Week 11 pits the Las Vegas Raiders against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football, after both teams underwent some changes during the trade deadline. The Raiders were sellers and traded away Jakobi Meyers while the Cowboys were looking to improve their defense, most notably by bringing in defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.
To preview the contest, Silver and Black Pride reached out to our friends at Blogging the Boys, and David Halprin was kind enough to answer some questions about the Cowboys for Raider Nation.
Q: Raiders fans can relate to their team trading its best defensive player and an elite pass-rusher right before the start of the season (a la Khalil Mack in 2018). How has moving on from Micah Parsons impacted the Cowboys defense this year? Also, what has Kenny Clark brought to the team so far?
A: We know it has had a big impact, but its hard to tell how big given just how bad the Dallas defense has been this year. It feels like the defense just cratered on all three levels (front four, linebackers, secondary), and that isnt all on the Parsons trade, but the lack of impact from our front four in the pass rush is certainly an issue.
It has gotten better over the last few weeks as we are starting to get more sacks and significant pressure, but we also dont have the guy who shifts line protections, forces chips, and demands a special offensive game plan. The place we may miss him most is his ability to rush the QB and create turnovers or bad plays quickly. We just dont see much of that.
As for Kenny Clark, hes a good player, and initially it seemed like he helped the run defense some. Lately, his impact has trailed off so much so that we just traded for Quinnen Williams.
Q: On a similar note, what do you expect recently acquired defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to bring to Dallas?
A: Thats the big question. Should the Cowboys have done this? We just dont know yet. The expectation is that no matter what, he is going to be a run-stopper in the middle, something the Cowboys have lacked for a while.
Hes young enough that there shouldnt be any kind of age-related drop-off in the near future, so youd expect at least a plug for a leaky run defense. If he can force double-teams and draw attention away from the pass rushers, that would be an added benefit. If he can actually collapse the pocket, including some pass-rush ability, then the Cowboys will have made the right move.
Q: It seems like Dak Prescott started the year strong but has fizzled over the last two games. Whats been the difference in his play to start the season and more recently? Also, it comes with the territory of being the Cowboys starting quarterback, but it feels like Prescott takes a lot of heat/criticism in the media. Whats the fanbases perception of him?
A: I wouldnt say that there is any one thing you can pick out in Prescotts recent play that would make you say hes not doing this or that. His completion percentage is down, so he may be having some accuracy problems, but the Broncos are a really good defense, so that had some impact. And our pass protection against the Cardinals was really bad, Prescott was on the move a lot and never got comfortable. We also have had issues in the red zone recently, but play-calling and penalties have also had an impact there.
At this point, I would say that Prescott just had some down days from a very bright start to the season. I feel like the offense should be fine going forward.
As for Prescott and the Cowboys fanbase, its really split. Count me among those who think that Prescott is not the problem in Dallas, but many fans feel the opposite. Its an ongoing debate.
Q: How has George Pickens complemented CeeDee Lamb? Is Dallas expected to re-sign Pickens in the offseason to keep its strong one-two punch out wide?
A: The answer to the first question is that Pickens and Lamb have worked well together, although Pickens had to play without Lamb for about half the games this year because of injury. They are two different kinds of receivers that work well together.
Lamb is more of a slot guy who runs crisp routes and thrives over the middle of the field. Pickens is an aerial artist with an unbelievable catch radius and uncanny control over his body, especially near the sideline. He makes the spectacular seem routine.
Everybody is hoping they will re-sign Pickens in the offseason, but knowing Dallas, I dont expect them to give him a huge, long-term deal. Instead, if they are going to keep him, it will probably be on the franchise tag.
Q: Can you give us one under the radar player on each side of the ball for the Cowboys who you think will make an impact on Monday night?
A: I always find this a tough question because I never know how under the radar a Dallas player is to another fanbase.
On defense, Ill pick an under the radar guy even to Dallas fans in linebacker Logan Wilson. The Cowboys traded for him at the same time as Quinnen Williams, so he got lost in the shuffle. But the Cowboys linebacker corps has been really bad, so they hope the former Cincinnati Bengal will be able to stabilize that unit. If he can, that will have a huge impact on our defense.
On offense, lets go with our tackles, LT Tyler Guyton and RT Terence Steele. They have had issues keeping Prescott clean recently, so much so that Steele got benched in the last game for much of the second half. They have to improve. If they do, the impact will be positive for Dallas. If they dont, then it could be a tough day at the office for Prescott.