversion we got to talk about.
Speaker 1 (41:46):
That two point conversion was terrific.
Speaker 2 (41:47):
That was a terrific that play call, Well, you fake.
Speaker 3 (41:51):
This z an read and then Eckler serves as a
lead blocker around the edge, and that was great blocking
on that play. I think Erz had a Earth had
an outstanding block to to seal to seal that edge,
and and then Eckler coming around the edge.
Speaker 2 (42:08):
That was an our stand name.
Speaker 3 (42:09):
Yeah, play call for a two point conversion, got us,
got us within three.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
Got us within three.
Speaker 2 (42:15):
Then what happened?
Speaker 1 (42:16):
Right, But at this point, like okay, things looked lost.
Now it's back in play. They'd scored two touchdowns and
Baits had a fumble. They were removing the ball in
that drive two, so I'm like, just get the ball back,
just get the ball back.
Speaker 2 (42:32):
To two timeouts. Yeah, and added two minute warner.
Speaker 1 (42:36):
Cavante Turpin made a play that was straight out of Madden.
Speaker 3 (42:42):
He made what's the what's the button you pressed to
the B button? That's the spin move. That's the spin move.
How do you know you play mad?
Speaker 1 (42:48):
I saw it on Twitter yesterday. My son plays Madden.
I didn't pay you as a bad guy, and a
million people put B buttons. Okay, okay, that was, first
of all, singularly one of the most incredible kickoff returns
I've ever seen. Unfortunately happened to Washington. There are two
(43:08):
things here. The coaches will tell you they did exactly
what they wanted. They kicked what they called the dirty ball.
He fumbled it at the goal line. He's set up
to be tackled inside the ten. It's exactly what you want.
But you could also argue, never kick to this person.
He's the best kick returner in the NFL, has been
for a couple of years. Number one in kick returns,
(43:31):
number two in punt returns. He's a dangerous, dangerous player,
and at that juncture of the game, they got burned
for putting it in his hands.
Speaker 3 (43:39):
I understand and thinking and why they kicked the way
they kicked that ball. And I even said, I even
said dirty ball, kick before before the kick was made.
The reason I said that kicking the dirty ball is
because because you're in a field position game at that point,
you want to so went, hey, we're gonna kick it,
(44:01):
hopefully tackle him inside the twenty we have we still
want to play the field position game. Because we got
two timeouts, two minut and one. All those types of
things forced Dallas to kick.
Speaker 2 (44:13):
The ball back to us.
Speaker 3 (44:15):
We're in great position to either tie with the field
goal or get a go ahead score or something like that.
I didn't have a problem at all kicking the ball too,
and we ain't kicked them too. We didn't kick the
ball to him the whole game.
Speaker 2 (44:30):
We tackled him. Tackling them.
Speaker 3 (44:31):
Well what happens sometimes though with the fumble. The fumble
actually him fumbling the ball worked in his favor because
now you can get guys can get a little bit
out of their lanes.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
And they didn't get out of their lanes.
Speaker 3 (44:43):
So to speak, until he fumbled and he starts and
then he makes that spind move and Jeremy Reeves, he
you know, he talked about how that was his play
to be made, and I mean, you know, it was
a that was a tremendous play by the kid.
Speaker 2 (44:57):
It was we did a.
Speaker 3 (44:59):
Couple guys, you know, didn't necessarily fish the ball carrier
like you want to. You want to have, you know,
two guys, one on his outside shoulder and the other
on his other shoulder and let's squeeze him and make
the tackle.
Speaker 2 (45:14):
There was potential blocking the back that that wasn't called.
Speaker 3 (45:17):
But you know that's you don't want to have the
officials be the ones to determine how to come to games.
So I mean, he made it. He made a heck
of a play, like Jeremy Reeves. This this man, I
know he's beating himself up, but there he's a dog
on special teams.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
That that that guy does it all.
Speaker 3 (45:35):
I mean, it's it's to try to tackle turping in
space like that. And you know he was, he was
on the right proper shoulder. He was exactly where he
needed to be. He was going to make make his playing.
The kid just hit the B button.
Speaker 1 (45:48):
He's one of the best kick returners of the last
ten years. It's been in this way with him. He's
a dangerous player. So the game was over, we thought
at that point, I mean, the airs out of the building,
the game's over. So I want to give them credit.
They walked down the field, did the right thing, got
points on the board, got a fifty one yard field goal.
(46:11):
I felt like they should have moved a little closer
at the time, but whatever, they got it right.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Tom was Tom was too Tom was more important than
it was.
Speaker 1 (46:18):
One forty something on the grime.
Speaker 2 (46:21):
We only had two time outs.
Speaker 1 (46:23):
You got it, you gotta so they had to get
the points on the board.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
You got to get the points on the board because
you don't want you want to get the ball back
as quick as possible.
Speaker 2 (46:29):
So give them credit.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
They got down the field fast, they got the points
on the board. They had enough time. If they got
a three and out to get a punt, they were
gonna need a miracle. They got the three and out,
they got the punt. Anger's punt was good, you know.
So it forced them in a really tough situation. And
then Dallas, they're the ones we might be shaking our
heads about the turpin play. Their defensive backs are shaking
(46:51):
their heads about where in the world they were, because
while that was a great ball like throwing catch, he
should have been tackled at the fifty. The fact that
he got by four players and then hit the gas
like Turpin. He ran faster than I've ever seen him run.
He was gone, and then all of a sudden, We're
in the biggest upside down game I've ever been a
part of.
Speaker 3 (47:10):
So not my question is, what's the button you hit
when you want more speed than Madden?
Speaker 2 (47:16):
Is that the X button? Or is that the nobody
here plays mad? So we don't know there's a button?
Speaker 3 (47:22):
You outing me, I don't, I don't play. I'm out
of myself too. I don't even know I should know this.
There's a button you hit to accelerate. I think it's
the X button. Maybe I'm wrong. You guys can chime in.
Somebody hit that X. But Terry hit the X button.
And there was a point where he just like he
took off, took off. And as I'm watching it, I'm
(47:47):
not saying anything. You're doing a great job calling it too.
I'm just like, oh my goodness, what are we watching him?
He is about to score this.
Speaker 1 (47:56):
This has been the most unusual season I think we've
been a part of by far, and one of the
most incredible ones. You know, to have the honor of
calling these games. I know this didn't end up right,
but that was the last five minutes were simply unbelievable
and incredible. Yes, and the plays that were made by
(48:19):
these players were stunning. The Turpen one was stunning, the
Terry one was stunning. The ability of this offense to
never quit, to see Jaden make another throw when it
has to be made, and he's cool, calm, collected through
all of it. That was a perfect play. I know
(48:39):
it wasn't intended to do what it did, but it did.
But he still had to make the throw to do it.
He was unrattled by it. That was shocking, like utterly,
completely shocking and amazing. And what I can't believe that
we're sitting here talking about is it's a footnote because
(49:01):
it didn't end up tying the game, which I cannot
believe that after that happened, it becomes just another play.
It truly. That was I think the hardest. It was
so hard to walk out of that stadium knowing that
(49:21):
that happened but it didn't do what it was intended
to do, which was be a miracle. Yeah, it's hard
to take.
Speaker 2 (49:31):
Yeah, no, it really was.
