Brett's Cowboys Corner

As the Cowboys news cycle has been blinded with trade talks, and whether the team cares about building a winning defensive or not. The Cowboys will be back at home, where they have played well this season.

Needing to get the record back to a even slate before heading into the trade deadline and their bye week.

The Cowboys will avoid the undefeated Kyler Murray and instead will gear up to play the NFL journeyman, Jacoby Brissett. But with a bottom ranked Dallas D, I wouldn’t feel great yet.

DALLAS	ARIZONA
Juanyeh Thomas: Coming back at safety after missing two games. Safety play has been full of injuries and struggle. Need to fit back in.	Bam Knight: The Cowboys have given up a lot of rushing yards. Knight hasn’t been a super productive guy, but this is a great chance.
Kenneth Murray: Without Sanborn helping in run support. Murray will need to step up and lead this defensive playcalling.	Zay Jones: The second WR, while a lot of attention will be on Harrison. A chance to be a quick target.
Terrence Steele: Matching up with Josh Sweat who has led the Cardinals with 21 pressures this season.	Will Johnson: The rookie CB has been playing well, but he will be battle tested this week matching up against George Pickens.

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The Keys to Victory-

1 – Get Pressure on the Edge.

As the NFL trade deadline approaches, the Cowboys have been criticized at all levels for their poor defensive efforts. But rumors have been around finding edge rushers, Maxx Crosby and Trey Hendrickson.

This has been due to the lack of production from Dante Fowler, Sam Williams, and Marshawn Kneeland. These guys need to build confidence and they will have an opportunity to do so.

At right tackle, Jonah Williams has surrendered the sixth-most pressures in the NFL (37) and allowed 6.5 sacks this season, the fourth-highest total among linemen. On the opposite side, former first-round pick Paris Johnson Jr. has been steadier but still shaky, giving up 29 pressures and two sacks. That’s where Arizona’s protection shows its cracks, and where Dallas can gain the upper hand defensively if its front seven capitalizes.

Dallas has a prime opportunity to attack Arizona’s vulnerable offensive tackles and disrupt the pocket early and often. Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer has acknowledged that the Cowboys’ defense struggles when it fails to generate consistent pressure on the quarterback.

They will get a chance tonight, as Jacoby Brissett is a sitting duck back there.

2 – Cover 4 Beaters.

The big trending topic of the week, causing a lot of mayhem on Twitter is how you beat Cover 4. The Cardinals have played Cover 4 at the highest rate in the NFL this season, deploying the coverage scheme on 32.3% of dropbacks.

First, what is the coverage designed to do? Stop the deep ball. Deep passes of course can work, usually requiring one of the defenders to mess up their assignment. Good linebacker play can disrupt working the middle of the field.

But if you have the ability to work the check down and seams, you can move the ball. These are all things the Cowboys have had success with this season. Dak Prescott has completed 74.3% of his passes (8th-highest) and averaged 8.6 yards per attempt (7th-most) against Cover 4, throwing two touchdown passes.

The Cowboys offense has been really good at home, and has had most of the answers to defensive schemes.

3 – Slowdown Someone.

Recently in Cowboys loses they have given up career days to some offensive player. Troy Franklin, RJ Harvey, Rico Dowdle, and Luther Burden to name a few.

Some key players on Arizona to watch out for-

Trey McBride has caught 12 passes for 145 yards and 2 touchdowns on third downs this season, converting 11 first downs, 3 more than any other tight end. McBride has converted 91.7% of his third down receptions into firsts, the 2nd-highest rate by any player who has caught at least 10 such passes, behind George Pickens (14/14).

Marvin Harrison Jr. has caught 6 of 9 targets for 194 yards (4th-most in NFL) and a touchdown on deep targets (20+ air yards).

This Cowboys team needs to get back even before heading to into the bye week. A hot offense at home, they will continue to roll. The defense needs to get a few stops.