Cowboys’ new-look defense ready for fast-paced Eagles

The Dallas Cowboys’ new-look defense got off to a solid start in Sunday night’s 27-26 season-opening victory over the New York Giants.

But now it faces the unenviable task of stopping the high-powered, fast-paced offense of Chip Kelly and the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Cowboys must do so without their best pass rusher in rookie defensive end Randy Gregory, who is sidelined four to six weeks with a high-ankle sprain.

“It’s an offense that’s been successful for them,” coach Jason Garrett said. “And they have a couple of new guys in there running it at the skill positions. It’s been a good offensive football team, and a big part of their offense has been running the football.

“They’re in the shotgun a lot. They spread you out. They run the ball a lot of different ways with a lot of different guys. Their scheme is challenging. Their players are challenging, and it’s certainly something we have to be our best at in defending when we go out there Sunday.”

Murray signed with the Eagles in the off-season after leading the NFL with a Cowboys record 1,845 yards in 2014. In the season opener against Atlanta, Murray had eight carries for just 9 yards in a 26-24 loss.

But neither Murray nor Ryan Matthews — who is sharing the load with Murray in Philadelphia’s new downhill rushing attack in place of the east-west styling of former starter LeSean McCoy — made much of an impact against Atlanta. Matthews had just 4 yards on three carries.

Those numbers had more to do with a 20-3 halftime deficit that forced the Eagles to throw the ball to get back in the game.

The Eagles will look to be more balanced Sunday, and the Cowboys are prepared for a heavy dose of Murray.

“We’ve definitely got to stop the run first,” safety Barry Church said. “They are a physical offense. They got great backs. It’s a big difference between McCoy, who is going to dance around you, and DeMarco, who is going to try to run through you. You have to have different tackling techniques going up against those guys. They like to pound and wear you down.”

The wear-down issue is both physical and mental because of the Eagles’ uptempo attack. The Eagles led the league with 70.7 plays per game last year and try to run a play every 20 seconds.

It’s all about confusion and getting you tired to create big plays. The Eagles use a dizzying combination of formations and personnel packages.

“The key for us is getting lined up,” cornerback Brandon Carr said. “They go fast. They get you out of whack remembering your keys and different alignments. They catch you off guard with the multiple plays and formations they run. We practice for it, but you have to adjust to it in the game.”

Said defensive end Jeremy Mincey: “You just have to be situationally aware and know what’s going on. Just try to hold your breath, man. Hang in there as long as you can and go as hard as you can until you get to a point where you can sub in and out.

“That’s the nature of their game. That’s what coach Chip Kelly does. He’s uptempo, but if you penetrate and disrupt, it can change all of that. We’ve just got to have in our mind what we need to do and how we are going to do it, and that right there slows things down.”

The Eagles ran 68 plays in Monday’s loss but were encouraged by the signs of life they showed in the second half, when Bradford completed 21 of 25 passes and nearly rallied them to victory. Bradford was 36-of-52 passing for 336 yards while completing passes to 10 receivers.

“If you don’t get in his face, he can complete some strong throws that a lot of quarterbacks can’t complete,” Mincey said of Bradford. “We’ve definitely got to penetrate, disrupt and get a hold of him as fast as we can. We have to set edges and get to the ball.”

Getting to the quarterback will be a little tougher this week without Gregory. The Cowboys are already playing without defensive end Greg Hardy, who is out the first four games because of an NFL suspension.

Mincey, who normally lines up inside on passing downs, will likely play a little more. But the Cowboys will also look to linebacker Kyle Wilber and rookie defensive end Ryan Russell to provide an impact off the edge in place of Gregory.

“We’ve got to adjust, figure out some good matchups, and get the speed guys on the edges and just penetrate,” Mincey said.

This story was originally published September 16, 2015 at 8:31 PM with the headline "Cowboys’ new-look defense ready for fast-paced Eagles."