Speaker 3 (49:33):
And you know, they the momentum shift you talk about,
the the highest of highs when when Terry you know,
gets into the end zone on an eighty six yard touchdown,
and and then the low of lows when the extrappoints
meents like just the all the air left the stadium.
Speaker 1 (49:52):
Yeah, and the game was over until they were turning
on sidekick for a touchdown, which Logan said, this is
the best case scenario. We actually get another shot, yep,
And they'd already had one. Hail Mary, Hail Terry, Yep,
let's have one more. And I'm sitting there going I
(50:12):
don't think my voice is gonna handle it.
Speaker 3 (50:16):
But but you're also thinking, like, do you not believe
that they're gonna do it?
Speaker 2 (50:23):
I do.
Speaker 3 (50:24):
We were just showing at a fifty yard line. I
can't remember the exact yard line.
Speaker 2 (50:29):
You're thinking, hey, we still got a chance.
Speaker 1 (50:32):
Yeah, any other team in any other year I would
look at this and go, well, that was that was incredible.
But it's not gonna happen, not this one. They'd already
done it once thirty seconds ago. They'd already done it
a second time six weeks ago. Like I put nothing
past them anymore.
Speaker 2 (50:49):
Nothing pasted him. I will say this though.
Speaker 3 (50:51):
The Cowboys there their game plan. They're planning to stop
the Hail Mary was much better than the Cago Bears.
Speaker 1 (51:00):
None of the corners were waving in our plum crowd.
Speaker 3 (51:04):
They had, they brought four guys, they came late, so
Jaden was not really able to to get set and
throw throw the football like he needed to. Yeah, so,
I mean it was credit to the Cowboys. Man to
the Cowboys, I.
Speaker 1 (51:19):
Think after Philly, you know, and I think rightly so
at the time it didn't feel this way, but afterwards
I heard the criticism of it wasn't urgent enough when
they were down late and scored and then gave themselves
a chance. That wasn't the case against the Cowboys. This
team came back and back and back and back, and
you know, I know it would have felt like stealing
(51:40):
the win, but they were just about to do it.
And in the end, as you know, don't matter how
you win, and they almost pulled off what would have
been a second miracle this year. And I just I
so hard to sit here and go I can't believe
that play didn't do what I thought it was going
to do for them.
Speaker 2 (52:00):
Yeah it didn't. We got to move on, that's right,
and we got to move on to the Tennessee Titans.
Speaker 1 (52:07):
Last thing, just because I love reliving this, because that
was That's a chapter in this rivalry, Like I never
see anything like that. And well, what do you remember
a boy playing in the Dallas rivalry? Do you got
one that stands out that was weird like that? I
wouldn't say weird like that.
Speaker 3 (52:28):
The one that stands out, you know, it comes to
mind first and foremost is the twenty twelve game seven,
game sixteen of the regular season winner take all in
and for the division that was played at our at
our stadium. That that game, you know, just because everything
is on the line Sunday night football, I mean Alpha
Morris rushed for two hundred yards, I mean our standing
(52:49):
football game. Defensively, we we put in, uh speaking of blitzes,
we put in these these blitzes that Dallas had no
answer for. I mean we had we had Tony Romo
on the tremendous arrests that ball game. I think your
boy got two sacks in that game.
Speaker 2 (53:06):
But yeah, that one comes to my you know, of
that rivalry.
Speaker 1 (53:10):
You weren't here for the one where there was the
block kicked by Troy vill before I ended up with
an extra play and Nick Novak kicked the field goal.
Because that one, that one, that's the only one I
can think of in recent times that was I think
as weird as this one was. At the end.
Speaker 3 (53:25):
I remember the play because it was all over you know,
Sports Center and Sports Cats, whatever the case may be.
But I remember that that that playing I played with
Troy and Buffalo, so you know, he's my friends obviously, Uh,
you know, seeing that play and seeing them seeing that
happened in Sean Sean Taylor recovering and running and then
the face mask penalty that uh, you know, gave us
(53:47):
another fifteen yards. So you know, it's definitely those two
that I got to think about. The the Monday Night
miracle with Santana Moss and the two touchdowns, which the
tann will tell you the offense hadn't done anything in
the game that that entire game.
Speaker 1 (54:05):
I don't think they had one hundred yards of offense in
the fourth quarter when those two plays happened. Yeah, it
was similar where Washington's offense really wasn't doing anything and
then kind of out of blue in the second half.
Wh's lost in this as it kind of woke up
in the second aff. It's unfortunate that the result was
what it was. All Right, one more before the buy Tennessee.
Gonna need it.
Speaker 2 (54:25):
Big game. It is a big game. We gotta get
it done. You know you can.
Speaker 3 (54:28):
You can't go, you know, for loose, for in a row,
three straight at home, that would that would be three
straight at Hall. Right, just got you whatever you gotta
do to get this victory.
Speaker 2 (54:41):
All hands, all deck. Everybody whoever is healthy, gotta suit up,
gotta get this one, all right.
Speaker 1 (54:46):
Look forward to doing it with you next week Northwest Stadium,
Titans Commanders, and we'll talk to you on Monday for
the Booth Review.
On this edition of The Booth Review. Well, that was
the weirdest game ever.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
That's it. At the noows needs you to say it.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
We're going to review the whole thing, the start and
the wild finish on the Booth Review. Welcome to the
Booth Review, brought to you by Microsoft Surface Powering a
Better Game. I'm Bram Weinstein with Big Fletch London Fletcher
off of one of the toughest losses I could remember
(00:26):
in a while. It's the Cowboys. It was a marginalized Cowboys.
I think we thought it was a get right game
and then we had what was a sluggish, odd game
that turned into pure chaos by the end of it.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Yeah, when you when you look at the score and
you see what thirty six twenty eight the final score,
thirty four.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
To twenty six, thirty four, brains are scrammed, right.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
You see thirty four to twenty six at the final score,
you think, oh man, this was a shootout, had to
be an awesome game.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
That was not the case.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
It was a It was a sleeper in the in
the first half, three to three at half time. Really
disappointing loss given where we were and where we are
in our season where the Dallas Cowboys are in their season.
But I will say this, going into the game, you know,
you look at the records. We were seven and seven
and four going into that game. Cowboys were three and seven.
(01:19):
You cut, you throw records out of the window anytime
you're dealing with division opponents, things like that because of
crazy things happen. These teams are so familiar with each other.
