Part I:
Everyone knew how good San Fran’s defense was and they lived up to it. Dallas needed to open up the field with 15+ yard pass plays while giving Dak max protection. That means playing only 2 wideouts going downfield EVERY play, with 2 tight ends on the line to pass protect only, along with Zeke also on pass protection, occasionally flaring out for a dump off pass if he didn’t have anyone to block. I would have done this for the first 15-20 plays and forced SF to alter their defensive scheme of hyper pressuring Dak or stacking the box for running plays.
Originally Posted by ManSlut
I agree with you that SF blitzed a lot or rushed the passer with 5 players. If you are rushing 5 then there are 6 players in coverage. If you only send out 2 receivers then you have 6 players covering two. You have to send out at least three receivers out and hope one them finds the open area in the zone defense. I don't think SF was doing any man to man defensive coverages. Maybe it was man to man on the play where Gallup had a step on the defender on a deep post pattern, but the ball was thrown slightly behind him to the wrong side.
On offense Dallas had two problems.
1. Once Pollard got hurt, you were not going to get any explosive running plays from Zeke. I don't think Zeke Elliot has had a 30 yard plus play running the ball in over 3 years.
2. Jerry Jones got rid of Amare Cooper their best receiver from last year and did not replace him with an equal talent. The reveiver group was better when Cooper is 1, Cedee Lamb is 2 and Gallup is 3. It did not hurt in the regular season, Dallas won 12 games. In the playoffs when you are playing other good teams, this came back to bite them.