Scout’s Eye: Grading The Standouts On Defense

I wasn't too happy when Jaylon Smith was flagged for roughing the passer, which kept the Eagles' only touchdown drive alive. Initially, I thought it was an unnecessary play by Smith. But going back and studying it, Wentz rolls right into him with Andre Dillard pushing him right into the quarterback. Smith was attempting to go after the ball, but his elbow ended up hitting Wentz' head, and those calls are going to be made every time. It was just a tough break for Smith on an aggressive play.

I can't say enough about the job La'el Collins did on Brandon Graham. It's never easy dealing with Graham, especially with his quickness off the edge. Despite having a brace on his left knee, Collins was able to get away from the line quickly and efficiently. It never appeared that he was laboring or struggling one bit. Down after down, he was able to kick himself into position to keep Graham along the line of scrimmage and off Dak Prescott.

All week long I was talking about how these cornerbacks needed to make Alshon Jeffery fight for contested catches. Well, Byron Jones was able to do just that -- but Xavier Woods wiped out a brilliant play with an unnecessary roughness call. It was unfortunate that Woods couldn't pull off and avoid the contact, but he blasted Jeffery anyway. It really wasn't a bang-bang play – it just wasn't that close. I felt like Woods could have backed off, but he just didn't have the body control to do so.

I know there's been a lot of talk about the fact that Kellen Moore tends to fall back into the old ways of Jason Garrett and Scott Linehan when it comes to first down runs. But Moore did not choose to just hammer the ball into the middle of the line this week. Instead, he was able to work the edges a little more with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. The line did an outstanding job of securing the down guys for the Eagles and then working to their linebackers in order to give Elliott and Pollard more space. What was also impressive was the physicality that both the running backs were able to demonstrate. They took the fight to a Philadelphia defense that had been defending the run well.

What a nice hit by Jaylon Smith on Dallas Goedert to create the first turnover of the game for the defense. Goedert was attempting to split both Smith and Leighton Vander Esch, but Smith was able to get his right shoulder into the ball and force it out. Maliek Collins deserves some credit for hustling over and getting to the ball before Nelson Agholor had a chance to react for the recovery.

I liked what I saw from Chidobe Awuzie from a physical standpoint in this game. There were a couple snaps where the ball spilled to the edge and he didn't back down from the challenge of making the tackle. One time in particular was when he outsmarted Lane Johnson into believing he was going low to chop Johnson down. Instead, he made a fake move like he was going low --but then stayed on his feet in order to get Johnson off balance to keep him from getting blocked.

Heck of a move by Tavon Austin to get around Orlando Scandrick for the first Cowboys touchdown. But going back and studying the tape, he also got a heck of a block by Michael Gallup down field on Jalen Mills to get him into the end zone. Gallup drove Mills three yards deep into the end zone, which gave Austin the space necessary to take the ball over the pylon. Great effort by Gallup in order to help his teammate.

I have to admit that I was worried about Sean Lee and whether his play had fallen off. It's safe to say I don't believe I'm worried as I once was. I thought Lee played a heck of a game, and it would have been nice if he had picked off Carson Wentz on that final fourth down attempt by the Eagles. Lee played as if he was back to his old self, where his instincts carried him to the ball and he was able to finish those plays. The Eagles had a hard time getting blockers to him, and when they did he was on the move and able to avoid them. I'm trying to figure out why he looked so much better, and the best answer I can come up with is that the more snaps he plays, the better feel he has for the game.

You have to be impressed with Jason Garrett going for it on fourth down on his side of the 50. It would have been an easy decision in a seven-point game to punt the ball and attempt to pin the Eagles back in their own end. Instead, he allowed Kellen Moore to get in a run heavy formation and go play action. The execution was flawless, as Dak Prescott flipped the ball to Ezekiel Elliott in the flat. T.J. Edwards was responsible for the coverage on Elliott, but he couldn't get from the middle of the field fast enough in order to keep Elliott from securing the first. Even if the play had not worked, Blake Jarwin was able to draw a defensive holding penalty from Malcolm Jenkins, who had no choice but to grab him off the line.

To hold Miles Sanders to three catches on the night is a great accomplishment for the defense. I kept waiting for Doug Pederson to run him on the wheel route off a pick or up the seam against a linebacker -- but it never happened. I was also waiting for Pederson to run a screen with him or to one of the tight ends -- but that alsonever happened. Pederson must have been nervous to attempt those types of passes due to the speed of the Cowboys' linebackers. But previous opponents had shown that wasn't a bad idea due to the aggressive nature of this defense.

There were several snaps where we saw Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard in the backfield at the same time. This was a wrinkle I thought we were going to see more of in this game. What did surprise me was when the used this personnel group on a key third down in the red zone. Prescott did take a shot to Pollard when he motioned outside left. He was picked up by Orlando Scandrick -- and after the poor effort by him to bring Tavon Austin down, winning against him would not have been a problem. Instead, Prescott threw the ball to Elliott short of the sticks to preserve the field goal attempt from Brett Maher.

What a nice blitz pickup by Tony Pollard to allow Dak Prescott to find Amari Cooper down the right sideline for an explosive play on third down. Pre-snap, you could see Pollard's head moving back and forth, making sure he had the right man on the pickup -- which he absolutely did. He stepped up and hit Kamu Grugier-Hill right in the chest, giving Prescott all the time he needed to comfortably make the throw. It's not often that coaches trust rookies to make those types of blocks, but Pollard is a different cat in the way he plays the game.