I knew it would be a lot closer game. It
wouldn't be a lopsided game. But for us to come
away on the other side of a victory and with
(01:40):
the defeat extremely disappointed, it is I'll go.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Through it with you in a moment, but I just
this one feels a little different than the other two,
to be honest, absolutely like absolute Going into the Pittsburgh
Philly week, I think we both knew, and I think
the team is kind of acknowledged like they really could
have used the bye, like they really needed it. They
talked about how they hadn't really practiced as a group
(02:08):
together in weeks. The schedule just did not line up
very well for them. Those are two really good teams
that they were facing, and they were very close to
winning either one of them. But unfortunately they didn't. They
lost by a point to Pittsburgh. And similarly, like this one,
the Philadelphia and got chaotic in the middle of the
fourth quarter in a game that was actually very close
throughout most of it, and unfortunately they were just kind
(02:30):
of owing to it. I think you and I both
were like, they got the mini buye. They look like
they look and feel healthier. They're talking about how they practiced,
and I think that's what's surprising about this that I
think we were expecting a win differently than maybe the
other two, Like I don't ever expect them to lose,
but I knew that that was a real task. The
Pittsburgh in the Philly game, this one felt like, Okay,
(02:53):
we're gonna get right and everything's gonna get back on.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah, you definitely felt that way.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
The man everything was set up for as your playing
at home electric crowd. I mean, the energy of the
stadium was just outstanding. You got a wounded Cowboys team
that had lost five straight games, a lot of backup
there without their starting quarterback. There's two starting guards. One's
(03:22):
a pro bowler and one's an All Pro future Hall
of Famer, top tight end, top tight end, top corner
back Ey a lot of missing a lot of Yeah,
so they're missing a lot of pieces we had the
ten days we were healthier. You mentioned a bye week
and needing a buy and all those things. Prior to
(03:42):
this game, our offensive line was as healthy as it
had been in probably a couple of weeks. Jaden, you
can tell he would look healthier, look refreshed. He wasn't
running like he you know, in the two games prior.
He wasn't running with the same type of gist and
electricity like he was earlier this season. But in that
(04:05):
game he looked like he had fresh landers, look healthier,
and they come away.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
With the defeat. That was a huge loss.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Yeah, So I want to see how they respond one
more game before the bye, another under five hundred team
coming in here, who just won against a division leader.
So you know, take nothing for granted. I think that's certainly,
certainly you know what one of the lessons learned this week.
And I think to your point about this rivalry, there's
so many examples both sides where the team that did
(04:40):
not look like was going to win that day did,
like a one in fifteen Dallas team beat a Super
Bowl Redskins team in the past, a replacement team of
Redskins players went to Dallas and beat a team where
all their players crossed the picket line Clint Longley for
the old people on Thanksgiving the blocked by Troy Vincent.
(05:01):
That game was wild. So there's a million examples of this,
but this one, it doesn't change the fact that this
one really hurts.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Really hurts.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
And we'll dig into why we came out on the
side of defeat because there is a lot of things
that happened, especially in the first half of that ball game,
to where that game could have been over at halftimect.
You give the Dallas Cowboys, a team that, as I mentioned,
coming in wounded on a four game losing, five game
(05:34):
losing streak. There was enough things that we could have
done to have them pack it in at halftime. But
we then take advantage of a lot of opportunities, a
lot of great field position, and when you look at
it and when.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
You up peel it back, we had nobody to blame
but us.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
I agree like the Dallas coming in not only was
on the losing streak, but with all the differfferent players
and all the different replacements that were happening. They had
like comedy of errors in the games leading into us.
And actually, if you watched the Philly game was actually
close until halftime and then it spiraled. And the Houston game,
(06:15):
Houston game got up on them, but they hung around
and then it spiraled. It was these kind of laughable
turnovers that kind of flipped the game upside down on them.
That stuff happened early in this game. On them. They
go down the field. I want to credit the special
teams early. They blocked the field goal, gave Washington great
field position. Washington kicks a field goal. Could they have
(06:38):
done better there, sure, but they cashed in on it,
cashed in. Dallas gets the ball back, goes down the
field again, hits the upright. You caught break number two.
Decent field position, and this is where I think you're
getting to your point. Washington needed to get a lead,
sustain a lead, and I think Dallas would have pass in
(07:00):
and going home. But that's not the game they ended
up in.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Yeah, that was.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
You mentioned the block field goal, get extra get excellent
field goal positions.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, you would love to get seven. Didn't get seven.
We got three.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
So momentums in our favor, and it was after Dallas
started the game off moving the football against us moving
then we you know, we we buckled down in the
red area or tightened down a.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Little bit as you know, higher high red area, or as.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
They got closer to our end zone, we're able to
force that field goal block field goal, which was outstanding
scheme by special teams coach Larry Izzo, outstanding execution.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
By Kwan Martin and Michael Walker.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Knowing seeing some things on tape that the Cowboys showed
how we can we can get get some penetration and
being able to get that block and setting us up
in great field position.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Dallas. The missfield goal you mentioned, it.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Was the one, the one that really out to me
that we didn't take advantage of Bobby Wagner and Johnny Newton.
They forced a fumble. Yep, excellent field goal, I mean
excellent field position.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Again, this was after Washington had missed after.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Miss, after we missed the fifty one yard after we
decided not to go for it on fourth and two.
We can get into that, you know, we can get
into that as well, mister field goal, I mean we
get the fumble. We went three plays in an hour yep,
that right there, you're able to get points. So let's
(08:34):
say we get three, we get seven, I mean you're
up six zero, six nothing or potentially ten nothing for
a team that has lost five in a row.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
They're they're like, you know what, same old story.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Let's let's just get out of DC healthy, you know,
and move on to the Thanksgiving Day. But when we
didn't take advantage of those those opportunities, you let a
team that's struggling, you let them stick around, hole, stand
in the game, stay in the game, stay in the game.
Right before the half, we're up three nothing, give up
(09:12):
an explosive play to the Cowboys against double coverage, and
you know this, this is what happened. Give up an
explosive play. Now instead of being up three nothing at halftime,
they kidd a kick a field goal. It's a three
to three game. The that first half could have been
(09:34):
totally different, totally different. Let them stick around, let a
bad team get confidence, and we lose the game.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
So the game's three three. Dallas had a block field
goal and missed field goal of fumble and a block punt.
Yeah it's three three. This game wasn't lost late, it
was lost early. It was lost early. Absolutely one hundred
percent agree with that. Hundred percent agree. So I want
to go back to what you mentioned, the decision to
(10:05):
not go for it on a fourth and two when
they tried a fifty one yard field goal. Austin Seibert
had missed a couple of weeks with the hittory A what.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Yard line where we are on a thirty.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Thirty four yard They'd been aggressive in the past with
going for it on these fourth and shorts. I believe
they threw on the third and I remember.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Surprised.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
I was a little surprised by that. I mean, this
is a team that's run the ball very effectively this year.
It's a bad run defense. If you are thinking four
down territory and they've been a very aggressive team, you
would have thought run on third down. But whatever, that's
just second guessing and right to not go either way.
I think you were surprised that was a long field goal,
that was not a chip shot field goal. To not
(10:52):
go for it on fourth and two, what did you
make of that?
Speaker 2 (10:55):
I was surprised. But then.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
When anytime you have a sitch situation where you're thirty
two and you throw the football, maybe you're thinking, hey,
this is four down territory. You've told the offensive coordinator, hey,
you got two downs to pick up the first down.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Obviously that wasn't the case.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
I don't Coach Quinney mentioned going into the game they
felt like, hey, this is this is kind of the
target area for for Cyber. We feel pretty good about
him kicking you know, fifty one fifty two yard field goal. Still, yeah,
again as aggressive as as we had been I think
leading to the going into the game we were eleven
(11:36):
for thirteen for fourth thousand.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
I mean one of the non conversions was the famous
bad spot on zach Ertz against Pittsburgh NAT conversion.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
To right and then one of Philadelphia, which.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
That's the one where I wanted him to.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Hey, so that that's probably like, Man, I can't win
for losing what you guys, But I'll say this. I'll
say that you're never gonna make us happy, But I'll
say this, how much of what part of the b
Rob injury played a part in not running the football
in that scenario on third and two, Dallas is are.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Run offense has not been you know, up to snuff.
