Oh is the Cowboys Defense Elite? Well Don’t Forget The Eagles is Too
All week all we have heard is that this Cowboys’ defense is elite. And I can’t argue against that. They have been fantastic. Micah Parsons is arguably the best defensive player in the league, and Dan Quinn is still a hell of a defensive coordinator. But what all the conversation about how amazing the Cowboys’ defense is missing, is the Eagles’ defense just as great.
Defense A- 17.6 pts per game, 311.4 yards per game, 20 sacks, 7 takeaways
Defense B- 14.4 pts per game, 294.4 yards per game, 17 sacks, 11 takeaways
Can you really differentiate these two defensive units? One gives up a tiny bit fewer points per game and gets more sacks. The other forces more takeaways and gives up fewer yards. A is the Cowboys, and B is the Eagles. If you look at both of those numbers, you would say those are both incredible defenses.
The Cowboys have faced the Giants (19th in pts), Bucs (19th), Bengals (16th), (Rams (28th), and Commanders (27th). Meanwhile, the Eagles have faced the Lions (3rd), Vikings (12th), Commanders (27th), Jaguars (15th), and Cardinals (18th). Granted the Lions put up points against the Eagles. But other than that, the Eagles have shut down two impressive offenses in the Jaguars and the Vikings. The Cowboys have shut down two offenses that on paper should be great, the Bucs and the Rams. But it also needs to be said that those offenses have struggled all year, and their production does not match their reputation.
The Vikings have one of the best WR rooms in the league. The Eagles shut them down. The defense looked a bit leaky on Sunday vs the Cardinals. But they still kept them to just 17 pts. The Eagles’ defense has allowed only 6 TDs in the last 4 games. They have given up 44 pts on defense in the past 4 games (11 per game). That would be the fewest in the league. The most passing yards they have allowed to any QB is 250 to Kyler Murray. Opposing QBs average a completion percentage of 58.64% against the Eagles’ secondary.
Both of these defenses are elite. You could argue they both are among the top 5 defenses in the league. But it feels like even some people in this town are only thinking about how great the Cowboys’ defense is. And while it is true the Cowboys’ defense is amazing, the Eagles’ defense is just as good. And this week the Eagles’ elite defense gets to face the Cowboys’ offense which is 24th in the league averaging 18.6 pts per game. But the Cowboys have to face the Eagles offense, who average 27 pts per game (5th in the league). I would say that is advantage Eagles.
