What We Saw: Week 7

The QB List staff catches you up on everything you missed during Week 7 of the 2020 NFL season.

Ben Brown
What We Saw 4 Years Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Giants @ Eagles
Packers @ Texans
Lions @ Falcons
Browns @ Bengals
Bills @ Jets
Cowboys @ Washington
Steelers @ Titans
Panthers @ Saints
49ers @ Patriots
Buccaneers @ Raiders
Jaguars @ Chargers
Chiefs @ Broncos
Seahawks @ Cardinals
Bears @ Rams

Cowboys @ WFT

 

The injury bug has hit the Cowboys hard over the last couple of weeks and that continued on Sunday as Andy Dalton was knocked out of the game on a dirty hit. Coming into the game there was a lot of talk about how the Cowboys offensive line, which was missing starters Zack Martin and Brandon Knight, would hold up against the potent Washington pass rush. I believe the final score of 25-3 in favor of Washington says it all. Let’s dive in and see what else we saw.

 

Dallas Cowboys

 

Quarterback

 

Andy Dalton: 9/19, 75 yards, 1 INT, 3 sacks, 1 fumble | 3 carries, 16 yards

Ben DiNucci: 2/3, 39 yards, 3 sacks, 2 fumbles | 1 carry, 0 yards

 

Antonio Gibson had a breakout game, but the Washington front seven was the MVP of this game. Dalton was constantly under pressure today. The Cowboys’ first series came following a goalline stand by the defense. They managed to get the ball out to the Dallas 16 before disaster ensued.

 

 

Following a three and out, the Cowboys put together their first somewhat drive of the day, going 40 yards on 8 plays. However, on 4th and 1, the powers that be drew up this gem of a play.

 

 

On the Cowboys’ last drive heading into the half, down 19, Dalton had them moving again. He completed an 18-yard pass to Amari Cooper on a 3rd and 10 following the two-minute warning to keep the drive going. Dalton led the drive all the way down to the Washington 12 yard line. On 2nd and 10, with 39 seconds to play in the half, Dalton threw a pass over the middle that was behind Ezekiel Elliott. The ball went off Elliott’s hands and right into the defender’s.

 

 

On the Cowboys’ second possession after halftime, Dalton took a helmet-to-helmet hit on a scramble play while he was mid-slide. Jon Bostic was ejected for the hit and Dalton left the game with a concussion. Not only was it a dangerous play, but it was also an idiotic play by Bostic. On 3rd and 10, Dalton had only gained about 6 yards. They had a chance to end the drive and instead, Bostic took a huge 15-yard penalty to continue the drive. Teammate Kyle Fuller could be seen putting his hands up to his helmet in disgust over the play.

 

 

Ben DiNucci took over and after a botched first play (we’ll get to it with Zeke), he made a really nice pass to Amari Cooper for his first professional completion. The rest of the day was forgettable for DiNucci. It featured three sacks and a pair of three and outs.

 

 

Running Backs

 

Ezekiel Elliott: 12 carries, 45 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 6 yards

Tony Pollard: 8 carries, 16 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards

 

Just one week after Ezekiel Elliott fumbled twice, he had another week to forget. With the offensive line decimated by injury, the Washington defensive front had their way with the porous offensive line. Zeke didn’t have much room to get free and once they were in a negative game script, he was forced into staying in and pass blocking, which he did not enjoy.

 

 

In addition to the pass above that went off his hands for an interception, the first play from scrimmage for Ben DiNucci was a pitch to Elliott that was fumbled. To be fair, it was not a great pitch – behind him – but was not great to see Zeke put the ball on the ground again. As the offensive line gets healthy, better days will be ahead for Elliott.

Tony Pollard didn’t do much with his opportunities but did have the highlight of the day for the Cowboys with this 67-yard kickoff return. The play led to the only points the Cowboys would put up on the day.