It wasn't.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
It wasn't what we were growing accustomer from the running
backs the last several games. In that game, Jaden was
the leading rusher seven rushs seven carriage for seventy four yards.
The running backs they didn't have a lot of success,
be Rob getting injured, so you don't have him at
full strength. Did they feel comfortable enough running the football
(12:50):
on that third and two? You don't get it. That's
why you throw it and in at fourth and two?
Are we gonna run it again? Or you know, do
we have a play down up that we gotta have
and we can convert. I think we need to talk
about the offense here, just in general.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
At this point, So Dallas, I thought it was a
little overrated the way people were talking about their defense
coming in as it being really poor, like as previously mentioned,
like they have a lot of injuries, and if you
watch them, they'd actually been very competitive, extremely but these
turnovers by their offense was spiraling games on them, and
(13:29):
all of a sudden, the score looks really bad. Meantime,
their defense, Micah Parsons looks like Michaeh Parsons. Like the
last few weeks, he looks like Micah Parsons. This guy
overshown has really started to flash for them. They've gotten better.
This is about our offense, not them, really. And I'll
tell you the thing that really stood out to me was,
(13:51):
and this is a trend. Do we start talking about
this few weeks ago the Giants, who actually don't bring
a lot of pressure packages did against Washington. Pittsburgh, who
does it bring up a lot of pressure packages did
against Washington. Philadelphia not as much, but we're winning with
four and Jalen Carter Dallas not surprised, but they brought
(14:13):
sometimes six, not just five, six free rushers coming off
the opposite Edgeward Parsons was where all the help's going
to be. Jayden was vacating and all of a sudden
there were corners waiting for him. This is troublesome, Like
what's going on with the offense is It's clearly this
(14:34):
is more than a trend. These teams are bringing pressure
packages consistently, often because Washington has not had answers for
them over the last few weeks.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Yeah. No, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
And when you're game planning for a particular opponent, whether
you're game planing, you put your defensive game plan and
you're putt your offensive game planning and you're watching let's
call it the previous four games, and you're looking at
things that have caused that opponent problems, and as you
(15:04):
deal with us in our offense, something that has caused
us problems, especially lately has been teams bringing you know,
five six rushers the extra rusher, and we haven't been
able to have answers to those to that pressure, whether
it be wide receivers now you know, guy's not getting
open quick enough, the protection not being exactly what it
(15:28):
needs to be, whether it's you know, the protection going
the wrong way, you guys losing their blocks, losing one
on one matchups. There's been an accumulation of a lot
of different things. It's not one thing that when you're
not performing well, it's that you just can't pinpoint and say, hey,
this is it, because if it was, we can fix that.
(15:51):
Hey we gotta we got to get somebody in there differently,
or this is you know, how we how we combat
what they're doing.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
There was also so the pressure practice.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
The Dallas they blitzed seventeen times out of the forty
four pass attempts, seventeen and probably it would have been
higher except late in the game they were playing a
little bit will not prevent defense, but they were playing
a little bit safer defense on the back end covers
keeping wanting to keep everything in front of in front
(16:22):
of them Seventeen times out of forty five, that is
a high value of pressure practice. It was almost thirty
nine percent for a team that coming into that game
they were more about thirty one percent.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Yep, blitz blitz Ray So yes, because they have.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
A star pass rusher on one side who wins more
than anybody but one other player in the NFL. He
gets a pressure rate of like twenty one percent on
his own. They don't need to do this is often.
But this is why it goes back to the Giants
didn't do it like this. Pittsburgh didn't do it like this.
Now Dallas didn't do it like this. All of a sudden,
they're looking at Washington. Guess what this is on Washington
(16:59):
to figure out answer to this.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
That's what Brown.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
Tennessee's probably gonna do it like that, And I don't
I even looked at Tennessee. I don't know what they
what they're blitz rate is prior to this game. If
it's high, it's gonna stay high and may even go
higher and if it's low, they're gonna they're gonna bring it.
I'll say this is about partss man. The thing that
Dallas does great with him, and we do some of
this with Frankie, is they put him, Oh, they move
(17:25):
him around on the line of scrimmage. You can't you
just don't see him lined up against tackles where you
can chip him with a running back, chip him with
a tight end, where you constantly know where he's at.
They put him up over, They'll put him over guards,
both guards, and he caused problems with both of our guards.
He they'll rush him up through the a gaps. He
(17:47):
was a nightmare scenario because of his quickness, his speed.
You know, you're not used to that type of speed
coming at you from from the that that interior pass
rusher and he even when we didn't get sacks and
they and you know Dallas got four. The amount of
pressure that he was able to generate. Guys may have
(18:10):
been open, but Jaden didn't have time to stand in
the pocket and you know find those open guys because
of the amount of pressure that him in particular, what's
causing him being parsonals.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
I want to go back to this one thing that
just became noticeable with the pressure packages where Jaden leaves
the pocket quickly. Yeah, listen, they're outnumbered. There was a
couple of times free rushers were coming at him. So
he makes the right decision. He leaves and he goes
to his right. There's been a tendency for him. All
of a sudden, here they are bringing five or six.
Why is that cornerback not covering anybody. He's standing there
(18:44):
waiting for him.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
They were man.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
Probably fire zones or trap cover So you know, there's
teams where you can bring five, there's coverages where pressures
where you can bring five, and you can play trap
coverage and what not. Being mean by trap coverage, you'll
have your corners playing the flats and.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
You still play too deep underneath.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
They're trapping any like outside, breaking white, any quick throws,
things like that.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
So that's a trap coverage.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
It's a fire zone mentality, bring pressure, play zone behind
it got vision on the quarterback, so you got guys
in position to make make plays on the football. If
the balls in the air, you don't have to worry about,
you know, having to play a lot of man and
man coverage. Things like that now that he also did
play a lot of man and man coverage too, and
(19:35):
we didn't win consistently enough in those situations either.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Yes, so, all right, so this isn't a different tendency
because these defensive backs were waiting for him leave the
pocket and run to that right side. They were literally
this is the difference from what we saw at the
beginning of the year, where he'd vacate all this open
grass in front of him and he makes this play.
That's not what Dallas did yesterday. These guys were up
(20:01):
on the line of scrimmage almost inviting him to run
over to them.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
It's a great scheme, great great defensive game played by
Mike Zammer. He's you know, he's one of the great
defensive coordinators in this game, and he has been for
a number of years. And it's smart by him because
think about how Jaden has heard a lot of teams
who have pressured us in the past. You bring pressure,
he escapes, he finds a crease, and you got everybody
(20:26):
playing man and man. Their eyes their back is to
the quarterback and he's running for thirty forty fifty yards
or whatever the case may be. What's the way to
combat that or good, you know, change up, bring pressure,
plays all behind it smart.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
So let's talk about the receivers then, because let's go
back to they need to win a little bit more
one on one. Let me just start with Terry McLaury.
So he has one hundred yard game. Eighty six comes
on the play at the end of the game, right,
So three catches fifteen yards off of what happened in Philadelphia,
one catch, ten yards, whatever it was, It's just not
going to cut it for the number one receiver on
(21:02):
the team. Dallas, on the other hand, I hate to
do the comparison, but they're missing primary targets. Jake Ferguson's
not playing, Brandon Cooks isn't playing. Their running game is
not something that scares people. Cede Lamb's the player you
need to remove, but teams can't do that against him.
