Jacksonville Jaguars heading to Dallas, will face Cowboys
Dallas can pass and pass pretty well but just absolutely can’t rush. That won’t be too much of a problem for Dallas because rushing the pass is Jacksonville’s greatest weakness when it comes to defence. They rank 30th in the league in stopping
the pass and Dallas stands at a respectable 5th in offensive passing.
But, and it’s a big but, the Cowboys won’t have their starting quarterback, Tony Romo on the field. With an injured clavicle, Romo is out indefinitely and replacing him would be the 38 year old back up, Jon Kitna. There is no questioning the fact that Romo’s
loss would be deeply felt by an already struggling Cowboys' offense but at least Kitna isn’t terrible. In the Giants vs. Cowboys game which led to Romo’s injury, Kitna threw two touchdown passes in 16 successful attempts of a total 33. That might not be spectacular
but it could still hold up against the Jaguars’ below average pass rush.
Kitna would be supported by some fine receivers on the offensive line. Wide receiver Miles Austin has caught over 500 yards this season and Roy Williams has 306. Both average 14.6 yards per attempt. Cowboys also have Dez Bryant who has caught 265 yards in
22 receptions. It isn’t certain if Bryant would be able to play on Sunday due to an ankle injury but with Austin, Williams and the Cowboy’s tight ends, Kitna has some good options to choose from.
The offensive line would also have to adjust to Kitna. Romo and Kitna have different styles and tendencies. Even Kitna’s snap count is different from Romo’s. Cowboys have been practicing with Kitna and trying to get used to the change before they face the
Jaguars. “Having a new quarterback, we’ve worked hard on that and we’re trying to concentrate on that”, said Cowboys’ head coach, Wade Phillips. But, how well they would do with the new quarterback is a question for Sunday.
Jaguars have had a much better season than the Cowboys but that doesn’t automatically mean that they are the better team. Dallas has had to face some tough competition. The combined win-loss tally for all Cowboys’ opponents so far this season stands at 24
wins against 16 losses. The weakest team they faced in that respect was Minnesota Vikings.
Jaguars, on the other hand, have been on a relatively easier schedule. Their opponents combined have won 21 games and lost 25. The 3-4-0 record for Jaguars hence doesn’t mean what one would intuitively assume it does. This has to be the best chance the Cowboys
have had in a while to win a game.
The only good thing in Jaguars' offense is the rush. Leading Jacksonville in rushing yards is running back, Maurice Jones-Drew. The Pro Bowl running back has rushed over 500 yards in the season so far. Deji Kareem also makes contributions to the rush every
once in a while. Jaguars' rush is ranked 10th in the league while Cowboys’ rush defence ranks 30th. Jaguars clearly have an upper hand here.
If Kitna can pull throw, the passing could overshadow the rushing and give Cowboys the game. Kitna though would be under too much pressure but running back Felix Jones could take on some of that pressure if Dallas can somehow rush through Jacksonville’s
defensive line. Even though the Cowboys are terrible at rushing, Jaguars are equally bad at stopping the rush.
Jacksonville’s starting quarterback; David Garrard would be back this week. He had suffered a concussion but has now said that he felt good and was ready to return to the field. Garrard has 9 touchdowns and 838 yards to his credit in 7 games. Excluding the
game in which Garrad was injured, he is averaging less than 140 yards per game. He would have to do much better against the Cowboys’ quality pass rush if they are going to beat Dallas.
The pass trumps the rush. If Cowboys hit it off with Kitna at the helm, they have a good chance of beating the Jaguars. Without it, Jacksonville would probably defeat Dallas.
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