 

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

 

Amari Cooper: 7 targets, 7 receptions, 80 yards | 1 carry, 5 yards

CeeDee Lamb: 5 targets, 0 receptions | 1 carry, 1 yard

Michael Gallup: 2 targets, 0 receptions

Dalton Schultz: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 22 yards

 

A bad day for the quarterbacks means a rough day for the pass catchers (for the most part). Amari Cooper was the only pass catcher that survived, catching all seven of his targets. Fantasy managers looking forward should be somewhat encouraged by Cooper’s connection with DiNucci as he caught both of DiNucci’s completions for 39 yards.

CeeDee Lamb had two bad drops in this game. The first, which was also the first of his career, came on a slant where he had a step on the defender and some open field ahead of him.

 

 

The second came in the end zone on a more contended pass, but it was a pass he should’ve caught for a touchdown. The next play was the interception off Zeke’s hands.

For a while, I had to look closely to see if Michael Gallup was even on the field. He didn’t get his first target until midway through the 3rd Quarter. Gallup’s been the odd man out all year. Now that the Cowboys have offensive line issues and are onto their third-string quarterback, I don’t expect things to turn around.

 

Washington Football Team

 

Quarterback

 

Kyle Allen: 15/25, 194 yards, 2 TDs, 2 sack | 4 carries, 11 yards

 

Washington leaned on the run early and set Allen up for some success via the play-action fake. On the first drive of the game, the running backs accounted for 62 out of 74 yards on the drive. Which is why I found this play call curious on 4th and 1.

 

 

On the second drive, Allen completed a 26-yard pass to Logan Thomas, who was wide open following a play-action fake. Following a big defensive stand, Allen connected with Terry McLaurin on a 52-yard touchdown pass where McLaurin burnt Trevon Diggs.

 

 

In the 2nd Quarter, Allen had an excellent scamper for 13 yards on a 3rd and 9 to keep the drive alive. He later connected with Logan Thomas for the score.

 

 

At that point, Washington was up 19 heading into the half. In the second half, Washington leaned on the run, but Allen led three drives that ate clock. He did a good job of not making mistakes and just taking what the defense gave him.

 

Running Backs

 

Antonio Gibson: 20 carries, 128 yards, 1 TD | 1 target

J.D. McKissic: 5 carries, 35 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards

Peyton Barber: 10 carries, 34 yards

 

Alright, listen, I’m pumped up for Antonio Gibson too. But, I have to pour this little bit of cold water on this monster performance.

 

 

Early on in this game, Washington established the run early, piling up 85 yards in their first two drives. The highlight was this 40-yard run by Gibson.

 

 

On Washington’s second possession, Gibson ended the drive with authority.

 

 

Overall Gibson looked good, but this workload came in a positive game script. In a more negative game script, I expect to see McKissic get the kind of targets he did last week (6+).

I’m still frustrated with Peyton Barber getting snaps and carries, although half of his touches came with Washington up 22 in the 4th Quarter.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

 

Terry McLaurin: 11 targets, 7 receptions, 90 yards, 1 TD

Logan Thomas: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 60 yards, 1 TD

Cam Sims: 1 target, 1 reception, 22 yards

Jeremy Sprinkle: 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards

 

Terry McLaurin is the man! McLaurin took advantage of the Cowboys defense and his 44% target share. He was oh so close to scoring on the first drive of the game, as a touchdown called on the field was overturned with him being down at the one-yard line.

Just one play before burning cornerback Trevon Diggs (see above), this is what we saw.

 

 

If the Cowboys were even just a little bit competitive, this could’ve easily been a bigger day for McLaurin, but the fact is that Washington just didn’t have to throw the ball as the game moved on.

This game showed how much of a mismatch Logan Thomas can be for opposing defenses. In addition to the touchdown catch and a deep 26-yard reception off a play-action fake, he had this excellent catch against the sideline for a first down.

 

 

— Rich Holman (@RichardoPL83 on Twitter)

Series Navigation
Introduction
Giants @ Eagles
Packers @ Texans
Lions @ Falcons
Browns @ Bengals
Bills @ Jets
Cowboys @ Washington
Steelers @ Titans
Panthers @ Saints
49ers @ Patriots
Buccaneers @ Raiders
Jaguars @ Chargers
Chiefs @ Broncos
Seahawks @ Cardinals
Bears @ Rams

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.