They move him around here. He has as many targets
in the slot as he does on the outside. He's
(21:23):
got thirteen, fourteen, fifteen carries this year. I'm not saying
make Terry Cede Lamb, but the point is Dallas seems
to try to find an active way to get the
ball in his hands as often as possible. And that's
not happening here for Terry McLaurin.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
That's not there.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
That's not our schame, our system, And I don't know
how much of it, you know as a byproduct of
us using the no huddle so much so you don't
want you want to be able to get to the
line of scrimmage as quick as possible. So that's why
you know Terry primarily lines up on the left side
of the of the football field. You know he's because
they want to go fast. Hey, run your route, get
(21:58):
lined up. Do it again. Now, if there are there times,
could you add more to Terry's up plate and bring
him in the slot more, put him in motion, do
some different things on the on the eighty six yard touchdown,
first time he lined up to the right side, they
ran a will wheel route from him. He lined up
(22:18):
inside and ran that wheel against a Cover three defense
against the Cowboys, and they find a find a shot.
So you have to there has to be some adjustments
made to where Terry's two goods only have three catches
for fifteen yards and going in the fourth quarter. That's
(22:41):
I mean you talk about go back to the game
against Philadelphia, quiny Mitchell good good ricky cornerback, but he
ain't good enough to hold Tel the one catch for
ten yards. Well, he needs to be tested here testing,
so you know that that has to be And I
know they'll go to self scout during the bye week,
(23:03):
but these is like, that's figured out ways to get
Terry the football more often, get him engaged defense. If
you see if we going and we see that you
are making a concerted effort to get him the ball.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Now we have to adjust. Now we have to change
some things out.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Now that's going to open up opportunities for the other
guys because now they're like, hey, where's Terry at Terry's
Terry's line up to the right side.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Now, Terry's in the slot, Terry's.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Going in motion, Terry's in the backfield, you know, running
Texas rols. I mean, ceedee Lamb lined up at every
single position in that field yesterday and he has all year. Yeah,
and they run a jet sweeps with it. They're getting
him the football and the multitude of ways.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
I mean, interestingly, go look at his stats. It was
like seven catchers for forty yards. He didn't have any big,
huge impact plays, but the point is he's a focal
point of their offense. They naked a focal point. They
move him around consistently, and.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
He had nine He had nine targets in the first
half the trade and how many catchs. I knew he
had five or six to what probably eleven two touches
to reverses in the first half if memory searched me correctly.
He finished with thirteen targets in that game. And that
actually was a down game for I said on the
(24:29):
booth on the on the broadcast, I say, I thought
he was going to have eighteen to twenty targets, yes,
in that game. And they you know, they end up
getting their run game going, so that probably you know,
they didn't have to throw it to him as much.
And you know, so tight End also made a few
plays here and there for them. So yeah, credit to
them and their creativity. I know this is our system,
(24:51):
but just from my perspective as a defensive guy, when
we have to account for a guy being in a
bunch of differ so we used to call it. Speaking
of Dallas when we played the Cowboys, we would always
wonder where's Witt, You say, where's Waldough? So to speak,
like where's Waldough, Like you needed to know where he's
(25:14):
lined up because that will dictate, you know, coverage adjustments,
all those types of things.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
All, Right, secondary targets, we haven't seen much with Alami
DA's a kiss. We haven't seen almost anything with Luke McCaffrey,
at least target wise, it's been very minimal over the
last few weeks. So I know they hit Diami Brown
for a couple of shots yesterday. He's been targeted a
couple of times. Noah Brown's become the number two target
at least as a wide receiver relatively consistent. Yes, he did.
(25:46):
But like this goes back to the larger point of Okay,
like if this is what teams are going to do,
it's become consistent that this is what they're going to do.
What are the answers? And I don't know that it's
those secondary targets, but I do know they're not really
finding much room or much space in the game plan
as it is right now.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Yeah, it's you know, you talked about the teams pressure
more than they have in the past, and some teams
playing man and man, some teams playing a little zone.
You know, Dallas played a lot of his own against it. Yes, today,
but part of part of bringing pressure. If you're bringing five,
you're bringing six. Especially if you're bringing six, you're bringing six,
(26:26):
you're playing man and man on the on the back end,
like it's it's man and man across the board. Do
you feel like their receivers can beat you win one
on one matchups and defensive coordinators are saying, hey, we
don't we feel like over you know, in the course
(26:47):
of a game for four quarters, they're not going to
win consistent enough to keep us and prevent us from
bringing a bunch of five six man pressures where we're
having to play man and man behind it. That's just
the reality. That's how defensive stink. That's how defensive coordinators think.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Can they win?
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Do they have to represent requisite talent at these positions
to win? Now, guys may have won, but again, quarterback
may not have had enough time, the pressure may have
gotten to him.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
So yeah, guys open.
Speaker 3 (27:20):
There was a time where Jack Hurts got he got
opened on one of the one of the blisters that
the Dallas brought, but Jaden didn't have enough time. He
had to bail on the pocket before like he was
wide open and he had to he had to vacate.
So that's that's that's also a part of if you
(27:41):
move Terry around, motioning him, lining them up in different places,
doing different things to where now, as a defense, we
going to this game saying Terry McCain is their number
one guy on offense, that we gotta stop you getting
matched up against a lot you you know, just just
(28:02):
pre staff. You'll think somewhere flashed like from a defense light,
Oh shoot, why is he right here? What's the adjustment
we got to make? That's called free Other guys, though, how.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
About the running game, which I've obviously we're very concerned
about this week. Brian Robinson hurt his ankle, didn't play
in the second half. Austin Ekeler, that was scary play
at the end of the game, and I just hope
he's okay at this point. But overall, the run game,
to your point, has not been nearly as effective. And granted,
(28:34):
the week after week two hundred yard rushing days, we're
probably not going to continue like that. Had to kind
of come back to earth a little bit like that
was extraordinary what was happening early in the season, especially
on the ground, But this one isn't that anymore? So
what are you seeing with the run game right now?
Speaker 3 (28:53):
I think the games against the Steelers and the Eagles
you can attribute to struggles to the the run game.
First one, b Rod missed the game against the Steelers,
so you don't have him.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
That's a health issue.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
But then also our offensive line had been healthy, like
we had well it was wildly missing the game because
of injury. Brandon Coleman has been dealing with injuries, you know,
Beiadis has been dealing with.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
I think three different injuries.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
So the health of the offensive line and b Rob
missing the game against the Steelers, I think that was
a part of.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
The run game. And also Jade not being being.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
Healthy part of our oppotent offense and what really opens
up the running game for the running backs. This is
the threat that you have to worry about Jaden keeping
that football If you know that, you know, especially when
you're running the reaid options and that defensive end has
a decision to make, Hey, I can't crash down because
(29:53):
Jaden may pull that and take off around the edge. Well, Steelers,
they had a great grain plan, not no b robbing
that game. Our again, their game plan was to force
Jayden and had the ball off tj Y Heigh Smiths.
All those guys they were they weren't doing anything, they
weren't reading anything. They was going directly at Jayde like
(30:14):
you're gonna have this ball off and we'll deal with
your running backs.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Not having b Rob being in there, big back.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
Falling four for three, four extra yards, putting you in,
keeping you ahead of the change where instead of being
in second and seven, you're in second and five, you're
in second and four. So in that game that that
definitely hurt you. Jalen Carter was the boster of that
game was against us, and offensive line was health. The
game against the Cowboys, we were fairly healthy from the
(30:46):
offensive line. We had we had ten days off. Dallas
defensive front they just they they want them, they wanted
they wanted the trenches.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Oh Diggy Zoo had a terrific game against them. Partial
is a monster to deal Bobby Smith.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
They won.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
They they want the trenches, and you know that was
that's that was disappointed. That was disappointed, especially you mentioned
the Cowboys being well giving up one hundred and fifty
on the ground.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
That's the one thing that carried over like they like
They were a turnover machine with Dan Quinn and Joe
Witt very good pass defense. He was, you know, throwing
against them with either whether it was Deron Bland or
Trayvon Diggs breaking records, you know. But you could run
the ball on them, like over the last couple of years,
you could run the ball on them, and that's been
a carry over here. Now they're marginalized with the people missing.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
And let me let me ask you this, Brown, how
much do you think b Rob getting injured in that
game early changed the mindset of you know, hey, we're
going to go into this game wanting to run the
football on Dallas.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
But now maybe a pivot.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
I mean, I think only Cliff can answer that really,
but maybe that that is part of it. And then
but then all of a sudden, you're just kind of
leading into what has become the issue that they have
if you're going to become pass heavy. The teams are
bringing this pressure packages and Washington doesn't have answers for
them yet. The other part of the field, it seems
(32:15):
interesting to me, and we'll get to the second half
because there was a you know, the fumble was a
big turning point in the middle of the field is
they don't seem to be exploiting the middle of the
field the way that they were early in the season.
In fact, when you see pass plays, not only was
Dallas waiting for Jaden to run to certain spots, but
he had to kind of feather a couple of throws.
One went over zach Ertz's head, but he was thrown
(32:37):
between three Cowboys jerseys. So they're waiting for balls at
around the numbers or outside the numbers, which also reads
to me they don't expect Washington to try much in
the middle of the field, and so there's an adjustment
there too that the middle of the field's being vacated
by the defense because they don't see a tendency of
Washington to use the field that way.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
And those teams, you know, you get your hit charts
of where the balls are going, where the targets are going.
I'm sure if you look at our hit chart over
the last few games, it's gonna be a whole lot
of you know, targets outside the hashes, even outside the numbers,
things like that.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Going back to the run game, and.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
Now we'll say this, in the second half, the start
of the third quarter, they went heavy tight end personnel,
three tight ends, thirteen personnel.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
Some people call it tray. They run the football, end
up scoring a touchdown. Yep, they ran the ball a
little bit more in the second half. Is that something
that you got to look forward look at, you know,
moving forward, like, you know what, Hey, we're gonna have
(33:51):
to get in bigger personnel, get in three tight ends ats.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
Yeah, we don't know what they have. Health of our
running backs gonna be this week with Eckler b rob
you know, I can imagine you know, I don't know,
maybe trying to sign Chris Rodriguez Bak or some other
back Michael Wiley. See, yeah, you know, so that's yet
to be remindined to be seen. But you have to
(34:16):
You can't just ask Jayden to in this office to
throw a forty five times. It's just not that's not
our rest bill. Yeah, that's not our recipe for success.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
I mean at the end of the camp, I think
we talked about this a lot ago. Look at the
profile of the team and the personnelity team. They're actually
very physical receivers on the outside. They're a run team.
Like realistically they're a run They're a fifty to fifty
run team, and when they have been they've actually been
very successful. Like earlier in the season when they were
like at about a fifty to fifty clip and they
(34:48):
were rushing the ball really effectively, they were getting about
five point eight yards per play, which was among best
in the NFL. Last few weeks, they've either gotten away
from it or haven't run the ball as effect or
maybe yesterday maybe got a little too far away from
it with the b Rob injury. They're around four yards
per play. It is a massive difference in time of possession,
(35:09):
in extending drives, in how many times you're gonna punt,
in how many third and long situations you're in. So
there's been a shift here. Yeah, and another thing about
the run game. A lot of times it's more about
the volume too. And yeah, you want to be you
want to get four four yards a clip, but that
doesn't always happen.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
One thing about the run game is, especially from.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
When you got volume, it wears a defense now, especially
a defense that wants to pass rush.
Speaker 2 (35:39):
That was Cowboys.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
You look at Okay, how did they get to what
three and seven coming into this to this game. Part
of it is the Cowboys are built to play with
the lead. From a defensive standpoint, they want to pin
their areas back rush to pass her.
Speaker 2 (35:58):
That's why they we But their offense was hurting them.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
They were turning the ball over at a high clip
twenty twenty turnovers coming into that game most of the time.
For most of the NFL, they weren't able to play
with the lead. So now teams can run the football,
run the football. Running football teams are running for rushing
the ball thirty forty times against them, and that would
wear a defense down. That's gonna slow down your pass rush.
(36:22):
That's going to allow you to play action pass. Play
action pass is not just about getting linebackers and safeties
to suck up for the run and creating windows over
the middle of the field and.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
On the second level.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
It's also to slow down the pass rush because as
a defensive end or defensive tackle, I put that ball
in that running backs belly. You have to You can't
be running up the field thinking it's a pass. You
have to slow it down and then all of a
sudden I pull it. That allows you know, another second
(36:57):
for your receivers to get downfield. Allowed shots take place
deep over to develop down a field. So that's why
you need you need a higher volume, higher amount of runs,
even if you're not per se getting four yards of clip.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
You know, I know that the staff likes the idea
of fifty five what they would call successful plays, which
is either rushes or completions, and that's balanced. Yesterday at
halftime they'd only run thirty plays. They had the ball
six times, but they only ran thirty plays. So do
the math on that and how successful the drives were
(37:33):
and how often they controlled the clock, Like, that's not
a recipe to getting where they need to be.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
It's not. It's not.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
And you know when you when they look at the film,
they'll say, Okay, why why did we only have thirty plays?
It's a execution here, it's a not sustaining a block here,
not you know, being off target maybe on a on
a rough play. There was a couple of times where,
especially on the Rose to zach Ertz down the field
(38:04):
where Jaden I think felt like Jack was gonna keep
it higher and more run more of a kind of
a corner route, and Zach read it coming a little
bit flatter, So that say, you know, maybe them not
seeing it the same way, and so that's that's something
I don't I don't know the answer to in terms
of what what they're telling those guys, But it was
(38:26):
a couple where they just weren't on the same page totally.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Because there were big plays to be had there.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
But one guy may have read it, you know, run
ham'm and be a little bit flatter. You know, Jade's thinking, hey,
take it a little bit higher, take it, take it
a little bit, you know, come out a little bit
higher on your route.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
And it didn't happen.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
So they came out in the second half, they scored
the touchdown, missed the extra point, Dallas turned around and
walked down the field. That was the jail and Tolbert
touchdown pass, got the lead back, then kicked a field goal,
and then what I think was the turning point. Turning
point was the Bates fumble, Like in the middle of
the field on that play, going back to they hadn't
really done a lot in the middle of the field.
(39:05):
They finally found something the offense had really in the
second half had really kind of turned a corner and
we removing the ball. Yeah, that fumble was tough. The
touchdown on the other end was blown coverage. With scoon Maker.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
Right.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
I've seen that a couple of times now in the
past few weeks as well. Suddenly it was twenty to nine.
It had spiraled in Philadelphia and the team wasn't able
to recover from it. In this case, this was different.
I will give them credit here. They turned around and
walked back down the field and scored again.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Yeah, and you mentioned the fumble.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
You know, up to that time, it was a one
score game the whole time, you know, the mainly a
field goal game. That was when up thirteen to nine,
they had just got a field goal, it's what eight
minutes eleven seconds left. It was a nice play call
that the that cliff and offense died up. Actually, it
(39:59):
was a play that Dallas hurt us with earlier in
the game where they faked a toss and uh, the
tight end school Maker got got down the field and
they had a big play. So, hey, what do we do.
We had that in our game plan. Faked the toss,
hit base down the field. And I'll say this that
that kid think was Donovan Wilson. Yeah, he's he made
(40:21):
He made an outstanding play. He made an outstanding play
punching that ball out of a base's hand like he had.
Speaker 2 (40:27):
He had it, you know, covered up.
Speaker 3 (40:29):
He didn't have two hands on it, but he had
a tight close to his body and he's running. And
Donovan Wilson did he He he make a made a
heck of a play, punched that ball out.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
He and overshown have been terrific. Wilson's been tremendous in
these kind of like he fills holes. He's a sneaky blitzer.
They used him in a lot of really good ways.
He made this play reminded me when Kwan hit the
ball out on Dallas Goddard the week before. Had we
fallen on that right, even a different outcome in Philadelphia,
had we gotten the baseball back in some way, might
(41:03):
have been a different outcome again.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
And the thing was we because of the formation to play,
we didn't have a lot of our guys around bas
around the fumble. Dallas had I think maybe three guys
around it, where you know, we just had baits yep.
Speaker 1 (41:17):
So so Dallas scores that touchdown. I felt like, and
this is where things went crazy. Right now we get
to crazy chaos, right, chaos town, like crazy town. Maybe
the most unusual fourth quarter I can remember that this
rivalry has ever had. I don't remember anything like this
that went from there. Washington goes down the field, gets
(41:38):
the Ertz touchdown, gets two point conversion. Right, nakes to
twenty to seventeen games completely.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Back that two point conversion we got to talk about.
Speaker 1 (41:46):
That two point conversion was terrific.
Speaker 2 (41:47):
That was a terrific that play call, Well, you fake.
Speaker 3 (41:51):
This z an read and then Eckler serves as a
lead blocker around the edge, and that was great blocking
on that play. I think Erz had a Earth had
an outstanding block to to seal to seal that edge,
and and then Eckler coming around the edge.
Speaker 2 (42:08):
That was an our stand name.
Speaker 3 (42:09):
Yeah, play call for a two point conversion, got us,
got us within three.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
Got us within three.
Speaker 2 (42:15):
Then what happened?
Speaker 1 (42:16):
Right, But at this point, like okay, things looked lost.
Now it's back in play. They'd scored two touchdowns and
Baits had a fumble. They were removing the ball in
that drive two, so I'm like, just get the ball back,
just get the ball back.
Speaker 2 (42:32):
To two timeouts. Yeah, and added two minute warner.
Speaker 1 (42:36):
Cavante Turpin made a play that was straight out of Madden.
Speaker 3 (42:42):
He made what's the what's the button you pressed to
the B button? That's the spin move. That's the spin move.
How do you know you play mad?
Speaker 1 (42:48):
I saw it on Twitter yesterday. My son plays Madden.
I didn't pay you as a bad guy, and a
million people put B buttons. Okay, okay, that was, first
of all, singularly one of the most incredible kickoff returns
I've ever seen. Unfortunately happened to Washington. There are two
(43:08):
things here. The coaches will tell you they did exactly
what they wanted. They kicked what they called the dirty ball.
He fumbled it at the goal line. He's set up
to be tackled inside the ten. It's exactly what you want.
But you could also argue, never kick to this person.
He's the best kick returner in the NFL, has been
for a couple of years. Number one in kick returns,
(43:31):
number two in punt returns. He's a dangerous, dangerous player,
and at that juncture of the game, they got burned
for putting it in his hands.
Speaker 3 (43:39):
I understand and thinking and why they kicked the way
they kicked that ball. And I even said, I even
said dirty ball, kick before before the kick was made.
The reason I said that kicking the dirty ball is
because because you're in a field position game at that point,
you want to so went, hey, we're gonna kick it,
(44:01):
hopefully tackle him inside the twenty we have we still
want to play the field position game. Because we got
two timeouts, two minut and one. All those types of
things forced Dallas to kick.
Speaker 2 (44:13):
The ball back to us.
Speaker 3 (44:15):
We're in great position to either tie with the field
goal or get a go ahead score or something like that.
I didn't have a problem at all kicking the ball too,
and we ain't kicked them too. We didn't kick the
ball to him the whole game.
Speaker 2 (44:30):
We tackled him. Tackling them.
Speaker 3 (44:31):
Well what happens sometimes though with the fumble. The fumble
actually him fumbling the ball worked in his favor because
now you can get guys can get a little bit
out of their lanes.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
And they didn't get out of their lanes.
Speaker 3 (44:43):
So to speak, until he fumbled and he starts and
then he makes that spind move and Jeremy Reeves, he
you know, he talked about how that was his play
to be made, and I mean, you know, it was
a that was a tremendous play by the kid.
Speaker 2 (44:57):
It was we did a.
Speaker 3 (44:59):
Couple guys, you know, didn't necessarily fish the ball carrier
like you want to. You want to have, you know,
two guys, one on his outside shoulder and the other
on his other shoulder and let's squeeze him and make
the tackle.
Speaker 2 (45:14):
There was potential blocking the back that that wasn't called.
Speaker 3 (45:17):
But you know that's you don't want to have the
officials be the ones to determine how to come to games.
So I mean, he made it. He made a heck
of a play, like Jeremy Reeves. This this man, I
know he's beating himself up, but there he's a dog
on special teams.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
That that that guy does it all.
Speaker 3 (45:35):
I mean, it's it's to try to tackle turping in
space like that. And you know he was, he was
on the right proper shoulder. He was exactly where he
needed to be. He was going to make make his playing.
The kid just hit the B button.
Speaker 1 (45:48):
He's one of the best kick returners of the last
ten years. It's been in this way with him. He's
a dangerous player. So the game was over, we thought
at that point, I mean, the airs out of the building,
the game's over. So I want to give them credit.
They walked down the field, did the right thing, got
points on the board, got a fifty one yard field goal.
(46:11):
I felt like they should have moved a little closer
at the time, but whatever, they got it right.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Tom was Tom was too Tom was more important than
it was.
Speaker 1 (46:18):
One forty something on the grime.
Speaker 2 (46:21):
We only had two time outs.
Speaker 1 (46:23):
You got it, you gotta so they had to get
the points on the board.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
You got to get the points on the board because
you don't want you want to get the ball back
as quick as possible.
Speaker 2 (46:29):
So give them credit.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
They got down the field fast, they got the points
on the board. They had enough time. If they got
a three and out to get a punt, they were
gonna need a miracle. They got the three and out,
they got the punt. Anger's punt was good, you know.
So it forced them in a really tough situation. And
then Dallas, they're the ones we might be shaking our
heads about the turpin play. Their defensive backs are shaking
(46:51):
their heads about where in the world they were, because
while that was a great ball like throwing catch, he
should have been tackled at the fifty. The fact that
he got by four players and then hit the gas
like Turpin. He ran faster than I've ever seen him run.
He was gone, and then all of a sudden, We're
in the biggest upside down game I've ever been a
part of.
Speaker 3 (47:10):
So not my question is, what's the button you hit
when you want more speed than Madden?
Speaker 2 (47:16):
Is that the X button? Or is that the nobody
here plays mad? So we don't know there's a button?
Speaker 3 (47:22):
You outing me, I don't, I don't play. I'm out
of myself too. I don't even know I should know this.
There's a button you hit to accelerate. I think it's
the X button. Maybe I'm wrong. You guys can chime in.
Somebody hit that X. But Terry hit the X button.
And there was a point where he just like he
took off, took off. And as I'm watching it, I'm
(47:47):
not saying anything. You're doing a great job calling it too.
I'm just like, oh my goodness, what are we watching him?
He is about to score this.
Speaker 1 (47:56):
This has been the most unusual season I think we've
been a part of by far, and one of the
most incredible ones. You know, to have the honor of
calling these games. I know this didn't end up right,
but that was the last five minutes were simply unbelievable
and incredible. Yes, and the plays that were made by
(48:19):
these players were stunning. The Turpen one was stunning, the
Terry one was stunning. The ability of this offense to
never quit, to see Jaden make another throw when it
has to be made, and he's cool, calm, collected through
all of it. That was a perfect play. I know
(48:39):
it wasn't intended to do what it did, but it did.
But he still had to make the throw to do it.
He was unrattled by it. That was shocking, like utterly,
completely shocking and amazing. And what I can't believe that
we're sitting here talking about is it's a footnote because
(49:01):
it didn't end up tying the game, which I cannot
believe that after that happened, it becomes just another play.
It truly. That was I think the hardest. It was
so hard to walk out of that stadium knowing that
(49:21):
that happened but it didn't do what it was intended
to do, which was be a miracle. Yeah, it's hard
to take.
Speaker 2 (49:31):
Yeah, no, it really was.
Speaker 3 (49:33):
And you know, they the momentum shift you talk about,
the the highest of highs when when Terry you know,
gets into the end zone on an eighty six yard touchdown,
and and then the low of lows when the extrappoints
meents like just the all the air left the stadium.
Speaker 1 (49:52):
Yeah, and the game was over until they were turning
on sidekick for a touchdown, which Logan said, this is
the best case scenario. We actually get another shot, yep,
And they'd already had one. Hail Mary, Hail Terry, Yep,
let's have one more. And I'm sitting there going I
(50:12):
don't think my voice is gonna handle it.
Speaker 3 (50:16):
But but you're also thinking, like, do you not believe
that they're gonna do it?
Speaker 2 (50:23):
I do.
Speaker 3 (50:24):
We were just showing at a fifty yard line. I
can't remember the exact yard line.
Speaker 2 (50:29):
You're thinking, hey, we still got a chance.
Speaker 1 (50:32):
Yeah, any other team in any other year I would
look at this and go, well, that was that was incredible.
But it's not gonna happen, not this one. They'd already
done it once thirty seconds ago. They'd already done it
a second time six weeks ago. Like I put nothing
past them anymore.
Speaker 2 (50:49):
Nothing pasted him. I will say this though.
Speaker 3 (50:51):
The Cowboys there their game plan. They're planning to stop
the Hail Mary was much better than the Cago Bears.
Speaker 1 (51:00):
None of the corners were waving in our plum crowd.
Speaker 3 (51:04):
They had, they brought four guys, they came late, so
Jaden was not really able to to get set and
throw throw the football like he needed to. Yeah, so,
I mean it was credit to the Cowboys. Man to
the Cowboys, I.
Speaker 1 (51:19):
Think after Philly, you know, and I think rightly so
at the time it didn't feel this way, but afterwards
I heard the criticism of it wasn't urgent enough when
they were down late and scored and then gave themselves
a chance. That wasn't the case against the Cowboys. This
team came back and back and back and back, and
you know, I know it would have felt like stealing
(51:40):
the win, but they were just about to do it.
And in the end, as you know, don't matter how
you win, and they almost pulled off what would have
been a second miracle this year. And I just I
so hard to sit here and go I can't believe
that play didn't do what I thought it was going
to do for them.
Speaker 2 (52:00):
Yeah it didn't. We got to move on, that's right,
and we got to move on to the Tennessee Titans.
Speaker 1 (52:07):
Last thing, just because I love reliving this, because that
was That's a chapter in this rivalry, Like I never
see anything like that. And well, what do you remember
a boy playing in the Dallas rivalry? Do you got
one that stands out that was weird like that? I
wouldn't say weird like that.
Speaker 3 (52:28):
The one that stands out, you know, it comes to
mind first and foremost is the twenty twelve game seven,
game sixteen of the regular season winner take all in
and for the division that was played at our at
our stadium. That that game, you know, just because everything
is on the line Sunday night football, I mean Alpha
Morris rushed for two hundred yards, I mean our standing
(52:49):
football game. Defensively, we we put in, uh speaking of blitzes,
we put in these these blitzes that Dallas had no
answer for. I mean we had we had Tony Romo
on the tremendous arrests that ball game. I think your
boy got two sacks in that game.
Speaker 2 (53:06):
But yeah, that one comes to my you know, of
that rivalry.
Speaker 1 (53:10):
You weren't here for the one where there was the
block kicked by Troy vill before I ended up with
an extra play and Nick Novak kicked the field goal.
Because that one, that one, that's the only one I
can think of in recent times that was I think
as weird as this one was. At the end.
Speaker 3 (53:25):
I remember the play because it was all over you know,
Sports Center and Sports Cats, whatever the case may be.
But I remember that that that playing I played with
Troy and Buffalo, so you know, he's my friends obviously, Uh,
you know, seeing that play and seeing them seeing that
happened in Sean Sean Taylor recovering and running and then
the face mask penalty that uh, you know, gave us
(53:47):
another fifteen yards. So you know, it's definitely those two
that I got to think about. The the Monday Night
miracle with Santana Moss and the two touchdowns, which the
tann will tell you the offense hadn't done anything in
the game that that entire game.
Speaker 1 (54:05):
I don't think they had one hundred yards of offense in
the fourth quarter when those two plays happened. Yeah, it
was similar where Washington's offense really wasn't doing anything and
then kind of out of blue in the second half.
Wh's lost in this as it kind of woke up
in the second aff. It's unfortunate that the result was
what it was. All Right, one more before the buy Tennessee.
Gonna need it.
Speaker 2 (54:25):
Big game. It is a big game. We gotta get
it done. You know you can.
Speaker 3 (54:28):
You can't go, you know, for loose, for in a row,
three straight at home, that would that would be three
straight at Hall. Right, just got you whatever you gotta
do to get this victory.
Speaker 2 (54:41):
All hands, all deck. Everybody whoever is healthy, gotta suit up,
gotta get this one, all right.
Speaker 1 (54:46):
Look forward to doing it with you next week Northwest Stadium,
Titans Commanders, and we'll talk to you on Monday for
the Booth Review.
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